“Leaving our nets and following Jesus” was the theme of my sermon on January 25, the Sunday of our congregational meeting. There are times when I feel especially moved by God when preaching and that Sunday was one of those times. The council retreat had just ended on Saturday and I was excited about the conversation. I always leave space in my sermon after the council retreat to include, in some way, what happened. This year, our retreat had my sermon preaching itself. With the snow falling at Cross Roads, the council gathered to discuss the challenges facing the church-at-large and Zion in particular. The times have changed. The church is no longer at the center of our culture, our communities, or even our families. We live in an increasingly secular and unchurched world. Across all denominational lines, there has been a slow but steady decline in attendance, participation, and commitment. The question has become what does it mean to be the church in our day and age? At the retreat, we talked about the need for a Pentecost, the coming of the Spirit. The good news is that the Spirit has already been sent into the life of the church and into our own lives. The issue is be open to what the Spirit is saying, courageous enough to follow that call, and patient enough to let God’s purpose unfold. As we talked at the retreat, we channeled Bishop Eaton’s sermon at Reformation as she called us to remember that we are so loved by God that we’re not afraid to fail. As we face the challenges before us, we will need to be open to different ideas. We will travel new roads. We will be asked to leave what is known and comfortable. Like the disciples of old, we will need to leave our nets to follow Jesus.
With open hearts and minds, the council embraced that idea. The idea can be a little scary, but we were not detoured as a council and were soon off and running. Leaving our nets, we talked about Heart for Africa as our new focus for outreach in the world. Heart for Africa is a non-denominational effort in Swaziland, Africa, addressing the critical needs of orphaned children left behind because of the devastation of AIDS. We talked about finding ways to partner as we did with Oasis Village. The door is open to filling containers again, writing cards and letters, opening up communication, and even sending our own mission teams. Beyond Heart for Africa, we left our nets and talked about social media as a real and needed part of our work and witness. If people are not coming to us, how do we bring the good news to them? How can we build community and relationships through social media? How can we have people support and participate in our ministry? Social media is the communication tool of our times; how can we, as the church, be in the conversation? For the sake of Christ, we have something important to say, but our message is not being heard. Social media provides that opportunity. Leaving our nets, we talked about engaging the community in a community-wide garage sale to raise money and awareness for Family Promise. Zion is seen as the community church. How can we build on that connection? How can we invite participation? We have already left our nets as we added staff this year. We talked about Kathryn Schaefer, our new Director of Youth and Family Ministry, as someone who will help us step out in our ministry as a congregation. She brings a new set of eyes and a passion for the work we are called to do. The retreat only added to her excitement. Finally, we really left our nets and talked about what happens on Sunday. We want everyone engaged, but not everyone is. How can we make that happen? Do we need to look at what we do in Sunday School? What about our worship services? We will always be a church of word and sacrament, but there is no set pattern. In what ways will we be leaving our nets in this area? As you can see, the conversation has begun.
As I preached on Sunday, leaving our nets is sometimes the hardest part of following Jesus. It’s not easy and I wouldn’t do it for just anyone. But, for the sake of Christ, I would; and, as a church, we will. May God continue to bless our ministry together!
Peace, Pastor Summer
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