Romans 10:1-13
Mark 1:1-15
“Where
there is no counsel, the people fail; but in the multitude of counselors, there
is safety.” Proverbs
11:14
The heart of the Proverb
simply states “two heads are better than one”.
We have individual ideas about what needs to be done and how it needs to
be done, but different perspectives with varied experiences can help us to see
the same idea and the same goal much more broadly.
This is why church committees can often be seen as
unnecessarily cumbersome when the principle of local church governance is
misunderstood. The local church is not “run”
by any single individual; not the one with the most money, not the one who
screams the loudest or complains the most, and certainly not the pastor. The real power of the Church depends on an equally invested
Body participating equally toward the mission to which the Church is called – to make disciples -
not to cater to individual demands.
I remember an article I had read some years ago about
a church in a large city going to the “inner city” to have a picnic for an
“outreach”; to offer Christ to children and youth. With hot dogs and hamburgers and music and
games with prizes, a good time was had by all.
At the end of the time, the pastor called for everyone who was there to
“make a decision for Christ”. By the
host church’s account, “hundreds” came to The Lord that day.
The thing I never quite understood about these
“hundreds” – apart from the host church’s presumption that none had ever heard
of Jesus - is how their “decision for Christ” did not translate into new or
enhanced discipleship training programs for children at the host church; how
these “hundreds” did not translate into increased worship or Sunday school
attendance, or how these “hundreds” (who were presumably transformed) changed
the landscape of the “inner city” itself.
Now, of course this is a pretty narrow vision and may be
an unfair assessment of the overall success of this outreach effort. Maybe some among these “hundreds” did renew
their commitments to churches in their own neighborhood. Maybe the Holy Spirit really did reach out
and touch these “hundreds” just as “thousands” were so touched by the accounts
of Acts.
This church that went to all this trouble to step outside
their own bubble in the name of The Lord had the right idea and should be
commended; they just did not have a mechanism in place – or even a real desire
- to follow up, to disciple these “hundreds” and work to create real and
lasting relationships. The “hundreds”
may have decided in that moment for
Christ, but what they may have decided
after that afternoon in the park is anyone’s guess.
And the reason there is nothing left but a guess is
because there was no follow-up. The
church leading this charge only needed these “hundreds” to repeat the so-called
“sinner’s prayer” out loud to consider their efforts successful. Whether these “hundreds” would follow them to
their church was up to these who made their own decisions. The church did not feel it was their
responsibility after this – unless any of these “hundreds” would choose to follow
them back to their church.
Here is the reason why this host church – and many
others – ultimately fail with such one-time efforts: a decision for Christ is
not a once-and-done proposition. The “decision” must take much more into
account than what may be happening in that particular moment, and it is the
duty of the Church (the whole
Body) to make sure these decisions are fully understood and not made in a void.
No one wants to face eternal condemnation, of course,
but few seem to understand a decision for Christ can never be reduced to only “smoking
or non-smoking” – or any other such cheesy slogans – for all eternity. Discipleship and Christianity are much bigger
and much more holistic than this, involving the life that is now as well as life in
the world to come.
There was a period in the early church in which the
season of Lent was a time of preparation for catechumens to be baptized on
Easter Sunday. In that 40-day period it
was necessary for these future disciples to fast and to pray and to learn not
only about doctrine but to be given the time and information necessary to “count
the cost” of discipleship (Luke
14:28), Jesus Himself making it plain that following Him is a life and lifestyle choice that can often come at extreme risk – as our
brothers and sisters in China and Iran and in other parts of the world can
attest to, extreme risks we know nothing about.
Ideally when we make a decision about anything that
has the potential to be life-changing, we’ve done our homework. We’ve consulted experts in a particular
field, and we’ve considered the experiences of those who had gone before us,
and we have made sure the mechanisms are in place to ensure continued success. It is no less so in making a decision for
Christ, because it will be far from over once that decision is made. The decision
itself is only the beginning.
Baptism, as a genuine Sacrament of the Church, must
also be understood beyond the ritual.
Whether we are receiving a youth or an adult in baptism who had not
known the Covenant or parents presenting their infants or toddlers to be
baptized, there is a principle in John’s baptism that is often overlooked and
involves the entire congregation. That
principle is in John’s calling to “prepare the way”.
The “way”, of course, is affirmed by
Jesus Himself (John 14:6); but we
have often been confused about how One who was “born without sin” would even
need to go through the ritual of baptism.
The Apostles’ Creed affirms “one
baptism for the forgiveness of sins”, but that statement requires a basic
understanding of the doctrine of original sin but still does not explain Jesus’
decision to be baptized. When we
understand baptism as a “beginning”, however, rather than a destination or a
single “decision”, then it begins to make more sense.
This “ritual” is reserved for those who are willing to
fully repent; to prepare for and seek life in a whole new direction. This “ritual” is only the portal through which
to enter. It is not the destination. And we must decide not only to follow Jesus
through this portal but beyond as well.
For us today, this standard is equally applicable to
parents who present their children to be baptized. Even if the child is not yet able to make his
or her own “decision for Christ”, the parents AND the Church are stepping
outside of their own bubbles and are making a vow to our Holy Father.
In the fullness of appreciating the depth and the breadth of that vow to teach – young and old
alike – we are putting ourselves on the Holy Line in promising one and all that
this “decision” must not end in that moment, that this “decision” settles nothing.
It is not possible for humans to know all there is to
know about doctrine, theology, or the Kingdom itself. For this, then, we have faith; faith enough
to trust, faith enough to learn and to teach, faith enough to continue – because discipleship (“following
Christ”) is hard, pure and simple. As it
is often said, if we find being a Christian to be easy and comfortable, we are
not doing it right. Or perhaps it could
be said we’re not doing it at all.
There is nothing wrong with engaging in a “personal”
relationship with The Lord … until it becomes an “exclusive” relationship that
does not involve and include the whole “ekklesia”, the Body, the congregation. When we serve as our own exclusive “counsel”,
according to the Proverb, we are
facing imminent failure in some form or fashion. Perhaps when we choose to stand alone and are
challenged for our faith or tempted beyond our capacity to resist, we may
likely falter.
There is no real support, no real encouragement, no
real accountability when we “decide” to stand alone. And if we believe the Bible to be the “unerring”
Word of God, we cannot discount the wisdom of the Proverb which serves to advise us that we need one another. This need is the fullness of The Body of
Christ and the measure of spiritual “safety” – when we can depend on, rather
than to be suspicious of, one another.
We must not seek out “guarantees”, but rather “safety”
in decisions that can be affirmed and supported … or rightly challenged and
corrected when we “decide” to stray too far from the safety of the “multitude
of counselors” who have vowed to have our backs. This will always involve the “decisions” we
make daily according to the “Decision” we made long ago.
When a decision for Christ is made, it must be made
with the full assurance of not only the Holy Spirit but the manifestation of
Christ in the world today: the Holy Church.
This is our affirmation that this “decision” was the right one, and the
Church stands as the assurance that we will never be sorry for the “decision”
we made.
Let it be so; in the Name of The Father, the Son, the
Holy Spirit. Amen.
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