{For the next three weeks, we will be focusing our worship on ‘Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations’ by Robert Schnase[1]. This is week 3 of the series. The focus is Intentional Faith Development}
Recently at one of our confirmation classes, the topic of Jim Jones and the Jonestown massacre came up. I was astonished to learn that although this human catastrophe was such an important part of my faith paradigm, not all of our young people were familiar with the sadness and loss of that event.
This horrific event has been described as, ‘The greatest single loss of American civilian life in a non-natural disaster until the events of September 11, 2001, the tragedy at Guyana also ranks among the largest mass suicides in history. One of those who died at the nearby airstrip was Leo Ryan, who became the only Congressman murdered in the line of duty in the history of the United States.’[2]
Many of us might also be surprised to know that Jim Jones wasn’t always the egotistic cult-leader we remember him to be in his days of the People’s
His people did not begin as mindless soldiers in Jones’ army. They began as faithful followers of God who heard a message that sounded good and followed with itching ears and good intentions. But it was not enough and as Jones tightened his grip on the lives of his congregation many found that they could not leave even though they wanted to.
In this morning’s scripture portion from Acts, Peter has just gone out on a theological limb. He has heard the voice of God – of so he believes – and gone to the home of Cornelius – a gentile. While he is there, in fact just as he begins to speak, the Holy Spirit falls upon those who are listening and to Peter baptizes them.
At he returns to
Those first two options would be taking the easy way out. They are appropriate for those who either don’t care or are determined not to change their beliefs. As our scripture reading tells us, the Jewish Christians took the third choice, the harder part, the higher part and they called Peter to account for his actions.
They call him to account and as a result the entire church is enriched, the Spirit of God is seen as flowing fully to the redemption of the Gentiles – but this took time, and effort and commitment – and it took more than an hour a week of their time.
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If God is to be our Rock and our Fortress, and our Redeemer and our Salvation, we need to be able to trust in it and we need to know – really be well acquainted with – the One who makes it so. This takes more than an hour a week. I think that an hour a day would hardly scratch the surface.
If we really believe – if we have a faith that matters – that makes a difference in our lives – that changes us from the inside out - we will see the world differently.
But faith is more that warm fuzzy feelings. Faith is more than a shelf full of cute angels or a collection of precious moments figurines or a bumper sticker that says, ‘I’m saved! Are you?’ or that cautions, ‘Warning: this car will be empty at the rapture!’
To be people of faith we need to be continually learning – just like those early Jewish Christians. We need to be committed to spending time in the presence of God. We need to be disciplined in our study because without discipline our best intentions will fail.
What do we believe? What do we know about Jesus? About the Bible? About Salvation? Faith Development requires working toward a deeper faith and like anything else we might learn, it takes intentionality. It takes discipline and it takes time.
Faith is not a one time decision, it is a journey, a process that will change us and mold us and grow us up into Christ – and it doesn’t happen as we sit quiet and still on the sidelines.
Lively, healthy and fruitful congregations – and lively and healthy and fruitful Christians need more time in the presence of God than a Sunday worship service can provide. It is not a failing of you, or the church, or the pastor or the service. It’s simply that an hour is not enough.
Robert Schnase writes: ‘Christ’s gracious invitation through Radical Hospitality invites and welcomes us, and God’s transforming presence in passionate Worship opens our hearts to Christ’s pardon, love and grace, creating in us a desire to follow. Growing in Christ requires more than weekly worship, though, and it is through Intentional Faith Development that God’s spirit works in us, perfecting in us the practice of live as we grow in the knowledge and love of God.’[3]
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As we all know, water that is not moving is stagnant and stagnant water can be dangerous. In my visits to
As the river races 2500 miles to the ocean, it is a dull brown color because of all the silt it contains – in fact children there think that the color of water is brown not blue – and it is difficult to see anything below the surface. But there is plenty going on. If you slip into a dugout canoe and paddle up the side streams, you can see that many villagers place fishing nets across small areas at the side of the streams and as evening approaches you can see them pulling out beautifully colored fish just in time for supper.
But as the water retreats every year, there are certain spots that get cut off from the river and become small lakes. There are other areas that during high water season are flowing streams and at low water season become little dead ends where there is water, but it’s not moving anywhere.
This non-moving water becomes stagnant. The plant matter that accumulates in it decomposes and the water changes from murky brown to black as it waits there for the next high water season. I learned from my guide that people never go into the black water and lots of animals avoid it because that is where the piranha live.
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If we are not intentional about what is important to us, our spiritual lives, like the streams in the Amazon, will get cut off from the main river, become a dead end and become brackish and still. Who can imagine spending only an hour a week with a spouse? A child? A friend? Who among us could have raised our children by spending an hour a week with them and then letting them fend for themselves?
The best place for followers of Christ to learn about Christ is in community. It is through Sunday School, mid-week Bible study, faith-based support groups, Presbyterian Women, retreats and even the training sponsored by the Presbytery each year.
While I was in seminary, professors told assured me that sermon preparation would become a wonderful source not just of learning, but of faith. They said that as the practice of sermon preparation became a matter of daily diligence the scriptures and even all the reference books that were written by Godly men and women would speak to me of the spirit of God and that the preparation of sermons would be a wonderful time of study, but more than that it would be a wonderful time of devotion. And they were right. I can’t wait to get to my books in the morning. I look forward to seminars and classes. The more I learn, the hungrier I am to know more, to see more, and to be more in the presence of the living God.
In this morning’s gospel portion, it is clear that the lives of everyone in our text were changed and reshaped by their relationship to Christ. And the same thing should hold true for us. A relationship with God changes things, changes us, grows us, enlivens us – but it can’t be done without spending time in the presence of the living God. It won’t happen if we wait for a passing inspiration or if prayer is only for times of desperation. Everyone wants to want to study the Bible – but without discipline and intentionality it will never happen.
As the early disciples began to follow Jesus and form themselves into the early church, they didn’t know everything they needed to know about Jesus and the plan of God. They did not understand the mystery of the two-fold nature of Jesus, the intricacies of the Trinity, the nuances of God’s redeeming grace.
Through many centuries of prayer, thought, debate and even fistfights, they would begin to learn – and now, centuries later we are still far from knowing everything – still far from seeing everything there is to know about the holy.
Like the people in the Amazon, we too may live along streams that are brown and murky. We may be able to put out hands into the water and feel the steady flow of the Spirit but not be able to see past the surface to the beauty that lies underneath. To see the beauty below, we need to be intentional in our study; we need to cast our nets into the streams of living water before we can pull out beautiful jewel colored fish that will feed our souls.
Can we commit to be intentional and disciplined in our time before God? Led by the Holy Spirit, can we commit ourselves to spend time in the Holy Presence, grow in knowledge and grace and in reverence? Can we cast our nets for the things of God to harvest lives of grace and joy? With God’s help we can.
Amen.
[1] Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations by Robert Schnase, published by Abingdon Press,
[2] Brazil, Jeff. "Jonestown's Horror Fades but Mystery Remain." Los Angeles Times. December 16, 1999.
[3] Ibid, p. 63.
