Back in
November 2007 the band the Eagles released their first CD for 28 years. A two CD set of wonderfully crafted songs that include
a little ditty called “Do something.”
Back in early December our ‘40 days of
Purpose’ planning team had their first meeting. If you haven’t heard about the program already, here’s the
plan. During the 40 days of Lent this year we are encouraging every member of our church to read one chapter daily from Rick
Warren’s book “The Purpose Driven Life.” Alongside these daily devotions we will provide small group and
worship experiences that focus on the same material.
We are encouraging people to pray in a focused
manner that going through this process will help us as individuals and as a church to ask and answer the question “What
on earth are we doing here?”
Although such does not seem to be a revolutionary
or particular difficult thing to take on, it is something I’ve never done before nor suggested to a congregation that
we should do together. Whilst our first planning meeting went great, I was driving home afterwards with a head full of doubts
and questions, partly to do with the program, partly due to stuff going on in my own life, partly due to our church being
our church.
As I’d just encouraged everybody in the
meeting to pray; I was praying. “Lord, is this the right thing to do, the right time, the right place?” An unexpected
answer to prayer came as I slipped the Eagles CD into the player. I don’t expect God to speak through Don Henley!
The song has
the words;
“Do something
It's too easy not to care
You're not ready for the rockin' chair
Get
up and do something
Do something
Don't wait too long
Even if it's wrong
You've got to do something”
As I heard those words my mind started to clear.
There are a hundred reasons why we should or should not do such a program. There are a thousand different approaches we can
take to the situation we face. But I truly don’t believe that this congregation called me to be their Pastor so I can
sit on the church steps in a rocking chair shooting the breeze with whoever walks by!
“Don’t wait too long, even if it’s wrong, you’ve got to do something.”
Another reason those words resonated with me
is that in our young at heart Sunday School class we’ve been looking at the example of King Saul’s son, Jonathan,
and the passage we heard read earlier. Israel is at war with the Philistines, vastly out numbered and totally ill-equipped. All they have are two
swords. Saul is so convinced that right then was the wrong time to start picking a fight that he has retreated to the shade
of a palm tree and is hanging out with his buddies drinking pomegranate wine.
But Jonathan sees things differently. He sees
the situation as a God given opportunity. So along with his sword bearer he sneaks over to the Philistine camp saying; "Come, let us go over to the garrison
of these uncircumcised; it may be that the LORD will act for us; for nothing can hinder the LORD from saving by many or by
few." (1 Sam 14:6)
There is that glorious
phrase that he uses “It may be that the Lord will act for us!” Now
I can’t speak for everybody but if I am in a situation where I’m laying my life on the line, I want to hear more
than a “Maybe!” We have the benefit of hindsight in our story. We look at it and see that God turned the maybe
into a victory. Jonathan wasn’t in a position to press fast forward and see how it would all turn out.
All he knew was that the
situation called for somebody to “Do Something.” I know he’d never heard the Eagles singing, “Don’t wait too long, even if it’s wrong, you’ve
got to do something.” But he saw
a possibility that if he did something, God would intervene and do more than he could ever do, he saw an opportunity to turn
things around. He prayed to God, he didn’t get a “NO” so he decided to “GO.”
Friends this is a time that we have to do something!
I’ve been here three years and time and time again in church growth meetings, John Beaver, the current chair, has challenged
the committee “What can we do?” When I spoke to him about the “40 Days of Purpose” Program and invited
him to be the campaign director, he didn’t jump up and down and say, “Yes, this is it, this is the answer, this
will solve everything!” But he did agree to take it on and as he did so I swear I saw a ‘maybe’ in his eyes.
One of our newer members Alice Eanes is heading
up the prayer initiative. As I was looking for people to be on the team Alice came into my office. I’m sure she won’t
mind me sharing this but Alice isn’t from a Presbyterian background and she was wondering how she fitted in. We talked about
dreams and aspirations and how God has a habit of stretching our faith and giving us challenges we can’t possibly do
without Him, and suddenly she found herself saying “Yes” to heading up the prayer initiative.
At our first meeting Helen Walker came along.
Helen is not new to this church. She recalls days when Sunday School classes overflowed, when at meals the youth had to sit
on the steps because the place was overflowing, of the role prayer meetings and Bible studies had played in her upbringing.
How so many people had moved on and times had changed. She can tell you. Unless we want to carry on being the same, witnessing
further decline and carrying on like the goalposts are in the same positions then we’ve got to do something. And ‘maybe’
“40 Days of Purpose” is it!
Today is Epiphany Sunday, the Sunday when traditionally
the church focuses on the Wise Men and their journey to Bethlehem. We don’t know much about those 3 wise guys. They saw a star. It sent them on a journey. It
disappeared. They had to ask a dysfunctional puppet ruler called Herod for directions. (And we all know real men don’t
easily ask for directions.) Just as they are getting near (maybe even near to giving up) the star re-appears. They worship!
Then they go home by another way.
Now don’t tell me there wasn’t a
hundred times when one man on a camel looked at another man on a camel and said, ‘Maybe it’s this way?’
Or ‘Maybe it’s that way? Don’t tell me that when they saw the star had disappeared that somebody didn’t
say, ‘Do you think this is really it? Don’t tell me that even before they set off they hadn’t been asking;
“Should I stay or should I go?”
What happened? A light went on and they said
to each other “We’ve got to DO SOMETHING.” We can’t stay here dreaming dreams and staring at stars,
we have to do something. What if it’s the wrong thing? What if we are not interpreting this correctly? What if we get
lost along the way? Never mind. At least we can look back and say, “We tried” We took notice of the light we had
and sought to follow wherever it may lead.
Friends, testimony to the light that informs
us our way is laid out on this table before us in bread and wine. God has not left us wandering in the dark. He sent His Son
Jesus Christ to be our Savior. He sends His Spirit to be our Comforter, our Helper and our Guide. Around such a table is an opportunity to nourish ourselves for the journey.
At the start of this year my challenge to us
all is simple. Let’s do something. Let’s travel together. Let us renew our vision and our commitment. May 2008
be a year that we look back upon as one when we know we allowed the will of God to impact our lives as individuals and together
as a church in a positive and life changing way.
And whether you are hearing this right now as
I’m speaking it, are listening on the radio or on your computer, or reading the notes, let me invite you to join with
Beckley Presbyterian Church that we may travel through the year of our Lord 2008 together.
