The Sermon I'll Never Give

This summer, my niece was needling me a bit for not blogging about her graduation ("I must not be very important to you!"). Reflecting on that made me wonder, "What might I have written?" From there, I started to wonder what I would say if I had the chance to address the graduates... which in turn led me to think about sermons.

As a pastor's spouse, I have been called upon to deliver a message a couple of times -- in fact I'm doing one in a few weeks -- and I find it to be a tightrope act. I may be overly sensitive, but I always feel the onus of expectations:

• Some people feel that being married to a minister gives me extra qualifications, at least an extension phone on the God hotline;
• Some are suspicious that I'm secretly up there to be her mouthpiece (maybe even to say things she's afraid to say);
• Some will discount me entirely because I don't have a seminary education.

In any of these cases I feel a burden not to stray into Forbidden Territory -- I try to be commonsense, not "theological", and to foster a sense of community rather than calling people out. I'm willing to be a bit transparent and share my own struggles in an effort to encourage folks to look honestly at themselves.

I've often fantasized about what I would say if magically dropped into a place where I could hit and run with no repercussions of any kind (however, I should make clear up front that I am talking about issues that plague every church I've ever experienced, or for that matter any church you could name) . This really won't be organized into a sermon -- it may have more or less than 3 points, I might have to cherry-pick several disparate Scripture verses, and there's no poem at the end (there might not even be a humorous anecdaote at the beginning), but I think these would be the topics:

• The church needs to stop being just another Neighborhood Organization and start being the Body of Christ, "who, being in very nature God, made himself nothing... he humbled himself and became obedient..." (from Phil. 2:6-8). I am continually frustrated with people who are part of a church and get in a snit when things don't go their way, or leave when they get their feelings hurt, or just generally act as if everything should revolve around them. I have seen plenty of Church Folks who were just as self-important as any jest-set celebrity you could name, and many who were grudge-holders to put the Hatfields and McCoys to shame. If you want to know why our pews get less crowded, one reason is that people don't have to make the extra effort of getting up early on Sunday morning for the privilege of being treated the way they often are within our doors. And for my next act, I'll be going out and applying the above verses to my marriage, and all my relationships....
• The church is broke (or at least many are struggling financially) because we don't understand the basis for giving. I believe that many in our pews toss in a couple bucks a week because for them, it's equivalent to the "suggested donation" -- or even the admission charge -- at a community fundraiser or entertainment event. There are others who decide, "Until my church, and my pastor, do things my way, they won't get a dime of my money." What they fail to acknowledge is that it's not my church or my money. Both are God's, and nothing makes more sense than to take a significant portion of His money and give it to His church. We don't give to support the church we love, even though we do love it; we don't give in appreciation of the pastor (although I hope you do appreciate him/her, and I would say the same regardless of marital status :-); we don't give to fund worthwhile ministries, though I pray your church does exciting and Spirit-filled things. We give because God gave, and continues to give, to us; because we're grateful for His blessings; because it belongs to Him and it's only right to give back; and also because He has wired us to be generous beings and to have wonderful and joy-filled things happen in our souls when we do give.

I can't help but reflect wistfully on the original New Testament church, which is described as "one in heart and mind" and giving "to anyone as he had need." And what was the punchline? "More and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number." (See Acts 2-5).