CALLING AND COMPASSION: TWIN PRIORITIES FOR METHODISM 3. Word and Deed a defining measure of the church

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1 CALLING AND COMPASSION: TWIN PRIORITIES FOR METHODISM 3. Word and Deed a defining measure of the church Allow me to build upon the twin priorities I have previously offered to you: Calling a definite priority in all our work Compassion a distinctive priority in all our witness I now want to suggest that Word and deed is a defining measure of the church s life, both in work and witness. It is familiar ground for all of us who serve God as Methodists. It will always be a starting point for conversation about values and vision, as well as a key performance indicator with regard to our effectiveness. Word and deed belong together, confirmed as we observe:- The life and example of Jesus Christ The mission of the Twelve The practice of the early church The theology and missiology of the Methodist community around the world The gospel that we proclaim is always in praxis what is believed and preached must also be demonstrated in action. Truth for us is never merely analysed, but actualised. When we look at the Acts of the Apostles, we note that in the life of the early church, practical outworking, such as is described at the close of Acts 2 and 4, reinforced this point. There is a great deal that could be said on this theme, but each generation needs to articulate it in both theology and mission so as to help us face the challenge of the future. I draw your attention to the visit of Jesus Christ to his hometown of Nazareth Luke 4: This is the programmatic detail and outline of Jesus mission. As he comes to Galilee, he receives much popular attention. His teaching has clearly led to broader interest in all that he was about. The Nazarene synagogue is described by Darrell Bock as exemplifying Jesus teaching and claims. The position in Luke s Gospel is significant as the writer seeks to show the typical character of Jesus and the response to him. It is positioned immediately following the temptation account. Not only do the people reject Jesus, but they also refused to be sensitive to his expanded, inclusive mission. Luke places this account, which involves rejection, at the outset of his Galilean ministry. The Parish Mission model which we work within at Wesley Mission has a unique role in Australian church life, for it combines practical Christianity demonstrated in the participation in the total life of the community, including the struggle for justice, alongside a vibrant Christian witness. Too often these components are separated.

2 - 2 - From time to time, I am visited by leaders of significant churches around the world who want to know what it is that makes us who we are and what can be shared from our experience. Without being critical, I frequently find that people misunderstand us and fail to appreciate that both the scope of the work and the engagement with society is far more than kindly service; it is a thought-through understanding of mission. As I talk about Word and deed, let us keep in mind the visit of Jesus to Nazareth, which reminds us of the prophetic note of Jesus teaching, challenging those who were first listening to what he had to say. Word and deed permeates the New Testament and is helpfully expanded in the teaching of Paul, for example when he writes about what it means to be made alive in Christ: And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:17) If Word and deed helps to measure the life of the church, then I offer you three thoughts about what that can mean for us, by suggesting that we require:- A FRESH UNDERSTANDING OF WORD AND DEED We can continue in the belief that we are all happily committed to Word and deed or we could commit ourselves to opening up what it means in ways that are fresh and reinvigorating for the church today. It was one of the reasons why the Central Mission Movement developed uniquely, but I suspect we need to return to those areas once again and ask what it is that we need to be about to be appropriate to our day. In terms of our own Wesley Central Mission that became Wesley Mission, this has involved:- A re-definition of mission refusing to accept old patterns which had a built-in theology of failure, believing that God wanted us to simply be faithful. Our mission must be prepared to push back boundaries. A re-appraisal of ministry refusing to accept the traditional patterns and being prepared to break new ground, continuing to write the charter of our ministry in the light of the needs of the world around us. I understand this as contextualising our theology. A re-assessment of basic assumptions we have believed that the church s nature, calling and effectiveness must be thoroughly questioned and new, pragmatic answers defined. In a city of over five million people, we recognise that if we are to penetrate the life of such a place, we must reassess all our basic assumptions. A re-consideration of what church growth might mean today to lift our understanding of the growth of the church and place it into a contemporary setting. We must identify those good news stories that make us who we are and share the learning with each other. A re-assignment of resources which challenges the way we draw boundaries and decide what our priorities are to be. Priorities must not simply be an extension of how things have been, but a willingness to envision what we believe God is asking of us as we move into the future.

3 - 3 - Jesus did not heal people at Nazareth, nor feed crowds, but called people in his hometown to participate in a new way of life, which would ultimately lead them to sharing in God s healing, reconciling and redeeming work. In the first three centuries after the death and resurrection Jesus, the early Christian movement experienced breathtaking growth. We must recognise that such growth happened even in the midst of active repression and at times brutal persecution by the state. We are bound to ask ourselves the question, How could this happen? Rodney Stark, a sociologist from the University of Washington, wrote The Rise of Christianity. It was his contention that the early church grew and flourished not despite the harsh environment in which it was birthed but, at least in part, because of it. Stark pointed to two epidemics that swept through the Roman Empire during that time, killing up to a third of the population. Just try to imagine being in the midst of a global epidemic, where it was extremely possible that one in three of your friends and loved ones would die. If epidemics like those that struck Rome in 165 and 251 were to strike our community in 2018, how would we respond? The ruling classes of the day headed out of the city, putting as much distance as they could between themselves and the poor, sick and suffering. In contrast, whole communities of Christians stayed. Living in dangerous places, expressing compassionate care to those in need became their priorities. It could be argued that we are seeing a similar dynamic in developing countries today. The church is growing and thriving where it is able to embrace people who are struggling in the face of economic injustice and political oppression. In contrast, in parts of the world where people are experiencing greater comfort and material wealth, the church is being pushed to the margins. When Jesus came to Nazareth, he took the scroll which he was to read from. He spoke from Isaiah 61, which we listen to in a very different world, but we recognise the powerful thoughts encapsulated in those words:- Good news to the poor Freedom for the prisoners Recovery of sight for the blind Release for the oppressed Words about helping the poor resonate in all our cities today. Pitt Street, where our headquarters are located, has on its ground floor a centre where folks who need food are helped, clothes are made available, and people are pointed in the direction of medical support. The growth of food banks across the western world is raising all kinds of questions. A number of years ago, I asked our people to engage in empirical research and one of our first pieces was carried out with the homeless, where we discovered that the one thing that homeless people in the city of Sydney didn t need was more food but what they did need was care for their feet, access to accommodation and a whole host of other practical services. In the book Holy Sweat, Tim Hansel tells of a guest preacher in a rather large church, probably described as a Tall Steeple church in North America. He began by saying, There are three points to my sermon. Most people yawned at that point. He went on to say, My first point is this. At present there are

4 - 4 - approximately two billion people starving to death in the world. The reaction of the congregation was about the same, since they had heard that kind of statement many times. My second point and people sat up, because this was very early to get to the second point. My second point is that most of you don t give a damn! He paused again, as there were gasps and rumbling around the congregation, and said, And my third point is that the real tragedy among Christians today is that many of you are now more concerned that I said damn than you are about the two billion people starving. A FULLY INTEGRATED PATTERN OF CHURCH LIFE I am utterly convinced that having a silo mentality in mission and church life is dangerous. I see this in relation to so much of the work that I am engaged in. When people come to Wesley Mission and one of our emergency homeless centres, we naturally have to look at their situation to assess what kind of help we can give. There are many different needs, among which are:- Nowhere to sleep that night Economic needs with no money to pay Dysfunctional family situation Substance abuse issues Mental health challenges If we merely concentrate on one of these, we will never deal with the whole person. It is also true that when we think of church life, we are in great danger of separating aspects of our work. Too often we talk about:- Mission at home and abroad Property and finance priorities Ministry and laity The Sanford Hotel in San Francisco reported that they never lost a single Bible in the fifteen years that they placed them at the bedside as a service to guests. But, in one month, after starting to put dictionaries in the same rooms, forty-one dictionaries disappeared. This may tell us the importance that is attached to each of them. Luke s Gospel very typically more than any other stood for those who were viewed as second class citizen and those condemned to sit at the back of culture s bus and that is why Jesus sermon is so powerful not just what we read in Isaiah, but in his Old Testament references to Elijah and Elisha. It is no wonder people were furious. For nine years, I pastored a very large suburban church and it was at the time that Bishop David Shepherd had a very engaging ministry in the city of Liverpool. I met David and appreciate his ministry. One of his books was entitled Bias to the Poor, which was not altogether welcomed by some in our church community. Here in his inaugural address, Jesus announced what scripture proclaims throughout and that is that God has taken a preferential option on behalf of the poor. When Jesus finished reading from the prophet, he said, Today these

5 - 5 - words are fulfilled in your presence. This bold claim should flow through all aspects of our mission. Jesus gave two examples which were familiar to his hearers. He talked about a severe famine and the fact that Elijah chose to visit the unlikely widow in Zarephath. He told of Elisha and how Naaman the Syrian was cleansed from leprosy. The unlikely person can become offensive. I recently filmed The Man of Galilee a series for Australian television, and when filming I stood at the edge of the city of Nazareth. The area was covered in broken glass and rubbish and somehow I wanted it to be neat and tidy but life is not and Jesus calls us to those places which are challenging. A FUTURE CONFIDENCE ABOUT OUR MISSION No-one is more passionate about the origins of Methodism and the desire for a renewal and revival of what John and Charles brought, but I believe we would be ill-advised to labour parallels between either the religious or the social conditions of two worlds. There is no doubt:- A widening gulf between the culture of church and the communities in which we are set A deepening sense of irrelevance being articulated by a new generation A growing prevalence of secularisation There is a wonderful Charlie Brown story that speaks to us here. He and Lucy are on a cruise ship. Lucy, as usual, is playing philosopher/psychologist and says Charlie Brown, you see those folks up there? They have their deck chairs facing the front of the ship. They are the futurists, the long-term planners, looking at what s ahead because they want to be ready. Then you see those folks back there, they have their deck chairs facing the stern of the ship they are the introspective crowd. They are interested in history and what we can learn from where we have been. And those folks over there they have their deck chairs facing the side of the ship they don t care where they are going. They don t care where they have been, they are only interested in the now. They want to celebrate today and everything about it. Now Lucy asks the penetrating question, Now Charlie Brown, I just want to ask you one question. On the ship of life, which way is your deck chair facing? Charlie Brown responds, Gee Whiz, Lucy, I am still trying to find out how to open mine up. Word and deed can tear down the walls that divide. We can reconstruct in our day an appropriate missiology that will challenge the harsh extremes. We are very familiar with Ephesians 2:8-10. The section contains, For we are God s handiwork, created in Jesus Christ to do good works