Your Mission If You Choose to Accept It

This message was done at Christ UMC-Piscataway, which happens to be my home church.

Second Sunday After Pentecost

Your Mission If You Choose to Accept It

May 29, 2016

Galatians 1:1-12

When I was growing up Sunday afternoons were filled with watching James Bond movies and Star Trek episodes as a family. I learned two things from these days; one-Sean Connery is the best bond, two-the mission, whatever it was, would be accomplished in unexpected ways.

Now Paul, in my opinion, is the master of trying the unexpected. This man went from being one of the biggest persecutors of Christianity to becoming one of its biggest supporters. I mean, his letters to newly formed and growing communities of faith comprise the majority of the New Testament, no letter is the same. Paul recognizes and honors the differing practices and understandings of each community.

As we begin to read the first chapter of Galatians, I must admit I feel bad for the people. I don't know if he used up all his poetic words in his correspondence with the people of Corinth, or if earlier interactions with the people of Galatia proved them to be super hard headed, but we find a very emphatic, frustrated and no-nonsense Paul in these 12 verses.

Verse 1 seems odd, like who starts a letter in the third person, but as we continue to read it makes more sense. The next four verses are part of a typical greeting of the time...and then we hit verse six. “I am astonished”, the message translation says “I can't believe your fickleness.” “how easily, so quickly you desert the one, turn traitor to the one who called you to live a new life…” Well that escalated so quickly!

I can feel how Paul is holding back and  trying to say in the nicest way “ Are you serious?  You guys, I mean you guys...I TOLD you what to do!” Yet in Paul’s frustration I am reminded of how often I make concessions to the work God has called me to. Nothing bad, but at times I let the stuff of my day to day life take precedence over deepening of my faith...and isn't this the same for many of us?

As members of the church universal we are called to make disciples of Jesus Christ. As members of Christ UMC of Piscataway we are called to find strategic and engaging ways to accomplish this mission. If you had to name who we are what would come to mind? Our diversity is clearly seen through our fellowship together but is it truly reflected in our programs, our events, our worship?

In our district we’ve had to rethink the needs during clergy gatherings. With a growing number of clergy with young children we have had to take into account the need for childcare providers during these events, something that has never had to be taken into account. We've done so many events now that it is almost second nature that when an event is scheduled we ask for tables, chairs, and a childcare provider. At annual conference they hire childcare providers so that clergy with young children feel empowered to find their professional-personal balance.

When the new conference center was conceived the big question asked was why? What was the purpose of the new building? What would it be called would it make a difference? In the short time this new building has been open it has began a ripple effect if Greater New Jersey. It was named the Mission and Resource Center to reflect the vision and goals of the conference as identified by staff and leaders. It was made to be open in layout and accessibility for everyone in the conference. If you ever have an opportunity to go there for an event I highly suggest you do so. The space was designed to be communal and I think they did a great job on it!

Beloved, have we taken this same care to understand who WE are at CUMC? What is our vision and our mission as a communal body? What do the names of our various committees and ministries mean? If something is named just to be cute or “inspirational” have we missed an important and awesome opportunity to minister to those in this place and beyond?

The people of Galatia had heard Paul’s message of Christianity and they had tried to embrace it. But the world overwhelmed them, they found it easier to go with the flow then go against it. A problem we have today. And because of it they lost the vision and mission of being a follower of Christ. They turned to what they knew, not what was right, not what they knew they were called to do as a community.

Friends, part of naming our  vision is identifying where we fall short, discovering how we can embrace the vision more fully, and preparing for change to happen. In his book “Selling swimsuits in the Arctic” Adam Hamilton makes an amazing point the “...core of the mission in the church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ.The rest of what we do is strategy and tactics for accomplishing this mission.”

Beloved this responsibility does not fall on leaders solely, the mission falls on each of us who claim this place.

• Why did you come to CUMC?
• What made you fall in love with this place?
• How do we get ourselves back to our initial feelings about this place?

We should leave this place proud of the work we do as a community. We should leave this place every time inspired by the Holy Spirit that meets us here Sunday after Sunday, knowing that we are called to transform the world with our actions and interactions.

So if we are people of the resurrection, inspired by the winds of pentecost, a missional people, called to make disciples in this world we must do three things.

1) PREPARE: We need to prepare and understand the mission we are called to.

In the 007 movies Bond dons a tailored suit and is given an array of gadgets by Q. In Star Trek the crew makes sure their ship, the Enterprise, is working and they are all ready. Though their mission was specified through Starfleet the crew prepared to encounter whatever came their way. For this community preparation means we work as individuals and as a community to open our hearts, minds, and eyes for God to work and move in and through us.

2) EXECUTE: What needs to be done to get to the goal? How do we execute the mission?

In James Bond, Star Trek and our reality we have experienced that unorthodox methods seem to work best. We cannot do things that worked before, solely because they worked before! Here at CUMC we need to intentionally make space for new faces to get involved in all things, we need to truly be willing to try...and possibly fail a few times.  We need to be ready to let go of things we usually do, that are part of our tradition. We must take risks, and we have! In programs like our Princeton Seminary Interns, Shepherds Shelves, Musicfest-we have taken leaps of faith to do more and I pray we continue to leap further and with less uncertainty.

3) UNDERTAKE: What do we do to accomplish the mission and how do we  make sure to end in celebration?
-Bond: inappropriate, end with a woman

-Enterprise: ship went into warp speed at the end “to the next adventure”

-what do we do/can we do to signify the time to move to the next/accomplishing goal.

-Mission is never done for us!!

Prepare, execute, undertake- when we do these things we get to fulfill our mission, we get to make disciples and transform the world. Beloved, I ask you as people of the resurrection, as people inspired by the winds of the Holy Spirit, as children of God-will you choose to accept this mission, to come to the cross ready for God to move in and through you, to be transformational agents of God in this world? Will you pledge to let God use you in whatever way you are called? Will you accept this mission given by God?

We have been prepared, let us offer all.