Laity Sunday Half-Sermon

First Christian celebrated Laity Sunday on January 24.  The Transition Team of First Christian led the worship service with Board Chair Tom Curry and longtime member Bobbie Hall giving the sermon for the day.  Below is the text of Tom’s part of the sermon.

As a look around this sanctuary today I can’t help but wonder what I am  doing up here talking to you.  I am not a lifelong member of this  congregation.  Heck,  I am not even a lifelong member of this  Denomination. However for the past 31 +years the Disciple  denomination has been a big part of the life of my family.  Nancy and I
have moved numerous times. Before each move one of the first things we would do is look for a Disciple church in the city where we were moving to.  You see no matter where we lived we could always find  peace and friendship at church.  From a congregation of 10` to one of  150 it was always the same. Smiling faces coming to you with open arms.  And it is no different here.  My family was accepted here and we have been able to continue our service of the Lord and meet many  great people.  And my hope is that the same opportunity will be offered to others NOW AND IN THE FUTURE here at First Christian Church Minneapolis.

This is the task at hand for not only the transition team but this congregation.  Many questions need to be answered:  How do we maintain a vibrant loving caring congregation?  What is the future going to bring? Where are we going to worship? Are we going to be financially stable enough to continue?  These are tough questions but must be answered in the future.  The loving, caring and serving part is the easiest.  As a congregation I see this as a positive. No matter where we are in the future this congregation I am sure will continue to serve the Lord and the community as we have in the past. We may feel we are not doing enough in the community but remember the size of the congregation today. Daily we continue to find new ways and ideas to serve God and the community.

The financial part is a tough one.  Last year only 57% of income was from pledges the rest from proceeds of the sale.  Next year the numbers are about the same. To ease this financial burden there are a number of options.  But one thing is for sure we cannot continue to survive in this building.  We can continue to stay the current path but in a few years the interest income money from the sale of the building will be gone,  then what? We could live off the rest of the money but what happens when that runs out. Some options to consider too ease the money situation could be to down size to a smaller church or a shared space with another congregation.

What does the future bring?  That is a different story?  You have already agreed for money to be used to start a second service to try and attract the younger 20-40 generation. Over the coming weeks, the Transition team will be meeting with other congregations in similar situation as ours to gather more ideas on how we should proceed. The Transition team is currently reading and studying the book Were are Here Now; a book about church transformation.   One of the main points of the book is there are no quick fixes or easy answers.  It takes hard work and dedication to transform.

During one of our transition team meetings we were asked to think about what our ultimate dream would be for First Christian Church Minneapolis. My first thought was of a beautiful large church. You know (The spotlight of the neighborhood).  It would be filled Sunday morning to capacity, with music and singing so loud that people could hear as they pass by.    Then I started to think what difference would a large congregation make.  Sure financial condition could improve with more members but in today’s economic environment even the larger congregations are struggling to survive with finances and loss of membership.  With more members more ideas and decisions to be made I thought about the congregation. How close would it be?   Would everyone know everyone? You see,  bigger is not always better.

Approaching is the anniversary of this congregation that was started by those 22 people not in a huge church or sanctuary but in a home. They continued to meet and grow I am sure not always agreeing with how they should proceed. There were trials and tribulations. But through prayer, hard work and compromise a congregation was born.

As we transition into the future we will experience those same trials and tribulations as our brothers and sisters in did in the past. There will be disagreement and much discussion. As a transition team we cannot make snap decisions. Decisions shall thoroughly be thought out and evaluated.   One thing for sure we cannot continue to do things the same. As the old saying goes if you continue to do things the same way you can expect the same results.  All of us need to move into the future with open minds and be willing to accept things that we may not totally agree with.  I am sure each of us has our own thoughts on how we should proceed.  But one thing is for certain we must change and be open to change.

I encourage you to think about what you would like First Christian Church to be in the future.  Much like Pastor Bob asked the Transition Team to do.   Share those thoughts with others as well as members of the Transition Team. Read about how other churches have survived during difficult times.  A couple of weeks ago there was an article about all the things a church in Michigan was doing even with high unemployment.  They continue to move forward in difficult times by working and praying together. They adapted to the changing of the times by serving in different ways.

But most importantly, go to God in prayer about the future.  Pray for his guidance for this congregation and the Transition Team.  Pray for a place that not only us but others can come to and experience God’s love and guidance. You see in the end it doesn’t matter what each of us wants.  It is what God wants us to do that matters.

Let us pray.

Dear Lord, we bow before you today a congregation many emotions.  Some of us are angry, some hurt, some scared and some excited.  Change and what the future might bring is scary.  Help us to get out of our comfort zone and be willing to try new things and be open to new ideas.  Be with the transition as they go about the task of helping to decide the direction of this congregation.  We ask that you comfort those who are hurting or scared and encourage those that are excited.  And we pray that the end decision will be the best way for us to better serve you and your needs of us. IN your holy name we pray,  Amen.