"Mission Driven"
July 25, 2004 1 Samuel 15:31-47
Report from EMCC National Assembly (July 15-18, 2004)
Mission...Impassible
Reports from conferences can get a little dry, so here's a story with some humour and a point to start us off. It comes courtesy of Vince D'Acchioli in the Promise Keepers New Man magazine.
A honest woman was being tailgated by a stressed-out man on a busy boulevard. Suddenly the light turned yellow, just in front of her. She did the right thing, stopping at the cross-walk, even though she could have beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection. The tailgating man hit the roof -- and then the horn-- screaming in frustration as he missed his chance to get through the intersection, and there was no way to get past her. As he was still in mid-rant, he heard a tap on the window and looked up into the face of a very serious police officer.
The officer ordered him to exit the car with his hands up. He took him to the police station where he was searched, fingerprinted, photographed, and placed in a cell. After a couple of hours, a policeman approached the cell and opened the door. He was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer was waiting with the man's personal effects.
The officer said: "I'm very sorry for this mistake. you see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, making derogatory gestures and cussing a blue streak at the woman in front of you. I noticed the 'Choose Life' license plate holder, the 'What Would Jesus Do' and 'Follow Me to Sunday School' bumper stickers and the chrome-plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk...Naturally, I assumed you had stolen the car."
Being a true Christian involves integrity -- consistency, avoiding "the gap between life and lip." Being on mission for Jesus involves following Him, walking His way, every moment - even in traffic. Mission means being "sent" for a purpose -- Jesus' Great Commission to us is to make disciples, those who imitate and obey Him consistently and with integrity.
EMCC National Assembly 2004 - the Setting
Our denomination, the Evangelical Missionary Church of Canada, meets at a national level every two years, alternating between east and west. Last time it was a Trinity Western University in BC. This time, July 15-18, about 155 voting delegates plus guests met at Waterloo Inn & Conference Centre. Each pastor and congregation is allowed a vote -- more for larger churches. The atmosphere, though, was not one of debating and politicking, but worship and learning. There was a great unanimity amongst the delegates: votes on the most important issues such as restructuring, electing a new president, and against same-sex blessings were all by over a 90% majority. This was Yvonne's and my first experience of a National Assembly and we both felt very much at home and uplifted by the conference, banquets, and workshops.
The theme for this assembly was "Mission Driven": there is a move to reclaim the word "missions" from referring to primarily overseas efforts, so that we recognize the whole church is on a mission, both here in Canada as well as abroad. We're all "missionaries" in the sense of the Great Commission.
Our theme speaker was Sunder Krishnan, senior pastor at Rexdale Alliance Church. Sunder was trained as an engineer and worked 11 years with Atomic Energy Canada before becoming a pastor. His first talk focused on King Saul's rise and fall, and being "mission-driven" on the INside of life.
Warped Worship: Saul's Downward Spiral
At first, Saul's life showed great promise. Physically he was impressive, "the most handsome man in head and shoulders taller than anyone else in the land" (1Sam.9:2). He seemed humble and reluctant to be in the limelight - when they went to look for him when he was acclaimed king, they found him hiding in the baggage (1Sam.10:22). Saul benefitted from some genuine spiritual experiences: the Spirit of God came upon him and he prophesied (1Sam.10:10). He knew when to become angry (that shows meekness in the sense of self-control): when the Ammonites attacked the Israelites, Saul sent messengers out, mobilized the army, and routed the enemy.
So far, so good. Saul's beginning was good. But then the downward spiral began. Pride and disobedience led to invasion of an evil spirit into his life. Anger and jealousy developed, as he'd yielded a foothold to the enemy. The evil spirit came more forcefully. Saul resorted to witchcraft rather than inquiring of the Lord (1Sam.28:8). The influence of evil increased; he attempted murder several times. Finally, his delusions and depression culminated in defeat and suicide (1Sam.31:4).
This gradual but deadly decline can be associated with four kinds of warped worship. The first example occurred in 1Sam.13(8f) when Saul waited for Samuel to come 7 days to officiate at a sacrifice. When Saul realized "his troops were rapidly slipping away" he sacrificed the burnt offering himself. Samuel arrives and rebukes Saul for disobeying God's command and not being "a man after [God's] own heart" (1Sam.13:14).
Sunder Krishnan calls this IMPATIENT WORSHIP - the attitude, "get it over with and move to things that really need attention." In our own lives, we may panic when we see the troops scattering and chaos building - phone calls, emails, other interruptions distract us from the priority of true and heartfelt worship.
In 1Sam.14:35 Saul builds an altar to the Lord, but forgets to ask God's advice before chasing the Philistines. Krishnan calls this UTILITARIAN WORSHIP - "a tip of the hat to God while maintaining control". Only partly acknowledging His Lordship in a situation.
Next, in 1Sam.15(9), though he'd been ordered to settle accounts as God's instrument of justice by completing destroying the people and property of Amalek (who had fought the Hebrews when escaping from Egypt), Saul only partly fulfilled the order. He spared the king's life and kept the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs -- "everything, in fact, that appealed to them.They destroyed only what was worthless or of poor quality." This could be called RATIONALISTIC WORSHIP - "when God's directions don't make sense, change them." You can see the role of pride and rebellion creeping in here -- "God must be mistaken"; "we know better than God." Taking a rationalistic approach to decide whether to obey - balking if it seems at all unreasonable.
Rationalistic worship is akin to Baal worship, the fertility religion that characterized Israel's neighbours in the Old Testament. Such worship makes our desires or wants the motivating factor rather than the appreciation of God. Eugene Peterson points out that Baal worship sought fulfillment through self-expression; "the needs of the worshiper become the fuel for worship."
The final form of warped worship Saul engages in is SELF WORSHIP. In 1Sam.15:12 it comes out that Saul has "set up a monument to himself". Samuel again rebukes him, insisting obedience is far better than sacrifice. The prophet declares, "Rebellion is as bad as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as bad as worshiping idols. So because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has rejected you from being king." Carried away by his own success and sense of self-importance, Saul had forgotten it all depended on God, not himself. He pleads with Samuel to come back with him so as to honour Saul before the leaders and the people (1Sam.15:30). Concerned about appearance, image maintenance. Self-worship can leave us very vulnerable, ultra sensitive to the "fear of man". Krishnan observed, in the words of Os Guinness, that some churches today suffer from "leadership that is codependent on followership". When we worship ourselves, we become suckers for instant gratification, and so some leaders fall prey to sexual sins.
In summary, Sunder Krishnan noted the downward spiral began with impatience, trying to be priest as well as king. As was the case with Aaron in Exodus 32(1f) when Moses failed to come back down the mountain right away, and Aaron forged an idolatrous golden calf. To guard against this impatience, the urgency of my "to do" list, we need to build Biblical convictions; Jesus replied to the tempter, "It is written..." (Mt.4:4,7,10) Krishnan emphasized the importance of pausing at the start of each day to worship God; the quality of your time becomes changed, not the quantity. Eternity has touched time. Is.50:4 says, "He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught." Regular daily devotions are a real antidote to warped worship, preserving us from the deadly spiral that befell Saul.
Positive Indicators
Other reports and speakers at the National Assembly were quite positive and encouraging. Former President David Crouse led off with a recent comment by the Calgary Herald saying the EMCC is the "fastest growing denomination in Canada"; based on census reports, the newspaper estimated we had grown 48% in the last 10 years (Christian & Missionary Alliance 2nd at 13%). Our own Canada East District Superintendent, Phil Delsaut, noted the upsurge in ethnic ministries: new Tamil and Chinese churches in the Toronto - Brampton - Ottawa areas. He reminded us an additional 4 million people are expected to arrive in the Golden Horseshoe in coming years - a big opportunity for mission.
A presentation by Emmanuel Bible College in Kitchener recalled that their enrolment reached 100 students in 1971; now they average an equivalent of 200 full-time students. Their goal is 1000, and a new educational building is planned at a cost of up to $4 million. Canada West reported that average weekly attendance has risen every year for the past 10 years, from just under 8,000 to almost 12,000 people. A church plant in Prince George, BC gave an example of God's marvelous provision when they bought 50 chairs for their worship space and a cheque arrived from a church in Birmingham, England which covered just over the cost of the chairs. Near North Bay Ontario, the Callander Bay church plant was able to purchase a 150-seat former Brethren church for $125,000; the insurance agent appraised its real worth at $400,000. They are now averaging 100 in attendance. Alex Lai, one of the Chinese ministers in the Toronto area, said their congregation of 110 has set a goal of 25 people coming to the Lord this year - and so far they're at 20. The Lord is definitely at work! This is exciting, when churches can get together and hear good news about The Good News.
Big Changes Coming...
The most important or challenging item of business before the Assembly was how to govern and resource this growing church most effectively. Til now, there have been 2 districts, Canada East and Canada West. However the District Superintendent's job has become unmanageable, with so many churches requiring intervention and contact. Also there was a lot of duplication in the administration, with both a national office and two district offices. So the Restructuring Proposal basically does away with districts and features 4-5 "Regional Ministers" who would each look after 27-30 churches. This is not being done to save money but to deploy the human resources more wisely. The decision passed with 90.7% in favour. A Transitional Board will be revising policy and implementing changes gradually over the next two years.
Another important decision was the election of a national President. The Transitional Board recommended Phil Delsaut, our own Superintendent from Canada East; he was elected with 92% in favour. Some of you will remember Phil from his times preaching here and helping with last year's baptism. Pray for this godly man, his wife Michelle, and their family, as he assumes this critical spiritual office.
...But Some Things DON'T Change
In October last year, in response to the issue of same-sex marriage, the EMCC Board of Directors reaffirmed as stated in our Constitution that marriage between one man and one woman "is the only appropriate relationship within which the joy of sexual intimacy is to be expressed". At this assembly, in response to the federal marriage decisions and Bill C-250, the Constitutional Commission of the EMCC recommended a formal resolution be made which would regulate pastors. Following some discussion, mainly editorial, we resolved the following: "Since the EMCC believes the Bible to define marriage as being a covenant union of one man and one woman, the EMCC only recognizes heterosexual unions as marriages. Ministers are forbidden to perform ceremonies or make any public comment that would give any indication to the contrary."
Jumping In at the River's Edge
I'd like to close with some comments by Lorenzo Della Foresta, pastor at the new EMCC church in Montreal, called River's Edge Community Church. Just 2 years ago this outreach began when an old 35,000 square-foot Catholic Church with a 9-storey-high-tower was purchased, with some funding contributed by the EMCC's biggest church, Centre Street in Calgary. Lorenzo and volunteer staff opened up the building to the community in innovative ways, such as skateboarding, holding a medical clinic, and interacting with some 700 people in a Community Fest. Their attitude is that the church doesn't need a building, but the community does; so they are serving the community with their building. Today, after just a couple of years, summertime attendance averages over 140. Their goal is to start a second church plant within 2 years. Pray for a francophone church planter for them. Lorenzo maintained that everybody should be thinking about planting a church, "reproducing yourself".
Lorenzo challenged the guys at the Men's Breakfast with Joshua 4:24: God helped the Israelites cross over the Jordan at flood-tide "so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the LORD is powerful and so that you might always fear the LORD your God." The Almighty calls us to have courage to live the great dreams He reveals to us. River's Edge is there today only because Centre Street Church took a chance on Lorenzo and the project. We are called to make courageous decisions even when we're gripped with fear. Don't keep your challenges "manageable" - that's not why God puts us here. Lorenzo remarked it's so easy to surround ourselves with security and predictability. He even said, "If you can handle it in your ministry, then there's something wrong with your ministry." (Sounds like Henry Blackaby in Experiencing God - the Lord only calls us to God-sized projects that stretch us!)
God calls cowards to be courageous. Courage is the characteristic of a heart that is transformed by Jesus Christ. In Acts 4(29), the church prayed for God to give courage and enable them to speak with boldness. Do our prayers ask for courage and boldness? We tend to pray for God to remove our enemies and change our circumstances rather than pray for courage and boldness to address what's confronting us.
God's work is done on a human time-table: He waited for Joshua to "step out" - the water flooding the Jordan didn't start piling up until the feet of the priests touched the water (Josh.3:15f). God waited for Noah to "build out". He's waiting for us to step out - in bold mission, compelled by Christ's love. As Sunder Krishnan pointed out, "People deserve to be damned but Jesus, the suffering Lamb, deserves the reward of His suffering." Let's pray.