"Beyond the Pew" - Luke 10:1-11 - July 4, 2004

My wife and I recently returned from a trip to Maryland. On the way we traveled through a number of cities and towns. One of the things I observed was number of church steeples penetrating the city skylines. I also noticed that most of the towns had many newer buildings and skyscrapers. The churches, however looked exactly like they did a hundred years ago. It seems as though our cities and towns are growing and changing but our churches are staying the same.

I wonder if that is true of our faith. Do we grow and make improvements, changing our mission and focus as the world changes, or are we stuck, doing the same things, studying the same material, perpetuating customs and rituals that are outdated and foreign to younger people?

In his book, Discontinuity and Hope, Lyle Schaller said that "the height of the steeple is no longer the influential bragging point" of the church. Today it is conveniently located parking. Hmmm. He also adds the necessity of a first floor nursery and space where people can fellowship. This he calls a "milling around" place. Like other church growth experts Schaller says we need to make changes in order to keep our faith relevant and growing.

In this passage, Jesus describes a church that is on the move. He wants his followers to be traveling from place to place, from people to people. He tells his followers to "Go!" Standing still was not an option. For Jesus it wasn’t enough to believe and stay in one place. To be persons of faith required movement, traveling, building relationships with strangers and visiting new places. In short, Christianity is a life beyond the pew.

It seems to me that Jesus is advocating a "mobile" faith. We grow, not by preserving the past but by expanding outward. We grow, not by building fences, but by building bridges. We grow, not by creating a museum but by creating new relationships.

We are called to be moving about, but we are also people with a purpose. That purpose, as Jesus taught, is to people who are bearers of peace. Jesus said, "Go as lambs in the midst of wolves." In other words, we are to be people who are gentle and kind, preaching hope not doom, and making peace with our neighbors.

When we were in Maryland last week we visited Assateague Island National Park on the East Coast. This is a natural refuge for wild ponies that have lived there for several centuries. No one knows exactly how they got there but they are protected and they have established the area as their natural habitat. On the island are campgrounds and picnic areas and the ponies roam about, calmly interacting with humans. It is amazing how tame they are unless of course they are pestered or tampered with.

Just as people can camp out on the Island of Assatteague and co-exist with wild ponies, Jesus wants us to co-exist with the "wild" ponies of life. He wants us to roam in other neighbors, other towns, and other cultures. He doesn’t want us to remain in one place, sheltered from people who are different than ourselves. He wants us to go to places we’ve never been before and interact with strangers.

Jesus also says that we are "to eat what is placed before us." Some religions require their members to go door-to-door, soliciting converts and promoting their own views. Jesus tells us to have no agenda. When we visit others we should be sensitive to their ways and customs, respective of their culture.

Jesus knows that moving about in unfamiliar territory won’t always bring success. There will be those who reject us and our message. In that case we are to "shake the dust off our shoes," and move on. God understands that our journey will have its failures and dead ends. Nevertheless, we are to keep moving and continue to be people of peace.

This is the fourth of July and I wonder how many are really aware of the task that George Washington had during the Revolutionary War. Washington’s army was badly outnumbered by the British. They also lacked adequate supplies and resources to keep up their campaign for independence. In Iraq we have 140,000 troops. Washington never commanded more than 20,000. They were badly underpaid, under clothed and often hungry. The colonial population could have fielded a much larger army and they had the resources to supply them. However, much of the problem was due to colonial farmers, who refused to accept Continental currency. And, the majority of people refused to fight or get involved because of the financial risk.

Does that same attitude plague the followers of Jesus today? Will it only be a small army of disciples who are willing to move about, extending peace and preaching hope? As Jesus said, "The harvest is great, but the workers are few."

Dr. Keith Wagner, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Sidney, Ohio