This morning instead of attending both services at Park church, I started the day out with a blast from the past, worshipping with the Gerry UMC folks, where I was pastor from 1981-1985. Pastor Heather had more of a meditation than a sermon, taken from Matthew 16's account of Peter's great confession of faith: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." In response, Jesus told him among other things, that "I will build my church, and the gates of death shall not prevail against it."
Much has been written about these words, and I've read and preached on them many times, but today it was one little word in the middle of Jesus' statement that grabbed my attention. Jesus said that the Church belongs to him; "I will build MY church" (emphasis mine). There have been times in my life when it looked like no one was building the church, that it was being torn down faster than I or anyone else could build. There was a time here at Park when a whole lot of people got angry and left, some to attend other churches, some to simply disappear from the ecclesiastical scene. Other churches may have benefitted, but there was no real "church growth." A lateral pass doesn't move the ball downfield towards the goal.
When congregations go through turmoil, it's often hard to see anything good coming from it. It's painful, people are hurt, the reputation of the church is smeared; it gets pretty ugly. Pastors especially, tend to identify so much with the church they are shepherding that they take personally all the garbage that gets thrown around. We wouldn't actually say it out loud, and may not even realize we are doing it, but we often are in danger of thinking the church belongs to us instead of Christ.
Of course, pastors are given responsibility for the care of the church. I took ordination vows of "Word, Sacrament, and Order;" and I can testify that things got pretty disorderly for awhile. In the middle of it all, I told my District Superintendent that since things fell apart on my watch, rather than simply walk away (which might have been easier), I wanted the opportunity to try to put it back together. I was given that opportunity, for which I am very grateful.
Park church is healthier now than it was before our meltdown over ten years ago. I never thought of the church or individuals in it as belonging to me, but it took hard times for me to really begin to understand that it belongs to Christ, and Christ alone. Three months ago I was able to turn over the reins to pastor Joe, who is doing a fine job, and whom I fully anticipate will lead Park to heights I could not reach. It took only about a week or two for the weight of responsibility to lift off my shoulders. In a whole new way, it's not my church anymore, even though it is "my church." It's not pastor Joe's, either. It is Christ's, which is a good thing, because he is the only one qualified to lead the charge against the gates of hell. And that's because he already stormed those gates, shattering its demonic defenses and leading captivity captive; all praise and glory to his Name!
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