The Calling of the First Disciples
14After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15"The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!"
16As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." 18At once they left their nets and followed him.
19When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. 20Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.
The mayor of New York called pilot Sully Sullenberger’s maneuver, “Miracle on the Hudson”. It was a perfect landing and a perfect ending, everyone survived. The passengers called the rescue operation “controlled panic” and “orderly chaos” as urgency met compassion met survival met purpose. From the moment flight #1549 hit the Hudson to the last evacuee stepping on dry land drama was unfolding. At impact, desperate pleas and prayers “Lord, forgive me my sins” and Lord’s Prayer. Meanwhile, a guy named Josh Smith sitting in the exit row had actually read the instructions and calmly opened the emergency exit. Friendships were struck on a frigid wing. As the plane was sinking, there was the woman in the fur coat who asked a stranger to go back into the cabin and get her purse. There was SuperMom who was carrying her infant to safety and stepping over seats in a single bound. The frequent flyer that instinctively had his garment bag out on the wing with him.
And, Captain Sully who calmly walked down the aisle to confirm all were rescued.
A flotilla of boats, lifeboats, and ferries came to the rescue. Divers, police, medics, ambulance drivers, other first responders, ferry workers, city workers, and assorted volunteers. The rescuers required improvisation, personal risk, & commitment to the mission. Sully Sullenberger had a ballad dedicated to him on “Prairie Home Companion” by Garrison Keillor. He is legend now. The imperative to evangelize is not unlike sending those rescue workers to the helpless people on the Hudson. Jesus says God’s kingdom is here while sinners are lost, enslaved, and dead people walking. Christ died for absolutely everyone that all may live. We are all evacuees thru the waters of baptism with a story to tell. This is the most serious, urgent, and holy work on heaven & earth. The gospel is not reform but revolution, not the perfecting of virtues but the forgiveness of sins, not improvement, but resurrection from the dead. It means repentance, judgment, and death as the portal to new life. Grace comes to lost sinners, but in coming it disrupts them to the core. The bible is book of personal stories, dramatic testimonies, salvation history, series of rescues.
Today in our series on the ministries, the stewardships of Vinland Church we focus on evangelism. Christians of every age have struggled to define the church and our mission. Who are we and what are we here to do? This is difficult to do because ours is a divinely ordained human institution. Scripture and society give a variety of analogies. Most of us have our own favorite; the church is a family, hospital for sinners, a kingdom, a body, a business, a service organization, God’s vineyard, a neighborhood, mission outpost, a flock, or a lifeboat. The church is all of the above and more. We mustn’t concentrate on any one identity at the expense of all the rest. As we talk evangelism, my intention is to expand on the idea of church as lifeboat. Churches are God’s global flotilla here to invite those who are in grave danger of drowning in sin, self, fear, control, or death to get on board. We are the deckhands.
They didn’t ask any questions. When Jesus shows up on the shores of the Galilee to recruit Simon and Andrew, they didn’t ask any questions. There lives are about to be upended as Jesus promises to make them “fishers of people”. Pastor Cynthia Anderson says, “There’s no business plan, no evangelism outreach strategy, no job description, no interview, and no time to consider the pros and cons of the offer. I would have asked, ‘What’s your plan and how do I fit in?’ or ‘Once we catch these people, what are we supposed to do with them?” Mark’s Gospel is in such a rush. There is nothing about how Jesus was born, his baptismal account is abridged, and mostly skips over the temptation. Before you know it, Jesus is announcing transfer of power with operation salvation, “The time has come. God’s kingdom is at hand. Repent and believe the good news.” Clock’s ticking. Kingdom’s here. Repent now. Walking along the beach, Jesus recruits some guys for his new evangelism team. “Come follow me, & I will make you fishers of people. No nomination committee and they still sign on instantly. Mark’s Jesus has such a “take it or leave it” attitude.
Jesus is not much into marketing. Jesus tells these fishermen he wants them to be a part of his life and mission. They must decide what to do in response. Cut and dry. Marketing means identifying target consumers and try to satisfy those consumer needs better than the competition. Target the audience, develop strategic outreach, and launch edgy promotion in the local spiritual marketplace. A Christianity Today article, “People know exactly what we have to offer, so the church tends to be met with all the success of a door-to-door salesman who’s been working the same street for 2000 years. Non-Christians are used to us. They know there is a group out there that wants them to get saved. One-to-one evangelism is hard to do without sounding salesy”. The call to evangelism feels like it is up to us to be Jesus’ closer, seal the deal. A duly licensed ELCA franchise, Chicago stands behind our product.
Patricia Killen wrote a book called “The None Zone” because according to 2001 religious survey 63% of those asked said they were unaffiliated in the Northwest. In terms of religious preference, none is still the #1 answer. One pastor described evangelism in this region, “It takes forever to get people in the door. If they stay, it takes people forever to be committed enough to become members. And they will leave for any reason”. Staying with the fishing metaphors this is “catch & release”.
Northwest people are spiritual but not traditionally religious. They like their brand of faith personal not institutional. People are connected but to non-profits, politics, school, or youth sports. Our task is complicated in our county because so much of our potential guests are transient. A religion professor says that when people cross the Cascades Mountains most throw their religious tradition out the window. This is the last frontier. They are not here to recreate the past but to build a future. That means we must do more than put an advertisement in the newspaper. But, what?
Jim Sinegal sounds like a Bishop talking, “All you can do is relate the successful experiences you’ve had. What else have we got besides stories? That’s what really hits home with people; it’s what brings meaning to the work we do. Telling stories speaks volumes”. Sinegal is not a Bishop or bureaucrat, he is the CEO/founder of Costco. If the guy who markets mountains of merchandise & brought us truly bulk items, depends on stories how much more should we who are the witnesses for the Greatest Story Ever Told. Those rescue stories around Flight #1549 were moving. SuperMom, commandeering boats, guy with the garment bag, passengers dripping wet with salvation stories to tell. That is precisely what the church has to share. Stories from people dripping wet from baptism, Busy Moms blessed and being a blessing, seniors sustained by Word and Sacrament, guys forgiven who will gather to eat meat and laugh, lives commandeered by the Spirit; all called to be fishers of people. It is not about being the closer or in sales for Jesus. Evangelism means good news. It is about getting other on board the lifeboat and join the celebration.
Among the hundreds of thousands at the inauguration in D.C. this last week were 400 disadvantaged who came as guests of a charity group. The Stafford Foundation spent $1.5 million to put them up at a Pennsylvania Avenue hotel. When asked why his foundation was doing this, Earl Stafford said, “I was inspired- we are a Christian family. We were inspired to do something for the underserved.” With over 8000 applicants they picked 400 for a cross-section of America; including homeless, disabled veterans, street youth, the elderly, and living in rural poverty.
Stafford’s wife and daughter advised him that if these people are going to come in then we should make this an elegant affair. They received donations of gowns and tuxedos, had beauty professionals available at the J.W. Marriot hosting the parties. There was a heavy schedule of prayer breakfasts, watching the parade from the hotel balcony, a private ball, and attending the inauguration in person. When asked why all the expense & fuss, Stafford said, “We’re hoping through this experience, even though their lives are not perfect, even they are disadvantaged and distressed, we want to inspire them to help themselves and to do something good for others”.
Jesus portrays the kingdom of God as a party; a wedding feast or celebration we have to have because the lost are found and the dead are alive. Our task is to reach to the unchurched, the dechurched, and the prechurched. Our work is not to just get them but to listen to them, tell our stories, rejoice together at the Lord’s Table. The kingdom of God is here. The great transfer of power from death to life and broken to healing is happening right here in this place, right now at this time, among mere mortals. Annual meetings are about recounting and rededicating ourselves to the story and the task. At best, this operation is still orderly chaos and controlled panic.
Our talents & tongues employ here in the None Zone, we trust Jesus is in the mix.
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