1
VISUALIZE…Your Significant Congregation!
1 Thessalonians 1:4-10
November 18, 2012
Rev. Michael Carey
A priest and pastor from local churches were standing by the side of the road pounding a sign
into the ground that reads: “The End is Near! Turn Around!” "Leave us alone you religious
nuts!" yelled a driver as he sped by. From around the curve they heard screeching tires and a
big splash. The pastor turned to the priest and asked, "Do you think the sign should just say
`Bridge Out!’"
Sometimes it seems that people just won’t take notice of our message. Turn with me to 1
Thessalonians…just after 1 & 2 Timothy in the New Testament. As you read this letter, it’s
obvious that to Paul, this is a “poster-child church;” he celebrated the signs that God was doing
a mighty work, and people took notice!
For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel
came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with
deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. You became
imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the
message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. And so you became a model to all the
believers in Macedonia and Achaia. The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in
Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore
we do not need to say anything about it, for they themselves report what kind of
reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living
and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—
Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.
As Paul began his epistle, he could affirm this vital church: For we know, brothers loved by God;
that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with
power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. When people believe the good news of
Jesus and God’s Kingdom, there’s a mystery at work—God has chosen to open minds and
soften hearts through the power of the Holy Spirit. When people respond in faith, it’s a sign of
God’s regeneration; the Lord has awakened them to welcome truth and grace. They don’t just
give “lip service,” there is deep conviction.
We see such signs in our congregation. As I survey the aspects of Trinity Church that are
growing, I recognize that they are happening because this vital church yields changing lives. I
see how God is using key people from whom the Gospel came not just with words, but also
power and the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. When I look at a photo of last week’s Family
Campout…or when I see photos of the Retire and Refocus events…or when I see the full parking
lot on Friday mornings when MOPS meets—I see the impact of leaders who have deep
conviction. [Photo of Steve & Samuel in hula skirts] Yes, deep conviction! You’ve really got to
believe in this cause to put on a hula skirt! But seriously, the lay people leading these social
gatherings are the secret behind our success, and the secret behind their leadership is that
through our preaching and discipleship efforts—like Men’s Fraternity and Via de Cristo
2
retreats—the Gospel comes not simply with words, but with power, with the Holy Spirit and
with deep conviction.
By the way, notice that I said changing lives, not changed lives. None of us have totally
changed, until resurrection, each day we must unlearn sin and turn from idols. But by the
power of the Holy Spirit, we’re getting better together!
Paul recognized that vibrant disciples follow incarnational leaders. Incarnational means “in the
flesh.” God has been incarnate through Jesus. The leaders of Jesus’ movement are influential
when their approach is incarnational, when they are present in the flesh. Recalling his own stay
in Thessalonica, Paul said: You know how we lived among you for your sake. You became
imitators of us and of the Lord. Learning to follow Jesus is far easier when you have a mentor
who shares your life personally; someone close enough for you to imitate.
Jonathan Cronkhite has been such a leader; he’s done a great job in part because he and his
family have modeled vibrant discipleship among us, and hundreds of students and their parents
imitate them. For those who didn’t get my letter, Jonathan and Carrie have discerned God’s
call into a new kind of ministry. It’s become Jonathan’s passion to teach parents how to
practice faith at home, and in his letter he expressed his desire to teach other churches how to
incorporate this often-neglected dimension into discipleship programs. If you missed it, copies
are at the Resource Desk. This is sad news, but we’re grateful that he’s able to work full-time
till January 31, and then will continue to work half-time till we find another student ministry
director, then the two of them will overlap for a month. Perhaps their family will be able to
continue to worship and fellowship with us. If you have to give up such leaders, this is the best
way imaginable. Folks let’s let Jonathan, Carrie, Gabrielle, Sophie, Caleb, Joshua, and little
Bethany know how influential they’ve been in modeling the Christian life as a family…
OK, back to our regularly scheduled programming. So far Paul has taught us that vital churches
yield changing lives, and that vibrant disciples follow incarnational leaders. As I crafted the
note page, I thought, I’d really like to give them another “V” word—and I found it: vivacious!
Just to make sure I looked it up in the dictionary. Vivacious means “full of animation and
spirit.” What’s not to like? When you look at what Paul wrote, I think it’s fair to say that
vivacious believers grow most through hardship. Look at the end of verse 6: in spite of severe
suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. What really stood
out about the Thessalonian church was the way that they welcomed the Gospel with joy
despite their suffering, and their vivaciousness continued even in persecution, because the
Spirit of God animated them!
This amazing story went viral, all across Greece (yes, one last “V” word). Of course “viral” is a
term of our Internet era, yet without the Net the story of the Thessalonian poster-child church
spread through the ancient world. Those viral reports would tell of authentic conversion.
Listen to the encapsulated version of verses 8-9:
And you became a model...the Lord’s message rang out… your faith in God has
become known everywhere… They tell of how you turned to God from idols to serve
the living and true God…
3
This church became a model for the rest of the churches—this is why I called them the “posterchild church.” They embodied the good news of Jesus—the real deal—authentically living the
life of following Jesus. Not just going to worship and singing songs, but in daily life turning from
idols to serve the living and true God.
Trinity has been a model for many other congregations, but I don’t see us as a poster-child—
not yet. This church can be vital…yielding more changing lives. Our members can be
vibrant…as leaders follow Jesus more closely. We can be vivacious, as we decide to trust God
despite hardship. I am hopeful, I envision us continuing to become more of what Jesus always
wanted his church to be. Maybe stories of our authentic conversion will go viral, because the
Gospel came to us not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit, and with
deep conviction!
Many of you have been helping our leaders envision Trinity’s future. Representatives of our
Vision Team have had conversations with hundreds of you, so we with your input we can do
this thing
and gaze into our future. By the way, did any of you notice that the Eau Gallie
Arts Festival logo looks like the front of our bulletin? I have no idea what that means!
As part of visioning the future, the Vision Team crafted a sentence called “The Kingdom
Concept.” This one sentence is supposed to reflect the unique way that this congregation
contributes to the whole work bringing God’s Kingdom to earth. After much discussion, this is
what emerged:
Trinity glorifies God and makes disciples by continually finding new ways to challenge
people to follow Jesus …closely.
It’s easier for new churches to do new things. This 50 year old congregation is somewhat
unique in that we constantly evaluate ourselves, learn about other churches, and make
changes, even if we must “kill sacred cows.” Trinity started to utilize contemporary music back
in the 80s. In the 90s we learned to attract and bless more people by being purpose-driven;
this past decade we’ve been trying to be attractional and missional. We’re always
experimenting with innovation. For example, though we have an ambitious children’s ministry
on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings, we decided to open the doors on Wednesday
afternoons to all children, especially to connect with those living nearby. The Edge has been a
wonderful adventure, involving 60 children, most new to us. Last Wednesday Pam and Kaci
Clark and their team put on a 7 course meal for The Edge and their families. It was really edgy
to teach children to set out 6 piece place settings. What a wonderful way for Trinity to connect
with neighbors!
In discipleship we’re complementing life groups and classes by creating in-depth mentoring
relationships which we call triads, we’re also launching life groups focused on reaching
neighbors, called a missional communities.
But our most innovative experiment has been to launch a 4th worship service on Monday nights
called Oasis. We already offer three styles of worship on Sunday morning, in order to reach
every generation. But we’ve been discontent in seeing that many young adults drop out of
Christianity; it’s motivated us to free up Samuel and Benita’s time so they could create a new
4
kind worship culture, craft its fellowship and worship space; then gather their team. I know
some of you were disappointed with our request that those of us over forty not attend at first.
We didn’t know whether many young adults would gather, and didn’t want to overwhelm them
with our superior numbers. Thanks for supporting us; the Lord has answered our prayers
powerfully: 36 people, most in their twenties, showed up the first night! Many were new to
Trinity. We’re grateful to the Weems and the Weems are grateful that God called them to this
innovative, vibrant church. Let’s keep praying for the Oasis service; spread the word to young
adults. For we of a certain age, let’s stay away a little while longer, till this service gets so
strong we can visit without fanfare. Eventually they’re going to let me speak, after Samuel
mentors me.
Trinity will keep finding new ways to challenge people to follow Jesus… closely. Our methods
will change as times change; what never changes is challenging his disciples to follow
Jesus…closely. Today we invite you to consecrate your finances to the Lord, in part, by
dedicating your household to the principle of planning to give a percentage of your income to
God’s work. (If you didn’t bring Estimate of Giving cards, some are in the pew racks.) Because
we are often fearful of shortage, and tempted to hoard our wealth, trusting God with our
finances is part of the life-long work of turning from idols to serve the true and living God. Your
faithfulness allows us to embrace the vision god is renewing in us. As we grow in stewardship,
we become a rich congregation, fulfilling Paul’s instruction to a young pastor named Timothy:
Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.