Meditation for Presbyterian Women Service September 11, 2012

Matthew 28:16-20

16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. 18And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’

Ezekiel 36:33-38

33 Thus says the Lord God: On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the towns to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt. 34The land that was desolate shall be tilled, instead of being the desolation that it was in the sight of all who passed by. 35And they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined towns are now inhabited and fortified.’ 36Then the nations that are left all around you shall know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt the ruined places, and replanted that which was desolate; I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do it.

37 Thus says the Lord God: I will also let the house of Israel ask me to do this for them: to increase their population like a flock. 38Like the flock for sacrifices, like the flock at Jerusalem during her appointed festivals, so shall the ruined towns be filled with flocks of people. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.

Prayer for Illumination

Lord, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, our rock and our redeemer.

A Growing Flock

Church growth. Depending on whom you ask, this is either the holy grail of churches everywhere, or else a distraction from true ministry and a cancer to be rooted out. Whenever I've heard pastors talk about church growth, they are always quick to add, "but I don't mean just numbers! I also mean spiritual growth of each member." I'll admit that we often put too much stock in numbers. I know of several tiny churches that are healthy, robust, and doing God's work in the world. I also know of several large mega-churches that are shallow, consumeristic places where you'd be hard pressed to find God's spirit.

And yet, I am an advocate of church growth. And while spiritual growth is indeed important, when I say church growth, I mean primarily numeric growth. Size. More people. But having said that, I do need to clarify something very important, and that's the reason why I am an advocate for church growth. Too many churches want to grow in order to survive, to keep doing what they've been doing. Sometimes it's a desire to "return to the glory days" of the church, when the sanctuary was more full and alive. As harsh as it may sound, survival and nostalgia are not good reasons to want your church to grow. And besides, I don't think that works. People can sniff out pretty quickly when the main reason you want them to come to your church is to keep it from dying, or to return it the way it used to be in a time before they were born.

No, I am an advocate of church growth for one reason only: The great commission. It's found in our passage from Matthew today, and consists of Jesus final words to the disciples before he ascends to heaven. He tells them--in clear, unmistakable words--to "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you." And that is the only reason I am a strong advocate of church growth: if we are obeying Jesus' last command, we should always be growing.

I'd like to turn now to our passage from Ezekiel. Some of you already know the story about me and this verse, but just in case you don't, I'll put it in a nutshell again today. A little over a year ago, Amy and I were here visiting our family, and I was about to take my ordination exams in the fall. So I came to this church every day while we were here to study in the church library. One day when I needed a break, I went into the sanctuary, up on the balcony, to pray. As I prayed, I looked at the dry, cracked wood of the balcony railing and thought of the story of the dry bones in Ezekiel. I wanted to read it, so I opened a pew Bible to look for it. But in the process, these verses from Ezekiel caught my eye, and I truly believe God was directing me to them. It was verses 37 and 38: Thus says the Lord God: I will also let the house of Israel ask me to do this for them: to increase their population like a flock. 38Like the flock for sacrifices, like the flock at Jerusalem during her appointed festivals, so shall the ruined towns be filled with flocks of people. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.

My heart jumped immediately to this congregation, and the earnest desire I had heard from several of its members to grow and increase in size and numbers. I have kept that verse in my heart ever since then, and promised myself that I would preach and teach on it whenever I had the occasion. Thank you for your invitation to do that, to help me keep my promise.

Let's turn