“The Church on Fire”

Acts 21 Selected

Pentecost Sunday + May 23, 2010

Pilgrim Congregational United Church of Christ

400 Glenwood Drive

Chattanooga, Tennessee 37404

There’s an old preacher’s story telling about a small town church that burned to the ground one night. It must have been quite a fire because by the time the preacher got there most of the townspeople had gathered to witness the blaze. A goodly number were church members mourning the loss of their beloved building. The pastor moved among his people, comforting some, praying with others, doing whatever he could to bring a word of hope. Finally, he spotted one man standing alone, a man completely unknown to him. The minister went up and spoke to him: “I don’t believe we’ve met,” said the pastor. “You haven’t been here at our church before have you?” “No, I haven’t,” replied the stranger. “And your church has never been on fire before, either!”

We get the point, don’t we? A church on fire does attract people and the fire doesn’t have to be literal. Over the years I’ve gotten to know many different churches. From what I could tell every one of them had been on fire at some point in their history. Every church had its high moments of enthusiasm, energy, and commitment. Often that moment came at the beginning of a particular church’s history when the members were really excited about the future.

Sadly, by the time I got to know some of these churches, the initial fires of enthusiasm had died low, in some cases all but gone out years before. Those churches that once were “fired up” for the Lord had “cooled down.” To be sure there was still usually a gentle warm glow from the dying embers of their fellowship that comforted the remaining members, but it seemed pretty clear that sooner or later even that tiny fire would die out and so would the church. Yes, sometimes churches die. Today wise and worried observers of church life tell us that more and more churches will be dying and for two major reasons. First, the mounting and ever-increasing financial cost of maintaining a church. Second, the relentless and growing pressure of a secular society that increasingly believes it doesn’t need institutional religion. More and more people these days are saying that they don’t need a church in order to be spiritual. That’s nonsense, of course, but people believe that. It’s rather like saying you don’t need schools in order to be educated. I suppose there may be a few people who could teach themselves to read and write and all the rest of it on their own, but the rest of us need the institutional help that schools give. In the same way, we need the institutional help that churches provide in order to be people of faith.

But, as I say, increasing numbers of people don’t believe that. As a result many churches are growing smaller and smaller and some of them will certainly die in the next ten or twenty years. Call me a sentimental fool but I’m always sad when I see that happen. It bothers me when I drive by former churches that have been turned into businesses. I was particularly bothered when I heard that one New York City church had been turned into a disco nightclub. The pews had been taken out for dancing and the communion table was turned into a bar. Why did that have to happen, I wonder? At one time that church and every now dead church was full of people not lit up with booze, but on fire for God. Now that’s all dead and gone. How sad.

But as sad as that is I believe there is something even sadder: churches that manage to struggle along year after year without any real excitement or enthusiasm. So many churches today – particularly in our mainline denominations – just seem to be going through the motions. What is happening is dull, lifeless, tired. If we were to ask people in those churches if they are pleased I am sure many would say “no.” I am sure many of them are hoping that somehow, someway, someday, a moment of revival will come for their church. Once again the fires of passion and commitment will burn bright. But let’s not talk about “them;” let’s talk about “us.” Isn’t that kind of renewed excitement, enthusiasm, passion, and commitment what we want for ourselves at Pilgrim Church? Over the past two years of my ministry with you we have been working to make that happen and we’ve made real progress. But it never hurts to remind ourselves what is involved in church renewal.

How do we set the church on fire, again? Here is what we can do. First, and perhaps most important of all, we remind ourselves that revival and renewal come not because of what we want but because of what God wills. The coming of a new spirit into the life of any church is always a gift of God. It comes into our lives and the life of our church in sudden, surprising, unexpected ways. Does that mean we have to simply wait, lifeless and frustrated, hoping against hope that maybe God will do something for us? I don’t believe that at all. If, as it is said, chance favors the prepared mind, then the coming of the Holy Spirit favors the prepared heart. If we want, really want the coming of the Holy Spirit into our lives and the life of Pilgrim Church then we can pray and work for it with all the passion we can muster. We can share with one another our hopes and dreams for the future, not just our disappointments in the past.

Part of getting ready for the gift of the Spirit is caught up in the story of the first Pentecost. We are told that before the Holy Spirit came these earliest followers of Jesus “were all together in one place.” Friends, we all have a tendency to sentimentalize the past. You know how it goes: in the old days things were so much better than they are today. No, not always and not really. We particularly have a tendency to sentimentalize the story of the early church. We assume that never was heard a discouraging word among the first followers of Jesus. Nothing could be farther from the truth. They were a wrangling, quarrelsome, contentious bunch. But on the day of Pentecost they had put aside their individual differences long enough to think of the common good. “They were all together in one place.” Friends, if we are to find the same kind of renewal they did, we, too must be all together in one place. The gift of the Holy Spirit never comes to a collection of individuals but to a congregation united in love for God and one another. If we want the gift of the Holy Spirit here at Pilgrim we, too, must be all together in one place. We must cultivate a loving, forgiving spirit that will draw all our members together. We must search for a common vision and common goals. We must do what Boy and Girl Scouts do in preparing a fire. We gather our pieces of wood and put them together so that the match of God’s Spirit can set everything on fire.

But here is the paradox. The more we are together, the more we will be able to celebrate the Spirit’s gift of diversity. On that first Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came not to bless that small band of disciples and allow them to stay exactly the way they were before. The Holy Spirit came and gave them a whole new church. At the beginning of the day of Pentecost there were probably less than 100 Christians in the whole world. At the end of that same day there were more than 5000 Christians. And what a diverse group they were, people from all kinds of backgrounds, languages, races. God’s spirit in those first disciples made them open not just to tolerating diversity, but to embracing it. You can read the story as a miracle if you like – that business of the disciples speaking in different languages – but I like to think of it as the disciples learning how to communicate to everyone in ways they would understand. That’s more than a matter of language. If we want the gift of the Holy Spirit in Pilgrim Church we need to be ready and willing to reach out and embrace all the wonderful diversity that is in Chattanooga. We have to find new ways to communicate the good news. That sometimes means new forms of worship, new kinds of programs, new styles of evangelism, and new types of service. A church that wants and seeks God’s renewing spirit will be a place of constant experimentation and change. Why? Because we worship and serve a God who is always doing a new thing.

Last week, Jonathan (Sloan) reminded us that a church should be measured not by being successful but by being faithful. I think a church should also realize it is more important to be faithful than respectable. We have to be willing to challenge the status quo for the sake of Christ even if we look foolish doing it. In his sermon Peter quoted from the ancient Hebrew prophet Joel who promised that whenever God’s spirit comes to renew and revive God’s people, this will involve all people – young and old, men and women, yes and G.L.B.T. In other words, a church that seeks Pentecostal renewal will be open to the insights and energies of all ages and kinds of people. That’s when real renewal takes place. But if we don’t take that kind of risk the result can be tragic.

The first church I ever served was in Niagara Falls, New York. The Niagara River runs from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. About three quarters of the way down its length it goes over the magnificent falls. Above the falls from Buffalo to Tonawanda, the river is filled with fishing boats and pleasure craft. But about two miles from the falls there are huge signs in the river warning boaters to go no farther. If they do they risk being carried over the falls. The boats’ motors will not be strong enough to overcome the current. Friends, that’s a parable of life. Sometimes it may seem to us that things in our own life, in the life of our church, are calm enough and safe enough. Foolishly we believe that we can keep going in the same direction forever even when warning signs tell us we are getting closer and closer to danger, closer and closer to the point of no return. Then suddenly, sadly, tragically, we wake up to our peril too late.

Relying on God’s Spirit of renewal and power that won’t happen. The fires will continue to burn brighter. God will give us a better future than any past we have known. Thank God. Thank God.