I walked into the church Thursday and I was overjoyed. It was July 5th — my daughter's eleventh birthday, but that wasn't the reason why I was overjoyed. We had just had a wonderful cookout the night before with our family and close friends and then we watched a spectacular fireworks display at Corporate Woods, but that wasn't the reason why I was overjoyed. It was a beautiful, warm, Kansas City day and I was about to have barbeque for lunch, but that wasn't the reason why I was overjoyed either. As I walked into the church, I turned and looked into the associate pastor's office...and saw Jennifer Parson setting up shop. That was the reason I was overjoyed! It has been twelve long months of flying solo. Jennifer, my feeble words cannot emphasize how good it is to have you here. Welcome to Colonial Church!
Yes, we are now at full staff. Last week you met our new Music Director Kirk Carson and our new organist Mark Langdon. Today, you are meeting Jennifer Parson. Next week we will "officially" celebrate and welcome all three of these new staff members to the Colonial family, but, for now, it is time to add them to our dream list. Yes, we have been dreaming quite a bit lately, and a full staff is something for which I have been dreaming for a long time. Maybe Disney is right! When you wish upon a star, your dreams do come true. (Now I just have to start playing Power Ball.)
But the interesting thing about dreaming is that when we dream it is usually a self-centered thing. We usually think about our personal goals, visions, and ambitions. The Dare to Dream campaign is about corporate dreaming: the goals, visions, and ambitions that we have collectively for Colonial Church. This may sound a bit simple, a bit trite even, but it is actually quite biblical — and it is good theological thinking.
Paul, into today's passage from Galatians, not only gives us a phrase that has become a cliché in our language ("you reap whatever you sow"); he also offers a verse that should be written in the bylaws of every congregation: verse 10 — "So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith." What an amazing verse. This is a concept that permeates Paul's writings. In some respects, it encapsulates his theology. Whatever we do should not just be for self-gratification; it should be for the good of all, for the good of the entire community. This first requires us to put the will of the community before our own will. It requires us to think in communitarian terms as opposed to individualistic terms. That may sound good on the surface — we may nod our heads when we hear such ideas — but deep-down, this runs counter to the way we usually think and operate.
I remember when I was a Student Minister. I was leading a Bible study. We were reading through the Book of Acts. I mentioned that the first Christians were very much like Communists. You should have seen the glares around the table. "Communists?" These diehard Americans who lived through the McCarthy-era were ready to crucify this wet-behind-the-ears seminarian with his radical, liberal ideas. "What do you means they were Communists?" they said, as if the first Christians were all patriotic, flag-waving Americans. "I didn't say they were Communists," I responded. "I said that they lived like Communists." "Where do you get that?" they asked. Acts 2:44-45. Right after Pentecost when the Church was born, we read: "All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need." They still didn't buy it and held me in grave suspicion — looking to see which political bumper stickers I put on my car during election season...just like people in Kansas City do.
No, I do not think that the first Christians were Marxist-Leninists, but they certainly lived a communitarian lifestyle that took the good of the community into consideration over personal gain far more than folks in contemporary churches do. When Paul speaks of "the family of faith" he is speaking of the church: "whenever we have an opportunity [not just sometimes or when we feel like it], let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith." It is not about complaining because I did not get it "my way." It is about adjusting our vision so that we see everything through the eyes of everyone.
And you know what? We at Colonial are beginning to do exactly that! Our Dare to Dream campaign is about constructing a common vision and it is already producing results.
We officially launched this campaign two weeks ago to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the United Church of Christ. To date we have had dozens of people volunteer to be on our Dream Teams — the groups who will do strategic planning in five areas: worship, outreach, education, fellowship, and facilities. We have also received special contributions to date that total over ten thousand dollars! These funds will replenish the Contingency Fund, provide revenue for new projects, and offset next year's budget. More importantly than that, though, there is a spirit in the air — a spirit that is infectious. It is an energy that you cannot help but want to be part of.
That spirit has to do with many things. It has to do with our Open and Affirming statement, which declares to the community at large that all people are welcome here no matter what makes them "different" in society's eyes. It has to do with the new staff members who will bring new inspiration, creativity, and direction to our congregation. It has to do with all of you who see this as "your church" — a church that is willing to take stands on tough issues, a church that is focused on mission (serving God in the service of others) — and, therefore, when you say that this is "your church" you do so with a deep sense of pride. It has to do with a Still Speaking God who is leading us into a future so wondrous, that we can only imagine what tomorrow has in store for us — knowing that whatever it is will far exceed our imagination. (Amen.)
This is not work done by any one of us or work done for the glory of any individual. This is work that is done for the good of all: those inside of our community and those beyond these walls. Ultimately, that is what it means to be church.
We are not being asked to be conformists — automatons who blindly follow the dictates of a leader or a denomination. We are being asked to be a people, a community bound together in covenant: a relationship of reciprocal love, support, and care who share a vision and a mission, who truly realize that their sum is greater than their parts. We are being asked to share Paul's vision of what it means to be the church: to be threads knitted together into a glorious fabric that is never quite finished — and so we search for others, more threads, to be part of this glorious, multicolored tapestry for the good of all and for the glory of God. Amen.
©2007 by Rev. John Tamilio III. All rights reserved.