Letting go of churches and what to say...

Usually my sermons for my three services on Sunday are all written on a Friday night! I have madly an open house tomorrow for 12 hours. Whose idea was that??

I have two unusual Sundays coming up. I am not leaving my Circuit but I am relinquishing pastoral charge of two churches I have looked after for the last year and four months. I have found Sunday's readings helpful in writing this handing over sermon... 

"What to say today? Well, I think today’s readings really are about direction, long term direction for you, the choices you can make, or not make, where your church can be if you really continue to strive to be the people of God here.

Life is all about choices. And a choice can be exciting or it can be daunting. A choice can be to change direction or keep following something, or it can be I want to give up or go back or keep my head down or do exactly as I have always done. How are you at making choices? Are you excited by the different or do you always choose the same? Do you get the Chinese take away menu out if you fancy a take away, ponder it at length and then order exactly what you always order? When you go on holiday, do you always go to the same place year after year because it is comfortable and you know it, I love exploring new places when I go on holiday now, probably a reaction in me because my parents didn’t.

We went to Cromer every year, every single tedious flipping year, so boring for a teenager especially when they dragged you to the show at the end of the pier to Dennis Lotis sings or something.

Years ago, all of us made a choice to be a Christian. We were captivated by Jesus and his claims. We were called by God into community. We came here at some point on our journey into this church and made a choice to stay, largely because of the welcome and atmosphere we found. Sometimes people have made a choice to commit to Jesus, but then after a while that choice has gone lukewarm. One of John Wesley’s sermons I enjoy is called “The Almost Christian.” In it he says you know choosing Jesus has consequence, you cannot do it one day a week and forget it the rest. The choice is about lifestyle wherever we are called to be, the way we treat each other in a church community, and the way we interact with others wherever we are in the week, in the shops, in the WI, at bowls club, on the golf course, with our family, wherever we are. It is something to work at every day. I’ve told you before that I love the fact that one of the old hymn books had a section called “hymns for backsliders” in it. I’ll return to Wesley and his challenge to remember the choice, the call every day later.

I find the Old Testament reading for today a fascinating one. It is about reminding God’s people they are his. Not a bad passage for me and you today because I want to leave you with some encouragement.

We drop this morning into a piece of the history of God’s ancient people. We find Joshua has finished allotting the various lands to their respective tribes; the Israelites have entered a new land and are now the ruling power in that land.  God has delivered them from Egypt with a mighty hand and fulfilled the promise of long ago, the promise of a land that is their own.  Now Joshua, like Moses before him, begins to prepare the people for life without him.

"Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem" (Joshua 24:1).  Joshua has some important things to say to them, words of reminder and warning about choice.

First, the reminder.  Joshua reminds the people of God's work in the past: "Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan and made his offspring many"

But Joshua knows this people; he knows how fickle they are, how quick they are to despair and to turn away from the God of their salvation, and even though those fears will soon be played out and will be played out again and again in Israel's and Judah's history, still Joshua tries to impress upon them the need for them to not forget the reminder and thus exhorts them to make a choice. A permanent choice, not a choice to suddenly forget or pick up when you want to.

You will either serve the Lord God or your own interests, in this case represented by "other gods."  Other gods would have been attractive, I admit; they often promised good harvests, fertility, prosperity, favourable weather, etc.  All the comforts of ancient life, things to make a hard life easier if only you make the appropriate sacrifices and do the right rituals.  Service to these gods demanded comparatively little over and against the demands of the God of Israel.

The God of Israel demanded much more than just proper worship and ritual, but demanded justice within the community, concern for the poor, widow, and orphan, concern for the stranger, alongside proper religious practice.  As Amos would later put it I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.  Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals I will not look upon.  Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

Joshua knows that this God demands more of God's people.  "Choose this day who you will serve,"

Like for us, there has in Joshua’s people to come a point where religion becomes personal and can be seen as meaning something. Joshua gives them a personal pledge: as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Do we say that this morning? Do we say that to Tricia when she asks what makes Little Common Methodist Church tick? Through our work, our witness, our activities, our friendships, our respect for those we disagree with, our fun and excitement, our problems and pain, our reputation in the village, as for me and my house we will serve the Lord? Do people know this house serves the Lord or does it serve itself? So many churches it seems to be are about that, nothing about God’s will, all about us and what we want, no choosing anything outside of what we like. Never ever, lovely people be like that. Choosing the Lord means being generous, generous in spirit, generous with resources. Churches that serve themselves deserve to be shut because they are not of God. Strong stuff that but it is true.

What choices have you made in this period of ministry, these last 16 months of our partnership? Well, you chose to listen to my wacky ways, you could have told my wacky ways to go back beyond Glyne Gap and not bother us, but together we have chosen to be more confident I think, we have had some lovely times of worship, especially for me the monthly evening communion which I have greatly enjoyed, the monthly ecumenical prayer time which I wish more of you would come to, will you choose this new church year to commit yourselves to half an hour a month to pray with your fellow Christians in the village? We have had two hard working and in part painful away day conversations leading to some new ideas. We have begun Messy Church, which is going really well. Messy Church from October Half Term will move to a Monday. Why not come to it and see what is happening? There is jelly and ice cream! Churches are planting new congregations at the moment, take Calvert. Calvert have 60 people on their premises on a Saturday morning for Messy Church once a month. Two of the choir said to me recently “this is all very well, but when are these people going to come on a Sunday?”  To which I naughtily said, “when are you going to come on a Saturday? The place is buzzing!” Today’s church, including part of your life here, is choosing to try the different and it is proving exciting. We have begun a house group which I am delighted about and I hope you will have one. We continue to have a Brownie pack and a young people’s bible study. We continue to enjoy a lovely Friday morning at Rendezvous. Lots of choices made every day to work hard here. I have enjoyed lots of pastoral visits with you in this time, some funerals, some baptisms, and we have chosen to sort some stuff in our meetings. The stewards are a wonderful team, the finance and property and lettings and pastoral work happens here and if anyone chose not to do their bit, we would be so much poorer.

As for me and my house we will serve the Lord, a personal and a corporate decision. What about those people who are thinking about choosing? How we reach out to people is important. People will only choose to follow Jesus if we share him, and people will only stay in a church community if we are like him. And we need to choose to try and understand the needs of the village around us. I pray you will keep working away at what might be appropriate to offer your community. I know some of you are thinking about a lunch club, that would be great, or something for Mums walking past after dropping children off at the school, or an internet café or something working with the two other churches. I wish I was staying! Today’s church must choose to look out not just in. The President of the Conference in his address to Conference last month quoted Archbishop William Temple who said, "You cannot redeem what you don't understand". And Steve Wild went to say: “ If you look at the growth points in the Christian Church in Britain and in Methodism, they all show they are not locked into their own little bubble but engaging in the community. This understanding and care comes with the Holy Spirit. Great things occur, and we find our vision enlarged, the Holy Spirit striving ahead of us. It's hard to catch up.”

So to my last word! Well, I simply point you finally to the Gospel reading for today.

Jesus has, it seems for endless Sundays this month talked about him being the Bread of Life, and eating his flesh, and giving people life, and in today’s bit of John chapter 6 some of his followers say “you know what, this is too hard” and some of them choose to give up.

Then he turns on his disciples as he often does with a belter of a question: “And you, are you going to leave as well?”

He might say to us today “Little Common Methodists, is it all too much, too hard, too exhausting, are you going to leave as well? Do you just want a church for you and which is here for you when you want but doesn’t really do very much?”

I love reading some of the history of Methodism. A society in Cornwall in 1741 had the following be asked to leave through naughtiness: 2 for cursing and swearing. 2 for habitual Sabbath-breaking. 17 for drunkenness.2 for retailing spirituous liquors. 3 for quarrelling and brawling. 1 for beating his wife. 3 for habitual, wilful lying. 4 for railing and evil-speaking. 1 for idleness and laziness. 29 for lightness and carelessness. Church isn’t like that today, is it?

There are standards if we choose! Others in the report of the Society go because it is too hard. Here are some: 3 because they could not spare time to come. 2 because it was too far off. 1 because she was falling into fits. 1 because people were so rude in the streets. And I love this one: 2 because Thomas Naisbut was in the society. (!!!)

Church isn’t like that today, is it?

Can we say like Peter to Jesus “Where else can we go? You have the words of eternal life.” Do we choose to keep going because we know he will not fail us. You know at the moment we are seeing two bits of political life think about choosing. Who will be the Leader of the Opposition? They have all turned on one of them haven’t they because some of them are a bit scared. Perhaps Mr Corbyn might be very scary. Also we have America – I love American Elections they go on for ever. Can you imagine what will happen if they choose and we get President Trump?!!

Leaders we choose come and go and are fallible and can fall, or they can do a lot of damage. The Saviour we choose is a choice we will never regret and we need him every day especially if we face an uncertain future.

It’s been a week of snotty letters for me this week, I have had a lot of them about a certain situation. One of them said “it is not as it was” wanting the past back or a perceived glory day when things were done differently. I was very sad to read she was so unhappy. But choosing God is about journeying on with him, and I simply thank you folks this morning that you have been committed with me these past 16 months to have a go, build a firmer foundation, and I pray you will work with Tricia and Dave and you will care for them and respond to the ideas Tricia as God’s servant and carer amongst you might bring. Will you promise me you will do that? I will hear what you are up to, you know!

If God is at the centre of our house, if there is nowhere to go but Jesus it has to make a radical difference to us. We are a people who have chosen well.

We serve a living God who demands justice, mercy and righteousness first and foremost.  As for me and mine, we will strive to serve the Lord.

I pray Little Common people you will continue to choose well, you will live like that choice matters and I know if you do the future here will be bright and you will be led into amazing new possibilities. Don’t go anywhere from near Jesus. God bless you. Amen.