Reclaiming Our Vision
Revelation 3:1-6
“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars: ‘I know your works; you have a name of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is on the point of death, for I have not found your works perfect in the sight of my God. Remember then what you received and heard; obey it, and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you. Yet you still have a few persons in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes; they will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. If you conquer, you will be clothed like them in white robes, and I will not blot out your name in the book of life; I will confess your name before my Father and before his angels. Let anyone who has an ear, listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.’”
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I once heard a story about an eccentric preacher who one Sunday told the congregation, "I want everyone to come back later today because we are going to be having a special service. We're going to be holding a funeral for the church." Well, you can imagine that that point piqued people's interests. So when evening came, the church was full of both members and people from the community who were interested in what a "funeral service" for the church would look like. The pastor stepped into the pulpit and began to preach, and when they were done, the minister asked the people sitting in the pews to come up and walk past a small wooden casket upfront. Not knowing what they would find, each person came forward only to find a mirror inside and a reflection of themselves.
The church in Sardis had a reputation for being great. The church in Sardis was established in a city that had accumulated a significant amount of wealth. The church in Sardis had in more ways than one become like the city itself, rich and powerful. Sardis was a place of trade and commerce. Merchants brought their goods into the city, and the revenue generated from the sale of those items meant that Sardis had a pretty secure financial income. It appeared that the church in Sardis had everything that it needed to be successful in its ministry. But perhaps it was because the church in Sardis had everything that it required that it eventually became “lukewarm” in following the teachings of Christ. Maybe it was because the church in Sardis tried so hard to hold onto the things that made it great that it became a church that lost its way instead.
We are not immune to the struggles and temptations that the church in Sardis faced. The attraction of looking in the mirror and seeing only the things that make us great, the things that remind us that we are a pillar of the community, the things that make us feel impervious to the continuous flow of time. But the church in Sardis, the church today is not invulnerable to the false sense that everything is okay, the misbelief that the status quo is what is to be maintained at all costs, the desire to look longingly at the past as some ideal that needs to be reincarnated into today’s church. The identity of the church of Sardis had become so enmeshed, intertwined, with its history, and tradition, that the original mission of the church had become muddled and cloudy. The fire that had once kindled the church had grown dim. No longer was there a priority to share this flame, the love of Christ, but instead, the primary focus of the church had grown to preserve this flame for posterity.
It’s easy for us to fall into a state of mind that focuses on self-preservation. After all, there are bills to pay; there are parts of the building that need to be fixed; there are staff that we wish we had but had to cut. Not to mention that there are committees, school, kids, jobs, and a hundred other things that need to be juggled while being called to be a part of the church. Things like this seems to get out of hand, but when you begin to break it down, most of these additions originated out of a desire to do something good. Yet just because something was good, doesn’t mean it still is good or useful in the same way it was used previously. When we fixate on trying to remain the same or preserve what was, we will discover that our vision for the future becomes muddled as it mixes with our attempts to hold on with both hands.
Having a lack of vision can kill. Without a sense of purpose and drive, what is it that pushes us to go above and beyond? The secular world has understood for a while now how important it is to have a driving force in order to keep moving forward. Listen to a few of these vision statements to see if you can recognize them:
We believe that we are on the face of the earth to make great products and that’s not changing. We are constantly focusing on innovating. We believe in the simple not the complex. (Apple)
Our vision is to create a better everyday life for the many people. (IKEA)
We will aim to continuously promote harmony between people, society, and the environment while contributing to the prosperity of society. (Subaru)
Companies know that it’s important to have a mission and vision statement. They know that it’s not just about making money, but creating a culture that sustains and drives them to the next things. That is why we need to know who we are as people who are created to be God’s own people. It all comes down to what is at the core of who we are, how we define ourselves as a church. In cultivating that sense, we will ultimately strive to nurture a vibrant vision that is rooted in our identity in God. A vision of our mission, a vision of our time, talents, and devotion. If our vision stagnates or if our sense of who we are remains unchanging, then we will find ourselves falling into line with the church in Sardis.
I apologize if I’ve told this story before, but I think that it’s a good example of what I am trying to convey. I was leading a confirmation retreat for youth and their mentors. Besides leading plenary sessions for youth, I also conducted a small group for the adults who had come with them. While I try not to have favorites, there was one older man named Denny, who quickly jumped to the top of the list. During a discussion about how the church can be a better neighbor to those in the community Denny chimed in, “You know I’m really tired of some of the things my church does… All they do is debate and complain about how the church should be decorated. They’re concerned about the flowers and the building, but not about the people around us. When I walk outside of church on Sunday, I see that there is so much more than we can and should be doing! Yet all people seem to ever talk about is keeping things the same!”
When we talk about stewardship, we are talking about a mission, a vision, something goes beyond the dollars and cents of what it means to be the church. Of course, we want a budget that is solvent, but we also want to strive for something beyond that as well in the hopes that God will use the time and resources we bring to continue the excellent work that has been and continues to be done. But to get to that place, it requires that we change the ways we think about doing church. It means that we can’t think about stewardship as being strictly monetary, because there is a spiritual component that asks the questions of, “Why are doing the things that we do? What is moving you to give your time, talents, and resources?”
The thing is the church in Sardis was not a “dead” church, but a church that was running on empty. Or put another way, the church in Sardis at this point in time was being heated by a tea candle instead of a robust furnace. Either way, the point I am trying to make is that there was something still alive, still moving.
So what is the Spirit of God saying to the church today? Where do we see the Spirit leading us today, tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow? We don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but we can find strength in the fact that those who have come before us have laid the foundation to discern where God is calling us to be. We always talk about what it means to be a church in the 21st century, but why don’t we act on it? I think that starting today would be better than starting tomorrow, and would be an excellent place for us to re-imagine what the church could and can be as we join with other churches in the same process of re-imagining what it means to be the hands and feet of Christ in the world! And that is what is what it means to be faithful stewards and disciples of Christ. It’s the process of discerning, prayer, and trusting that as we give and go out into the world God’s work will be done.
So I’ll ask again, “What is the Spirit of God saying to the church today?” What is the Spirit of God saying we need to let go of and prune to bear fruit? What is the Spirit of God saying we need to embrace to become the full body of Christ? How is the Spirit of God calling you to give and to serve? Let us rekindle that fire that dwells within our hearts! And if we dare ask ourselves these questions, we may find that there is something great waiting to be discovered! Amen.