AIMING THE CHURCH OUTWARD

AIMING THE CHURCH OUTWARD
02/07/2010

Once upon a time, there was a rescue station on a far away shore, intended to save lives from ships that had been broken up on its rocky shoreline. Those who served in the station had time on their hands between emergencies, so they built a recreation room with pool tables, bowling lanes, a hot tub, and a sound system with couches and recliners. As a matter of fact, their quarters became so enjoyable, that soon those they had needed to save became a nuisance, upsetting their society.

Over time they had virtually given up their initial purpose and had become a club for recreation. However many were incensed at the departure from their roots and purpose. They split off and moved down the coast to begin a new rescue station committed to the original charter. Soon however, the new station also sought diversions and became distracted from its purpose and it too split.

Its original charter however, was kept mounted on a table with a model of a ship beside it illuminated by soft lighting to remind all of its historic, noble beginnings. Still the new work had the same struggles, the same temptations, the same distractions, and the same splits. Gradually, a shot of buildings rimmed the coast as a testament to a once gallant effort. Each station had its old documents and relics mounted in soft lighting to remind them of what they once were. And the clubs continued as did the shipwrecks… and men perished.
(Taken from "Think Missional becoming the people God intended; Les Welk)

This story depicts the sobering picture of many Churches who have started of with a great vision and passion to save lives in time wholly became clubs for personal interest, with members unconcerned for people perishing all around them. What a sad reality of lost vision and purpose. It could be said of individual Christians too because Church is people not a building.
Some churches merely exist for the sake of existing, without any mission. These churches have grown inward instead of aiming outward. I hope this does not reflect our Church. If it does then we have some serious thinking and a job to do in order to get our Church AIM OUTWARD
In order to assess where we have been as a Church, with the data provided by Erik Matson our historian let’s look at the history of our Church. Hopefully we can observe certain trends.

I. A BRIEF HISTORY OF EVANGELICAL CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH: (ECC)

This church has been in existence for over 125 years. After the World War II, growing families moved in droves to Quincy to take advantage of the cheap housing and spacious yards. From the 1940s through the 1950s, the church grew to 600 members. Most of the congregation members lived in the neighborhood of Atlantic region in North Quincy. Roughly 200 children attended the Sunday school during the 1950s.
In 1959 it started to decline. The trend continued for years before the council noticed. This decline was largely due to members moving to near by towns such as Plymouth, Pembroke and others in search for cheaper housing to raise their children in the southern suburbs and others relocated as far as Florida. In 1960, as they celebrated its 75th Anniversary, the church membership stood at 496

In 1977, Rev. Arthur R. Curtis joined as Interim Minister and was installed as Pastor on January of 1978. New families arrived and the church experienced a modest growth. But the growth didn’t last. The 1990s began with decline.

In 1994, the Lord’s Planting was founded. On that same year, the financial crisis hanging over the Memorial Congregational Church was set on the path towards recovery. The church grew when several members of the Dorchester Christian Fellowship joined in 1996.

In 2007 this church went through some turbulent times which caused another exodus of people leaving the Church. This trend of growth and decline is normal in the life cycle of any Church. In the life of any church there is a time for growth and at some point it reaches its peak and then plateaus. If it only exists, for the sake of existing it will start to decline; if some radical steps are not taken that church will slowly but surely die.

I wonder what causes a Church that once was passionate and focused on the mission to loose it’s focus and turn inward? What does the church need to do to remain missional? Last week I talked about the term Missional. Mission strategists, church planters and pastors have used this concept to help churches discover their original purpose. A missional life is where “the way of Jesus’ informs and radically transforms our existence to one wholly focused on sacrificially living for him and others and where we adopt a missionary stance in relation to our culture.” Being missional is to participate in the Mission of God which is to participate in what Christ is doing in the world. What is Christ doing around the world?

The factors that contribute to the inward focus of established Churches.
1. The natural drift of organizations is inward.
2. Cultural shifts have outpaced the shifts and changes within the church, resulting in the church becoming increasingly out-of-touch and culturally irrelevant. In other words we should not ignore the changing demographics and cultural trends in the neighborhood.
3. Faulty theological beliefs have been embraced regarding separation from the world and the priesthood of all believers.
4. Over time, Christians have fewer relationships outside the church making it increasingly difficult to connect with people who do not have the same faith in Christ.
5. The church and believers have become essentially consumeristic, concerned more about what they want, than what needs to be done to reach those outside of Christ.
6. Maintaining doctrinal purity becomes a driving factor more than a deep passion for reaching the lost, we become inward focused and missionally ineffective.
(Taken from Think Missional Becoming the people God intended; Les Welk)

II. HOW COULD WE REMAIN MISISONAL?
In pursuit of a better life for us and for our children we work very hard some times doing two jobs. We are busy and our schedules are over packed, by the end of the day we are exhausted. There is hardly any time left to do any thing for God. The routine continues. There is nothing wrong with work; infact it is the right thing to do. Hard work is commended by God. But in the midst of all that we tend to forget the primary purpose why we were created in the first place and why God has delivered us from sin. Peter reminded the saints that they were to be different than the rest of the world. In other words the pursuits of God’s people must be different than of those who do not know God.

We can draw three principles from I Peter 2:9-12, which can help us as individuals and as a Church to remain on the cutting edge for God and to be missional in our thinking, outlook and our lifestyle.
1 Peter 2:9-12 “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.”

A. KNOWING OUR POSITION:
As born again Christians we can remember how miserably lost we were before we accepted Christ as our Savior. In Ephesians 2:8-9 we read “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast.” We are saved only by His grace not by our works.

Apostel Peter paints the before and the after picture of a Christian so vividly. Before we were saved we were under the influence and the power of Satan and his evil forces. Satan is a hard task master without any mercy. He tempts people through his schemes. Our disobedience and outright rebellion enslaves us to sin and Satan. Before we accepted Christ we were lost and searching for true love and meaning for life; in all the wrong places. But thank God, by his mercy he delivered us from the power of the evil one and transferred us into His wonderful light. Colossians 1:13, reads, “For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son” Because of that wonderful transfer you now have a new identity and a new purpose. We are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God. Knowing, believing and acting according to this truth keeps us missional.

B. KNOWING OUR CALLING:
Once enlightened by the truth, and having tasted the goodness of God, how can we afford to live like the pagans or heathens who do not know God? Historically both these words "pagan" and "heathen" been used to describe any one who is an unbeliever or who do not follow Judeo Christianity. What is the difference between a true Christian and a non Christian? Why are we to be different? Are there any standards where by we must conduct our lives? Yes!!
God’s word has absolute standards of Holiness. Peter gives two reasons why we must abstain from sinful desires. Firstly we are aliens and strangers in the world; secondly the sinful desires wage war against our soul. Why is it that Christians are expected to maintain higher standards? Why can’t we be just like any body else? 1 Peter 1:14-16 “As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."

The world is watching us. We belong to the light so whatever we do is highly visible. We have a higher calling to be different and to be Holy. For doing so we may be ridiculed and labeled by others nevertheless that is the mark of a true Christian. When we know we are called by God we choose to do His will. What is his will for our lives? According to I Thes 4:3-5 “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God.” God’s will is not only that we should be Holy but according to 2 Peter 3:9 “not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” Knowing our calling helps us to be missional.
C. KNOWING OUR MISSION:
Both Peter’s letters to the saints are a great reminder for us. Peter was addressing a certain lethargy that was creeping up among the saints of his time. They were losing hope and a sense of purpose because of suffering. They were becoming impatient about the promised return of the Lord. On top of that there were scoffers and mockers who were scoffing at their faith. So Peter writes to remind them of their position, calling and their mission while they wait for the Lord to come back. 1 Peter 2:9 “But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, and God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.” (NLT).
After getting saved what? We have to show others the goodness of God. How are we to show it?

God’s goodness can be seen in a nurse who is kind in spite of the work load. God’s goodness can be seen in the patience of a 1st grade teacher. God’s goodness can be seen in the integrity and honest dealings of an auto mechanic, plumber or carpenter. God’s love and compassion flows when we reach out to people in need beyond the call of duty.
The father heart of God is expressed through the time and attention a parent gives to a child. These and a myriad of other ways we can let our light shine before men, so that they may see our good deeds and praise our father in haven. (Mat 5:16)

Here is an example of some one who let his light shine in the world.
Bob Pierce was a broken man. He cried his way home from seeing firsthand the aftermath of the Korean War. On the way home, Pierce wrote in the flyleaf of his Bible, “Let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God.” He founded World Vision in 1950, twenty year latter he founded “Samaritan Purse” World vision operates in more than 90 countries and Samaritan Purse works in more than 100 countries. Bob Pierce was broken because he felt the broken heart of God for the countless of millions who were dying and entering eternity of Christ. One man’s vision gave birth to two organizations and these are currently touching many lives in sharing the goodness of God through their rescue and relief work in Haiti.

We work hard many hours a day. Naturally we get tired by the end of the day. We dread the idea of another “Missions Outreach” I am not here to make us feel guilty. But I want to encourage us to rise up, cease the opportunity and make a difference in our community, school, office, business or work place. You don’t have to spend thousands of dollars to go on missions trips. If only you can see the Mission field is all around you. You can be a missionary right where you are. More and more church leaders are convinced that having more events, run more programs is not necessarily the answer for reaching our communities for Christ. Then what does it take? I believe it takes the Holy Spirit empowering all of us to understand our position in Christ, our calling in life and our mission in this world. With His help we can aim outward. Amen