Partnership

9.30am Trinity Sunday 3 June 2007

Readings: Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31; Romans 5:1-5

 

1

Bob Dylan wrote the song, "The times they are a-changing." The words go like this:

Come gather round people wherever you roam
And admit that the waters around you have grown
And accept it that soon you'll be drenched to the bone
If your time to you is worth saving
Then you'd better start swimming or you'll sink like a stone
For the times, they are a-changin? your windows and rattle your walls
For the times, they are a-changin?

 

This is the reality of the post-modern world in which we live. Wherever we go we are confronted with this. We are in a state of constant flux. Food manufacturers put new labels on their products so that when we go looking for them on the supermarket shelves we can't find them, or they are now found somewhere else. The extension to the motorway keeps us constantly on the alert as we never know which way the road is going to go. The laws of our land are being revised in ways that cause concern about the direction our nation is heading. Changes are constantly happening in the workplace, in the makeup of our community, and often we may find ourselves thinking, if not saying, "Why can't things be like they used to be, in the good old days."

(Blank Screen)

2

A good many of the things happening around us reflect the major cultural changes Western society has undergone over the past fifty years as it moves from a modern to a postmodern society. While we may find this unsettling, it is not all bad. George Cladis in his book Leading the Team-Based Church[1] identifies nine key characteristics of postmodern culture which when looked at closely actually offer exciting new opportunities for the Christian church to be reformed and renewed along more biblical lines. It is appropriate to consider these on Trinity Sunday as these characteristics relate well to our understanding of this truth. The nine characteristics Cladis identifies are as follows.

 

       

2b

2a

Creation is an organism rather than a machine. In the modern world nature was to be analysed, explained, measured and manipulated so that we could control nature to our advantage. It was as though "a vast and complex machine [nature] has been entrusted to our care."[2] But the postmodern world looks at nature quite differently. Postmodernism does not see nature as a great machine to be controlled and manipulated, but rather as an organism from which we can learn from its rhythms, its diversity and its relationships. God as Father, Son and Spirit worked together in this way in creating the world. All were present and active and delighted in this work. Wisdom, as it is portrayed in Proverbs, has often been identified as the Son or Spirit working alongside the Father in bringing the world into being and in its good ordering. "Then I (ie. wisdom) was constantly at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence, rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in humankind."[3] In the Genesis account of creation we see the Spirit "hovering over the waters" when "the earth was formless and empty" and "darkness was over the surface of the deep."[4] He was there bringing order out of chaos, even as he does so today.

       

3

Hierarchical structures are reduced. In the postmodern world businesses no longer run well on the old pyramid organisational structure[5] because it limits the interchange of ideas and stifles innovation. People are now included in the decision-making process so that a team spirit is nurtured in an enterprise, and work group members sense they have an investment in the outcome of the organisations projects. This has important implications for the Christian church in that it operates better when seen as a ministry team. Our Presbyterian form of Church government is like this in that a team of elders lead the church.

 

3a

Jesus modelled this type of leadership. He said to his disciples, "whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all."[6] It is of interest that postmodern writers are not above quoting Scripture to support their views. Session and the Worship Committee are encouraging this approach in the life of our congregation is in seeking feedback from you on what you think of the services through term two, which will be helpful when planning for term three and beyond.

 

       

4

Authority is based on trust. Although in today's world education has become increasingly important, it is not the number of letters you have after your name that makes you a good leader (or minister) but whether you are trustworthy and credible. Words like authentic and genuine are being used to describe what people are looking for in those who lead them. They want to know if their concerns will be heard, if those who lead really care. It is this genuine caring that goes to make strong communities of faith, which provides a wonderful opportunity for the Christian church in a world that is looking for community and where people want authenticity in their relationships with one another.

 

       

5

Effective leadership is visionary. We see the visionary component aspect in the life of Jesus in that his sole focus while here on earth was to herald the coming of the kingdom of God, the restoration of God's rule and reign on earth. There is unity of purpose, desire and respect between Father and Son that enhances and advances this work.

 

       

6

Life and work are spiritually rooted. Jesus constantly linked daily living with life in the kingdom. This emphasised the spiritual dimension to life. The analogies he used were from everyday life, like that of the sower and the seed, salt, light, and leaven. All underline this spiritual reality. He helped people to see that their everyday life and work had spiritual significance and possibility that either helped or hindered the advance of God's kingdom. A feature of postmodernism is its hunger for spiritual things, which makes the message of the gospel just as attractive to this generation as it was in the world of the first century. It highlights the truth that there is a God-shaped vacuum within every human being which only God can fill. This is why people are attracted to where they can see the love and community of God as Father, Son and Spirit reflected in the church. This is why Paul always included a practical application in his teaching, so that people would know how they were to live as God's children in a way that attracted others.

 

       

7

Structures are smaller; networks are bigger. Jesus specialised in a relational ministry. In doing so he was but reflecting a fundamental aspect of the Trinity. He did not start a denomination with a large centralised structure, but rather a network of relationships. Relationships are central to every aspect of life, but even more so in our postmodern world. This is the Bible's way. We are to love people and use things, not the other way round. It is reflected in Maori culture. The most important aspect of life for them is "He tangata, he tangata, he tangata" - 'the people, the people, the people.' Jesus did not call us to make organisations but disciples, which is best done one-on-one or in small groups. As I mentioned before, people long to be part of an authentic community.

 

       

8

Mainline church domination has ended. A generation ago a person was most likely to attend the church he or she grew up in. People of importance in the community would normally belong to one of the mainline denominational churches. This is no longer so, and as a result there has been a steady decline in attendance at mainline churches since the early 1960s. The church's role of introducing people to God, or 'mediating the sacred' as it has been described, has not changed. What we have to do is find new ways of doing that.

9

 

        Another mark of postmodernism is that Innovation is rewarded. The 'tried and true' way of doing things is no longer revered as it once was. Creativity is encouraged. It does not matter if you fail. Failure is seen as part of the learning curve we must travel to master new skills and develop new models. We grow when we are innovative and seek meaningful ways in which to communicate the Gospel to our generation. This postmodern characteristic of risk and discovery blends well with the biblical mandate to use our talents or whatever has been entrusted to us creatively to advance the work of the Master. And it is necessary because our world has changed so much with new cultures and customs making our community a very different place in which to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

       

10

Work follows gifts, and gifts are used collaboratively. When we consider God as Father, Son and Spirit, we see in the very nature and being of God the concept of partnership and collaboration. While the Son and Spirit may defer to the Father, there is no rigid hierarchical structure within the Godhead as we know it. Each person of the Trinity is equally God, and they work harmoniously together to accomplish his will. There is implicit trust between each One. This is why Jesus was willing to do what he did, in coming to earth as a human being and allowing himself to be crucified at the hands of sinful men. He knew he could trust the outcome with his Father and that rising victorious over death would vindicate him. Trust and harmony and mutual respect builds a strong church community as well.

 

It is the concept of teamwork, or "partnership in the gospel," to borrow Paul's phrase, that is what being part of the body of Christ is all about. We are in this together, and we cannot function in isolation from one another. We need each other to both live the life God calls us to live as we hold each other accountable for our discipleship and as we serve God with the gifts he has entrusted to us. One of the things that attracted me to St David's in the Fields was that they wanted someone who was a team person. This has always been one of the strengths of the Presbyterian expression of church life, in that each congregation is lead by a team of elders, of which the minister is a teaching elder. We discern together God's will for his church. We seek together his direction for the work. It is not a one-man band. And this model is to filter down to the life of the congregation. We work together as teams in the different areas of the church's life, whether it be children's, youth or adult ministry we are involved in, or whether our role is pastoral, practical or prophetic. We cannot serve God alone. John Wesley said, "there are no lone rangers in God's service." We are in this together, worshipping and working alongside each other to further God's reign on earth, however that may be accomplished for the glory of his name.

 

11

Yes, "the times they are a-changing," but it is not all bad news. Rather it is a wonderful opportunity for the church to reflect more closely the very nature and being of God as Father, Son and Spirit, and be salt, light and leaven in the world. Let us not hanker after the good old days because the God we serve is the one who said, "See I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland ... to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise."[7]