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God is calling us to an amazing mission and future. In this 3-week series, we’re asking “why do we exist?” and “what is God calling us to?” We are called to lead generations to Jesus. All of us.
Scriptures: Deuteronomy 6:1-12; Matthew 28:18-20; Judges 2:10
Short Clip
In March, 1921, a meeting was held with one sole purpose. To consider the possibility of a new congregation in Bluffton, Indiana.
In June, 1921, the first gathering of First Church of Christ happened underneath a tent.
My friends, this church exists because a group of people in 1921 decided that they wanted to see a church thrive and reach this community with the good news of Jesus Christ.
And today, as we kick off 2019 and begin a new series called, Mission: Advance, we take a step forward just like every generation who faithfully followed Jesus has done in the past.
In this series, we are going to ask a similar question that the group in 1921 asked: what is God calling us to?
Jesus, Great Commission, Building His Church
When Jesus entered this world as a human being, He healed the sick, He taught the masses, He went to the outcasts, He called people to follow Him, and He, ultimately, died for the sins of the whole world.
And then He rose from the dead, He spent time with hundreds of people as an alive, formerly dead, man.
And just before He ascended into heaven to take His rightful place at the right hand of the Father, He told His closes disciples these words:
Matthew 28:18-20
18 Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizingthem in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
This was His rallying cry. This was His answer to what next? This was His answer to what is my purpose?
This was His mission continuing.
As you go, make disciples—baptizing them and teaching them.
And ever since then, Jesus has been building His church through the faithfulness of His followers.
Jesus’ church has been making disciples.
What began thousands of miles away from Bluffton, Indiana has infiltrated the vast majority of the world.
God’s good news of Jesus Christ has spread. The church has expanded. And God’s family has grown larger.
Friends, we are a part of this story.
So why do we exist as a church?
What is our why? This is vital for us to answer in a way that grabs us, that propels us, and that pushes us.
Because when we lose our why, we lose our way.
What is God calling us to?
What is next? If we are a part of the story that began so many Centuries ago, what does this chapter we’re in look like. What will be the next paragraph in the little sliver of the story called 2019 in Bluffton, Indiana?
These are the questions…
These are the questions we will be asking and working to answer throughout this 3-week series.
FCC Mission Statement
When the transition team was assembled in 2018, one of their tasks was to rediscover and re-articulate the mission of First Church of Christ.
Through their work and dedication that was bathed in prayer and discussion, our mission statement was re-clarified:
The mission of First Church of Christ is to lead generations into a life-changing, ever-growing relationship with Jesus Christ.
Lead generations.
Generations. Did you know that for the first time in history, there are five generations alive at the same time.
Haydn Shaw, the author of Generational IQ: Christianity Isn’t Dying, Millennials Aren’t the Problem, and the Future is Brighthighlights how different this is:
In previous eras, there were only three generations. The oldest generation had the money and made the decisions, and the younger generation of adults raised the children and did what the older generation asked them to until their parents died, and then their turn came to be in control. Changes in families and churches came slowly and naturally, with little disruption.
How many of us know things aren’t so simply anymore?
But while things may be more complicated, I believe the church has an opportunity to become stronger because of it. I believe that the more generations we have involved in each other’s lives, the better we will be.
Church, we are called to… Lead generations to Jesus. It may look messy. But it’s the messy calling that Christ is calling us to.
Deuteronomy Context
If you have a Bible or a way to access Scripture, turn to Deuteronomy chapter six.
The scene is filled with anticipation.
Moses and the people of Israel are in year forty of wandering in the desert, waiting for God to lead them into the land He promised their ancestor, Abraham.
And now they are headed that way. But before they get to the moment where Joshua takes over and they cross the Jordan river to go and take the land, Moses has the nation gather and begins recounting their journey and all the things God had done for them and all the things God had commanded of them.
Every generation that was with them. Together. Hearing the same story. Hearing of the God who had been leading them. Hearing how God was going to lead them further. And being reminded that while their destination is exciting, their first priority must remain the same—the Lord in whom they serve.
Deuteronomy 6:1-3
“This is the command—the statutes and ordinances—the Lord your God has commanded me to teach you, so that you may follow them in the land you are about to enter and possess. 2 Do this so that you may fear the Lord your God all the days of your life by keeping all his statutes and commands I am giving you, your son, and your grandson, and so that you may have a long life. 3 Listen, Israel, and be careful to follow them, so that you may prosper and multiply greatly, because the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you a land flowing with milk and honey.
You, your son, your grandson
Moses is saying that this following God life isn’t only for you, but it’s for you, your kids, and your grandkids. It goes beyond us.
It goes to the next generation. And the next. And the next. And the next. And it just keeps on going.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9
4 “Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 6 These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. 7 Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead. 9 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your city gates.
Listen, Israel
It’s important that we see that Moses is speaking to an entire nation as he instructs them.
They are a called people. They are not simply a group of called individuals. They are a people. Together.
Communal culture
This kind of culture is largely lost on us here in the Western world.
For Israel, the group was above the individual.
The family unit was greater than the individuals in the family. The nation was greater than the individuals that made up the nation.
A modern-Day example of this difference
Earlier this week, I was reading an article focused on this passage and in the comments, a Korean American commented and said this:
I am Korean American and coming from a culture that is totally communally oriented (almost to a fault, you must mask your individuality for the sake of the whole), I witness this all the time. I was in Korea a couple of months ago and my wife and I decided to stop and eat at a street food stand. An older couple served us. We got to talking and I told them that it was our honeymoon. Even though we had just met, she started to teach me how to be a good husband and etc like my mom or grandmother would do. My Americanness says that is totally a violation of boundaries but my Korean side says that is completely normal. This is not an isolated incident. Living in such an individualistic culture makes it hard for us to understand the nuances of a communal society and sadly what it means to be the church together.
This person touches on the power of the communal culture that the individualistic culture lacks.
And what is that power? The church being the church. Together.
The goal: These words to be in their collective heart
The goal that God has in mind here is for Israel to have His words and His story of faithfulness toward them to be in their collective heart.
In the heart of Israel was to reside the call to love the ONE God with all their heart, soul, and strength.
But in order for this to happen, they had to continue telling of God’s faithfulness. They had to continue sharing what God expected from and for them.
So…
Repeat to children—how do you change a culture?
How do you change a culture? How do you change a nation?
Children.
If children don’t know the truth about God and His faithfulness, how will they know to trust Him?
Repeat to children—a communal calling
And it’s important to realize how multi-faceted this call was for Israel.
Repeating to your children meant that parents would be doing the heavy, daily lifting of discipling their children. But it also meant that outside of that immediate circle, there was a broader community—a very tight-knit one—that was also charged with repeating these things to the children of the nation.
For Israel to thrive as a nation called by God would require them to continually lead the generations coming after them to the Lord.
hands and forehead // Doorposts and city gates
And I find it significant that Moses tells Israel to keep God’s words in their heart and as an illustration of that, he tells them to bind them as a sign on their hands and let them be a symbol on your forehead.
In other words, make these things a part of your outward life.
There was no such thing as a private faith. Your faith was public.
And then he says to write these words on the doorposts of their house and city gates.
The vision, the call
Now, whether he meant these things literally or not, the imagery is powerful because it speaks to the vision, the call of a nation, of a group of people to have God be their King.
God wanted them to be a people that always elevated Him in their midst. A people that constantly worshiped Him. A people that thrived.
A people that didn’t forget Him when they received the promise.
Deuteronomy 6:10-12
10 “When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that he would give you—a land with large and beautiful cities that you did not build, 11 houses full of every good thing that you did not fill them with, cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant—and when you eat and are satisfied, 12 be careful not to forget the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery.
It was going to get easy to become distracted
There’s wasn’t much excitement offered to this nation that had been traveling in a desert their entire lives.
But they were about to receive the promise of a land of abundance. And God knew that when they received that new, shiny thing, they could easily forget the One who gave it to them.
And, unfortunately, they eventually did forget him.
Judges 2:10 says, “That whole generation was also gathered to their ancestors. After them another generation rose up who did not know the Lord or the works he had done for Israel.”
What is at stake?
And this right here is what is at stake. It was what was at stake for the Israelites back then and it is what is at stake for us today.
It’s what’s at stake when I ask you this: 100 years from now, what will be the most important thing in the life of the children in this church and this community?
Why are we a multi-generational church? It’s far more than simply demographics. It’s theological.
The Church in Acts 2
When Jesus ascended into heaven, the Holy Spirit unleashed Himself on the apostles and on the day of Pentecost, Peter rose up and spoke a powerful gospel message and thousands of people surrendered to Christ and were baptized that day.
And then what do they do?
Acts 2:42-47 says:
42They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer.
43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and signs were being performed through the apostles. 44Now all the believers were together and held all things in common. 45They sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with joyful and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. Every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.
Do you see what began happening? A people were created. A group was made. The Church was born.
And what did they do? Families were with families. They were teaching each other. They were supporting each other. They were with each other. Young. Old. And everyone in between.
They were, in a word, discipling each other.
The Church is Meant to Be Multi-Generational
This was God’s design. You can read about it in Titus. The older, more seasoned veterans of life are to train and disciple those who are coming after them.
Every generation is valued in God’s church.
We need every generation — Part to Play, Preferences
When God’s church has every generation playing its part, God’s church is the healthiest.
Friends, we need every generation. All of us have a part to play.
I’m convinced that all of us need each other.
We all need those who have gone before us.
We all need those who are going alongside us.
And we all need those who are going after us.
We all have a part to play in this church.
Preferences
And the beautiful thing about every generation in the church together is that this is the best context for all of us to lay aside our own preferences and seek to love and serve others.
Everything changes when we can let go of what comforts us about the way we’ve always done it or the way we want to never go back to the way we’ve always done it.
Both sides, all sides, when we are being the church in a godly way, all of us are picking up our crosses and saying not what I want. I’m about what God wants.
And you know what God wants? He wants all people of all generations, all ages, all backgrounds, all nationalities, all races, all socio-economic levels to be brought into His family through His Son, Jesus Christ.
Church + Family = Disciple Kids
In Deuteronomy 6, we see the power of a community coming around the family and discipling kids together.
In the early church, we see the same thing.
And that is the picture, I believe God is calling us to here at First Church of Christ.
Can you imagine?
Can you imagine the picture of the church partnering with parents to disciple their kids?
I believe when the church and the family become ONE team for the glory of God, everyone wins.
And that’s why I’m excited to share…
And that’s why I’m excited to share that we will begin a search for a new children’s pastor here at FCC very soon.
In the next couple weeks…
In the next couple weeks, we will be assembling a search team, finalizing all the details, and beginning the search.
The traits we will look for
And just to give you a picture of the type of person we are going to be searching for…
The person who will come in to lead our children’s ministry will be someone who:
- Has a passion for seeing the church partner with parents to disciple kids and the leadership ability to turn that passion into action.
- Is a mobilizer of people because the biblical calling of church leaders is NOT to do everything, but to equip the Saints for the works of ministry. This will not be a person who is driven to teach every class and do every little detail, but they will be someone who sees their role as training, equipping, encouraging, and mobilizing us—the church—to disciple the kids in our midst.
BIG thank you to our children’s ministry team
I’m excited for our future, but I’m also thankful for our present and our past.
Kristen Dauterman has been faithfully serving as our leader of the children’s ministry alongside of her team of April Dunwiddie, Laura Oswalt, and Lindsey Feinberg.
Ladies, thank you so much for your dedication and your passion for the children in this church and community!
Church, let’s show our appreciation to them!
FCC, Leading Generations
I wholeheartedly believe that all of you have a part to play in what FCC will be in the future and what it is becoming today.
The reality is:
All of us are called to lead generations to Jesus.
All. Of. Us.
You. Me.
So the question is, what part will you play? What part are you playing?
We are at our healthiest as a church when all generations are investing in each other.
Two Big Requests
First, we have sign-up sheets inside the program today.
Our children’s ministry has a need for more loving adults to invest in the kids here at FCC on Sunday mornings.
They have all kinds of different roles available. Some involve teaching, but many don’t.
So if you’re ready to jump in and be a part of leading generations to Jesus (or even if you don’t think you’re ready), go ahead and sign up using the paper in your program. After you’ve filled it out, you can take it to the welcome table and put it in the basket there.
Second, I would ask that you begin praying for the search process for the person whom God has set apart to lead our children’s ministry.
To quote Haydn Shaw again, author of Generational IQ:
We’ve been telling young people for twenty years that their generation could be the difference makers, that their lives could be big and they are dreaming too small. It’s time to tell their grandparents the same thing.
FCC. We are being called to lead generations to Jesus. And that’s exactly what we’re going to do.
