PILLARS OF THE CHURCH: EDUCATION
Series of Four Sermons
©Thomas B. Cundiff
Jeremiah 31: 31-34
A New Covenant
The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel Judah land of Egypt Israel
Matthew
The Beatitudes
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:
‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
‘Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
I. Called to Teach
I had not thought about Dr. Marcus Priester for some time. Then, as I was preparing this second sermon in a series on essential components in doing ministry, education, I thought of this man who was my teacher and mentor and friend encouraging me to begin my ministry with a vocational focus in “Christian Education.” My first call was as an Associate Pastor for Education at the First Presbyterian Church of Davenport, Iowa.
Some thirty-five years ago, Marc Priester was one of my professors at McCormick seminary. Marc, who died some years ago, is what I would call a “practical theologian”. He helped his students transition from academics to application in doing ministry. One of my favorite lectures I still remember and use was on the subject of CONFLUENCE…..very Calvinistic, where mind and heart intersect in doing ministry; the confluence of wisdom and knowledge with feelings and emotions in nurturing pastoral relationships that are heart-felt – and informed.
My career path when I graduated from seminary, when I was 26 or 27 years young, was to go to a large urban church of several thousand members and a staff of three ministers. With a focus on education, I think back to this first call and my responsibilities in working with a huge Sunday School of several hundred teachers and students. It is heart-warming to know that a ‘Shepherding program” we initiated 30+ years ago is still in place in that church. Basically, we would recruit “Shepherds” not teachers to work with the children in the church school classes.
“Applied Ministry”? The confluence of mind and heart, learning what it means to be “educated servants of our lord”? Thank you Marc Priester for preparing for me the rigors of real ministry!
Personally: You may remember when the FAITH SINGERS from Omaha were with us this past June, their director, Jim Larrabbee, was one of the members of that youth group….and I am oh so proud of where he has gone professional with his music career!
I.
One of the key points I want to emphasize this morning: “Preachers can’t preach without also teaching God’s Word!” Jesus was both a teacher and preacher. Many of life’s lessons are to be found not only in what is inspirational but also through what we learn. What is the value of a rousing sermon (not that my sermons are all that rousing) unless we are also learning something we can take home with us and apply to our daily lives?
Education, the feeding of the mind and soul, is one of the most important things we can do as a church. Because of an older demographic, our educational program is small. Yet every dime and ounce of energy we invest with our nursery and children is an investment in the future of the church. Our real insurance is the assurance that our children will “pay forward” in doing God’s work in Christ’s name through this church or any church they belong to in the future.
Again, personally, I am so proud of our young people, most of them you see as worship leaders, who are also now serving this church as ordained officers….Matthew and Brandon and Bradford and Virginia and Bethany and Katlyn….all who are the future of the church!
the second pillar next to sunday worship, is our all seeing ourselves as students – learning from scripture and the confessions of the church about god…..using our knowledge of god to be equpted to do god’s work as jesus’ disciples.
Back to Jesus, the master teacher of all teachers! Scripture says today that:
”When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. (Before the crowds and his disciples) Then he began to speak, and he taught them…. “
To get a bit “heady” or “academic” with you, Jesus taught using APHORISMS. Aphorisms are great one-line pithy statements easy to remember. Aphorisms like:
“You are the salt of the earth”
“You are the light of the world”
The golden rule: “Do unto others as you would have them
do unto you
Short and pithy and memorable maxims like the ones we find in today’s scripture, the beatitudes:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
These aphorisms or short statements from scripture, are not only memorable but also provoke further reflection…..and that’s where teachings of Jesus intersect with inspiration from Jesus the preacher. When Jesus teaches and preaches, what does he want us to remember? What does he want us to believe? How does he want us to use what is learned?
Digging even deeper…..
IV. Education and God’s Wisdom
Marcus Borg, one of my favorite contemporary authors, scholar and theologian – talks about Jesus who not only teaches simple truths but also how to see the world differently – through the eyes not of the world but the eyes of God…. Eyes of faith in Jesus Christ?
One of the most important lessons any of us could learn is this: Jesus calls us to look at the world through his eyes – eyes of faith in him! Jesus calls us to see things differently.
A chart that I found that Marcus Borg uses, illustrates the difference between conventional wisdom and Jesus’ alternative wisdom….how we see things without God, the left hand column, or with God, the right hand column.
Not to spend a lot of time on this…..but
JESUS AS WISDOM TEACHER
WITH OR WITHOUT GOD[1]
Conventional Wisdom How we see things without God | Jesus’ Alternative Wisdom How we see things with God |
God is punitive lawgiver and judge | God is gracious |
A person’s worth is determined by measuring up to social standards | All persons have infinite worth as children of God |
Sinners and outcasts are to be avoided and rejected | Everyone is welcome around the table and in the |
Identity comes from social tradition | Identity comes from centering in the sacred, from relationship with God. |
Strive to be first | The first shall be last….; those who exalt themselves will be emptied…. |
Preserve one’s own life above all | The path of dying to self and being reborn leads to life abundant. |
Fruit of striving is reward | Fruit of centering in God is compassion |
Jesus sees things differently because he is from God. God defines who he is and how he is going to live his life. Jesus has the heart of God. He has the mind of God. He wants us to see things differently because he knows differently.
What about us? Do we want to have the heart of God? The mind of God? Do we want to live our lives as God would have us live them?
The question keeps coming up….are we going to center our lives in the world of secular pressures that always seem to be fighting with God? Or are we going to see things differently because we have faith in Jesus the son of God….and we are opening our lives to learn from him how to be more GODLY in mind and heart?
V.
So back to the PILLARS of essential components in doing ministry as Christ’s church? Worship is the first pillar. WE ARE HERE TO WORSHIP AND LISTEN AND LEARN.
Education is the second pillar….hopefully the short, pithy statements from the beatitudes will help us take something with us from our worship….something we can use in centering our lives in God.
Perhaps, also, you can take home with you the challenge to look at the world through the LENS of the eyes of God….not the secular world that tries to blind or mis-direct us…..
Next week I will talk about the third pillar, fellowship – the idea that we need to enjoy what we are doing, together, as Christ’s church….but that’s next week.
Today, the second pillar of EDUCATION: I end paraphrasing Jeremiah:
“Let’s open our hearts and minds for God to write on our hearts God’s sacred truths….for as we are children of God, let’s be God’s people in the world.”
As educated servants of our lord,
“Let’s open our hearts and minds for God to write on our hearts God’s sacred truths….for as we are children of God, let’s be God’s people in the world.”
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