A church made of gifts

A church made of gifts

Good morning, Friends! Thank you all for coming today!

We’ve been talking about the church for the last few weeks. One of the things that really stands out, in everything we’ve been talking about, is that the church is people. It’s you, and me, and everyone that’s even remotely connected with this amazing group of people.

You’ve heard me talk about this before. But I can’t say it often enough. We, the people, are the church, together. We are all different. And that’s more than OK. It’s beautiful, to see all the different people who are a part of this group. I don’t want anyone to leave. I love you all! I appreciate everything you bring here.

I believe that the more we bring, the more our church will deepen and grow. This is one of my deepest convictions. The more we bring, the more amazing this church will become.

To bring this home, I want to read from a letter which Paul wrote, to one of the first churches he started. These words could be written directly to us, today.

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.

To each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.

To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.

All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

1 Corinthians 12:4-11

Paul says it better than I could ever have said it myself — the church is a body. Just like the bodies of the first people who God created, the Holy Spirit breathes the breath of life into every one of us. In exactly the same way, Paul says, the church is like a human body. The Holy Spirit breathes life into the church, by giving life to each of it’s different parts – to you and me.

Paul talks about this idea in several of his letters. And Paul gives examples of the different gifts that the Holy Spirit gives. Paul talks about pastors, teachers and encouragers. He talks about different kinds of service – healing, praying, giving generously, sharing visions.

When Jesus talked about this, Jesus talked about seed planters and harvesters. Jesus talked about peacemakers and witnesses.

When I’ve talked about gifts here at Springfield in the past, I’ve said that the church needs storytellers – people who learn the stories of our life together, and tell them, and teach them to a new generation.

I’ve said that the church always needs good cooks, who can feed a crowd and put great food on the table. We haven’t run out of those yet!

We need people who have an eye for beauty, and make everybody else see it. We need people who love to fix things and build things. We need people who love children and want to help kids feel that Jesus loves them.

We need young people and old people. We need musicians and singers and dancers. We need people who are good at reaching out and listening. We need people who are good at visiting in hospitals and nursing homes. We need people who write cards and make phone calls.

We need everyone!

If you read a little bit later in today’s reading, Paul says that one part of the body can’t say to the other, “I don’t need you!” That would be as ridiculous and life-threatening as your body saying to your brain, “Oh, I can get along without you!” Or as completely insane as your arm or your hand saying, “I don’t need those other parts!” What kind of a body would that be? A dead one, pretty soon.

We need each other. The church isn’t healthy and complete and alive, without all of its parts.

When a new person walks in our door, the first thing we think about doesn’t need to be, “Oh, how handsome or pretty they are,” or how much money they can throw in the plate, or how many committees we can put them on. Our first question needs to be, “I wonder what wonderful gifts God has given them? How can we help them discover themselves? How can we encourage them?

Here’s a big secret – a huge secret! – about how churches work. I’m going to let you in on the secret, and I’m not even going to make you pay for it.

Here it is: people need to be needed. No one wants to be a bump on a log. No one just wants to be a body in a pew. People want to be needed. We want to feel that this group needs us. Our gifts. Our experiences. Our journey. No one wants to be taken for granted. No one wants to be disposable.

We know in our hearts that God has made us unique and special. We believe that Jesus gave himself for us, and that means everything.

As Paul says today, the Holy Spirit breathes life into us. And we want that life to matter somehow. The Holy Spirit mustn’t be wasted or ignored. When the Spirit speaks in our hearts, when the Spirit whispers in our inner ear, that’s not something to forget about.

Here’s another big secret: what your day job is, isn’t always the same thing as the gifts you bring to church. We don’t always remember that. We automatically tend to put financial people on the Finance Committee, and contractors on House and Grounds.

But your day job isn’t always the same thing as your gift. One of the best teachers our meeting has ever had, John Haworth, was an attorney.

Donald Brower sold heating oilfor more than 40 years. But he was our best greeter. He met you at the door, he knew your name, you knew he was glad to see you. Clover Hill, who many people remember as being gifted with young people, owned a gutter and siding company.

Bobby Swaim, who was an elder of the meeting, was an auto mechanic. Wayne Gless, who was a land surveyor, was both an amazing artist and a deeply spiritual person, another elder of the meeting. Do you see my point? Your day job isn’t always the same thing as your spiritual gift. And your spiritual gift doesn’t always mean you should be on a particular committee.

Let me ask you: what do you wish you could do? What are you scared to try? As I asked a couple of weeks ago, who are your role models – the people you look to for your example? What would you like to teach or share? Who can you encourage? Who isn’t here, that you want to invite?

Here’s another free point: gifts don’t show up fully developed. Most gifts start small, and they only grow, if we use them. If we try them out.

So, ask yourself where you can do something small this week. It may seem like something really tiny.

A cup of cold water. A pint of blood. A helping hand to someone. A prayer, when you don’t feel totally comfortable, offering it. Prayer is a gift that grows when we use it.

A hug or a handshake. Those are small gifts, but they mean a lot. A smile for someone who looks unhappy, or for someone who isn’t expecting it. An invitation to a meal, for someone who doesn’t get asked out.

Gifts usually start small. They grow, because we use them. And each time we use them, we learn to use them better. And we grow, and the other person grows, too.

One of the big things we can do, as a church, is to encourage each other as we use our gifts. Using your gifts, in a new place, or in a new way, can be really scary and uncertain.

It means so much, if somebody sees what you’re trying to do, and thanks you for trying. It’s good to thank people for their results, but it’s also important just to thank them for trying.

Let me ask you something else. Has anybody here ever done physical therapy? Or taken piano lessons? Or played golf?

One of the things about learning and growing, is that you don’t get it perfect the first time. You try, and try again. You learn, by doing it a second time, and a third time, and so on.

Have you ever watched a baby learning to crawl? They fall down a lot! And they try again, for days and weeks. But they’re determined. They’re going to use those new muscles, and they’re going places!

Churches aren’t that much different than babies. Even though our church is 253 years old, our church is always a baby. We’re always starting out new. Every generation needs to learn how to crawl, stand, fall down plop, and get up again. We’re a body.

But we are a gifted body. We have so much potential, so many strengths, so much to share. All it takes is love, and the Holy Spirit to help. I came across a great prayer this week. It says,

Use me, Lord!
Show me how to take who I am,
who I want to be,
and what I can do,
and use it for a purpose greater than myself.

Don’t deny your gifts. Encourage the gifts of other people. Your gifts are welcome here!