Scripture: Philippians 2:1-16
- I have to admit that, in interim ministry, I can get caught up in the minutiae of church life:
- it’s part of my job to help you get your house in order before a new pastor comes;
- to make sure you are taking good minutes and maintaining your membership rolls and doing background checks on your staff and minding your budget and following your constitution.
- But sometimes I need to step back and remind myself why we’re here; why we go to all this trouble!
- Why do you show up week after week for meetings in the basement, and even bring cookies and flowers (if you’re Kathy Hayden!)
- Why go to all this work when you could be riding on a swan boat on Lake Nokomis?
- It’s then that I go back to scriptures like the one in Philippians 2.
- Paul wrote to these little upstart churches with both love and exasperation,
- He asked the Church to work together cheerfully, without bickering and division.
- He described the way Jesus modeled obedience to God by emptying himself to carry out a costly ministry
- He reminded them that they lived in a corrupted, polluted world
- But also encouraged them to become “glimpses of the living God” in that world
- or in the NRSV he says more poetically, to shine like stars
- When I wonder if what I do in churches is meaningful, I try to remind myself that all this internal naval gazing is about more than just being an orderly non-profit.
- We are here to practice building the reign of God, one committee meeting at a time
- To be a “community of the Spirit”
- even if sometimes it feels more like burden than joy.
- The budgets and policies are not that important in and of themselves;
- they are only important when they help you become glimpses of God
- Lyndale is a community of the Spirit that is full of imperfections, eccentricities, and brilliant jewels;
- You’ve been through some chaotic times lately!
- Sometimes you make me a little crazy, because I kind of like…order!
- You are the definition of “herding cats”
- But sometimes I get to see how you shine like stars, in spite of everything, and I am filled with awe at what God can do with you,
- And with all of us pesky little humans in our crazy churches
- I’m reminded of one of my favorite quotes from a Leonard Cohen song:
- There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.
- Cohen is teaching us not only that the cracks are part of being human;
- the cracks and imperfections are a way God lets the light into the world; God works through our quirks to create something beautiful
- The Transition Team, in its profile study and conversation, has unearthed some quirks, some warts and some jewels that make you Lyndale;
- They have looked inward: at ways you have struggled in the last couple years and need to pull back together internally
- There are lots of emotions among you, from quiet discontent to grief, shame and even anger
- But there is also a lot of pride in your character that has emerged in their study
- They have looked inward: at ways you have struggled in the last couple years and need to pull back together internally
- The Team has been listening to everything going on here, and they’ve been sifting what they hear into the profile.
- The Talking Circles you did with Joann in 2023
- The Hartford Survey that 50 people responded to
- The desire for a collaborative, innovative environment for staff and laity
- The qualities you are looking for in a pastoral leader
- And the hope and vision of what you might do next in ministry
- This group has really grown by listening to you and each other and talking deeply about your ministry
- My proudest moment for them was at the end of a recent meeting when one of them said,
- “I’m amazed at all the ability we have in this room”
- And another: “I feel like I’ve grown up/matured in this process”
- Those comments indicate that in this microcosm of your church…
- Lyndale is already an amazing package of spiritual gifts
- And you are open to growing up and maturing even more
- Despite the difficulties you’ve been through, you are still Lyndale
- It isn’t a pastor who made you Lyndale. Even you didn’t make you Lyndale. God made you Lyndale!
- My proudest moment for them was at the end of a recent meeting when one of them said,
- But there’s something else I’m aware of as we do this important, internal work as the Church:
- The world out there is hurting badly right now
- I don’t know about you, but I’ve felt beaten down lately!
- I mean, it was a good week for Republicans, at least!
- But political division, Christian nationalism, gun violence, climate change, mass migration of people fleeing suffering, the widening gap between rich and poor
- Change, evolution, decay, transformation, whatever you call it oIt’s causing us to either withdraw in fear or lash out in anger and violence
- To shoot at our leaders at a political rally
- Or to target the vulnerable at the border
- To use inflammatory or dehumanizing language about each other
- These issues seem so much bigger than our puny little internal conflicts about our structure, or how many years our endowment money will last.
- You are called to witness about your faith into the fray of social justice issues swirling out there.
- Does it really matter whether you are following Robert’s Rules when the world is spinning out of control?
- Well…, maybe yes! These two realms do relate to each other: our internal functioning here and the chaotic world out there.
- In order to shine like stars out there, you need to have your fires kindled in here;
- I heard a quote this week, from psychologist John Bowlby: All of life is a series of daring explorations from a secure base.
- Lyndale is your secure base
- It is your laboratory for practicing your basic social skills
- Lyndale is your laboratory for democratic and consensus decision making
- It’s where you practice equitable sharing of resources
- And learn to trust God in your spiritual leadership
- As Paul puts it, here you practice your responsive obedience to the way of Christ
- And from here you go out to your daring explorations into what Paul called a “squalid and polluted society” (or so it feels at times in history)
- So the building of Christ’s reign needs to happen in healthy ways in here, so you can go out there and model it for others.
- After worship today, the Transition Team is going to share some highlights of your profile, which is getting closer to being done.
- This is my first time helping a church write their profile.
- The whole profile process is not just about selling yourself to pastoral candidates.
- It’s actually designed to lead you to self-awareness about how you are being faithful to your call as Christ’s church; a taking stock
- It’s annoyingly long and arduous and can feel like naval gazing
- But it’s also meaningful!
- So, I’m excited to have you hear what the Transition Team is bringing from the profile today;
What does it look like to be a community where people agree with each other, love each other, behave like deep-spirited friends. Where no one pushes their way to the front or sweet-talks their way to the top. To be people who put self aside to help others get ahead. Who are not obsessed with getting their own advantage. Who forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.
- As you work on being that kind of community in here, you will be better equipped to teach others how to be that kind of community out there.
- And the world really needs that right now!
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