MULTIPLYING MINISTRY

June 17, 2012 MULTIPLYING MINISTRY Dr. John E. Harnish First United Methodist Church Birmingham, Michigan Scripture: Acts 15:36-16:15 I suppose you could call it God s pyramid plan. Or you could call it the Amway approach to evangelism. I d call it multiplying ministry. I was never very good at math, but I do know the difference between addition and multiplication. If you add two plus two, you get four. But if you multiply two times two okay, that is not a very good example. If you add four plus four, you get eight. If you multiply four times four, I think it is closer to sixteen. And if you add sixteen plus sixteen, you get thirty-two. But if you multiply sixteen times sixteen what do you get? Right 256. In the book of Acts, it s all about multiplying ministry. Unfortunately, contemporary American Methodism seems to have missed that session in third grade. We seem to have settled for subtraction and division rather than addition and multiplication. Since 1968, the Detroit Conference has almost consistently lost about one percent a year in our total membership and we are closing more churches than we are opening. Meanwhile, Methodism in Africa is growing by leaps and bounds, and in places like Cuba, the churches are full to overflowing. They know the difference between adding and subtracting, multiplying instead of dividing. That is the vision of the Book of Acts a church multiplying in ministry. During these next four weeks I invite you to read the whole book of Acts. We are going to be looking at Luke s history of the early church to see what the Word might have to say to us about ministry in our day, and maybe chapter 15 is a good place to begin. It s one of the turning points, or tipping points, in the life of the fledgling church. What about times of conflict and division? Can those be moments of multiplication? And what about boundaries and barriers? Can the Gospel reach a new population and a new world in new ways in a new day? Listen for God s word in Luke s account: And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, Let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are. Now Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the

brothers to the grace of the Lord. And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches. Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium. Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily. And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, Come over to Macedonia and help us. And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. So, setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city some days. And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay. And she prevailed upon us. (Acts 15:36-16:15) We re talking about what is today western Turkey, northern Greece, just south of Bulgaria, around the Aegean Sea. In a day before 747s, this was quite a trip by horseback or chariot, or probably on foot, from Jerusalem up through Antioch in present-day Syria and around the end of the Mediterranean Sea. It was an incredible journey for their day. Luke says they got as far as Antioch and they faced a donnybrook, a turning point, a tipping point for the team. Let s be honest living and working together in community has never been easy, and team ministry has never been easy. No wonder we have so many independent churches in America. Did you hear the story about the guy who was stranded all alone on a desert island? He was there for years until he was finally rescued. Before they left the island, he was showing his rescuers around the house he had built, the garden he had planted, and his small chapel for worship. But then the rescuers looked off in the distance and saw another little church on the other side of the 2

island. They asked, Whose church is that? And the man said, Oh, that used to be my church, but I don t go there anymore. So Paul and Barnabas have a disagreement about the makeup of the team and what to do with John Mark. Paul doesn t want him because he feels like he had let them down, but Barnabas believes in him and wants to give him a second chance. Luke says the disagreement became so sharp, they decided to go their separate ways. Barnabas and John Mark head to the island of Cyprus and Paul and Silas bear north and west across present-day Turkey, so that even out of their disagreement, ministry is multiplied. 1. In Antioch, the first lesson at this turning point, this tipping point, is that God can use any event to multiply ministry. In some ways, of course, it s tragic that Paul and Barnabas would get to the point of splitting the team. But lo and behold, God uses even their disagreement for the spread of the Gospel in these two directions. I suppose you could probably say the same about Martin Luther. His desire was not to split the church but to bring renewal within the church, but once the Reformation was let loose, God used it to spread new life and faith across Europe and around the world. You could probably say the same thing about John Wesley. He had no intention of breaking away from the Anglican Church, but once the Wesleyan revival was let loose, God used it to change the course of history and touch the world with grace. I m not advocating for division in the church. I am a firm believer in ecumenism and the unity of the Body of Christ. But I also believe in a God who can work in all things for good with those who are called according to his purpose, and that this creative God can even use our conflict and challenge for the sake of multiplying ministry. Regrettably, the recent General Conference demonstrated that we United Methodists are not all that united on a number of issues, issues which have the potential to deeply divide us. In fact, our disagreements are evidently so deep they couldn t even agree to pass a statement acknowledging our disagreement. I, for one, am deeply committed to the unity of the church. But I still believe that God can work even in our divisions to multiply ministry through the life of our church around the world, and even days of conflict can become moments of creativity for the Spirit to work in us. If you hadn t noticed, we are in the midst of some significant change in our facility and with staff transitions. I firmly believe that every transition, every change can be an opportunity for new ministry, a tipping point for the renewing and creative the work of the Holy Spirit within. Amid all of our human foibles and failures, our mistakes and misdeeds, even our sinfulness and selfishness, God works for good through the lives of his people and for the sake of ministry. One more example: John and Charles Wesley made only one trip to America. They came to Georgia as missionaries for the Anglican Church in great hope and high calling, but they left amid conflict and dispute, discouragement and personal despair. Ask LaVere Webster about Sophie Hopkey and John Wesley as the jilted lover. Had they not left the colony, they probably would have been kicked out. But out of that debacle John Wesley returned to London, and it 3

drove him to Aldersgate where, on May 24, 1738, he felt his heart strangely warmed. And over the past 275 years, the flame of Methodism has warmed the world with the power of God s Spirit, literally multiplying ministry around the globe. Antioch, the first turning point in the story, is a point of conflict and division, but God can use any event for the sake of multiplying ministry. 2. The second turning point comes in Troas. The question is, Can the Gospel reach a new population, a new people? Can God use anyone for the sake of multiplying ministry? Here, at this second turning point, Paul found himself at the very edge of his world literally. He got as far west as Troas on the western coast of present-day Turkey, and the question was, Do we double back in the region we have known or do we cross over the Aegean Sea into a whole new world; moving out of the confines of Asia into the unknown reaches of the Roman empire? That night, Paul had a dream, a vision of a man from Macedonia saying, Come over and help us. The call, the question, is: Can we jump the barriers that separate us, the seas that seem to divide us? Can the church reach a new generation of youth and young adults? Can the Good News penetrate a society that has not so much turned against religion as simply ignored it as irrelevant? Can God use any of us, all of us, for multiplying ministry? In this short narrative, look at the people God is able to use, and look at the way the Gospel spreads: Barnabas and John Mark go to Cyprus and the church is planted there. Paul and Silas picking up young Timothy as they head west visit on their way. Luke says that along the way, the churches were strengthened in the faith and increased in numbers daily. Finally they arrive in Philippi, where they meet with a group of women including Lydia, a businesswoman of her day, seller of purple fabric, who will become a leader in the church, the first clergywoman with a church meeting in her home. Just look how the Gospel spreads crossing barriers of distance and language and culture, reaching teenagers like Timothy and women like Lydia, using everyone to multiply ministry. On this Father s Day, I am remembering my father. My faith and life and ministry can be tracked back to my mother and dad and their faith. Since both my brother and I are pastors, people will often ask if dad was a pastor, as well. And the answer is no. Dad was a salesman. He ran an auto parts store, selling mufflers and tailpipes, water pumps and fuel pumps to the small service stations and gas stations around our community. His job, his business, was selling auto parts, but his love was serving Christ. He taught Sunday School and led in our church. He was active in the United Methodist Men and was a lay speaker, filling in for pastors in some of the small churches 4

scattered around the country outside our small town. He was a businessperson who, like Lydia, used his work and time to help spread the love of Christ. Can we share the story in ways that will communicate with a new generation? Can we speak in different languages and styles and cultures? Can we incorporate others in the ministry? That s why we offer an alternative worship like Shine. That s why we try new ventures in ministry like Friday Night Lights and Club 42. That s why we offer a creative Sunday School and welcome 400 children to VBS. That s why we open our doors to senior citizens in the CLC. That s why we are updating the outdated Fellowship Hall, assuring that this facility is accessible to all. The church must always be looking for new, creative ways of sharing the Good News, using all the gifts and talents of all of God s people for the sake of multiplying ministry. In some ways, Bill Lewis was a bit quirky and an unlikely candidate for the episcopacy. From Southern Illinois with a bit of a drawl, he was off-handed and frank. When he was running for that office, someone asked one of his friends, Is he really like that, or is he putting on an act? His friend said, If he was putting on an act, why would he act like that? I worked with Bill on several projects including EXPLORATION, the national event for youth interested in ordained ministry. I remember Bishop Lewis addressing a group of high school students at an EXPLORATION event some years ago. Bishop Lewis told those 800 youth about his own calling, and he ended by saying, I would like to say, If I can do it, you can do that, but that wouldn t be right. What I need to say is, If God can do it with me, he can do it with you. And that night, hundreds of youth came forward to give their lives to God in Christian service. My niece Deborah was one of them, and today she is a Social Worker with a Catholic service agency in South Carolina. Well, maybe Acts 15 is a pretty good glimpse of the church today, facing the same turning points, the same tipping points as Antioch and Troas: torn by divisions, seemingly going in different directions facing challenges and opportunities of reaching new people And the same questions confront us: Can God work through this all-too-human church to change the world? Can God work in difference and divisions to multiply ministry? Can God use even folks like you and me to break down barriers and spread the word? That s exactly what the story of Acts is all about, and that s exactly what God has in mind for us. 5