Probably the biggest mistake I made in my journey was 27 years ago, when I moved out from under the umbrella of the United Methodist Church to make my own way in the non-denominational charismatic world. Charismatic praise and worship was getting off the ground and on the course of changing the way we think about and practice worship. There the bywords were liberty and spirit and it was great fun for a while.
But it wasn’t long until I discovered the importance of stability and discipline. For 15 years I stumbled around, blown by winds of doctrine, not accomplishing much for the kingdom. “You were called for freedom,” Paul says, “but do not use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh; rather, serve one another through love” (Galatians 5:13 NAB).
Having dragged my family through 15 years of instability I realized I needed the structure of authority. I needed an umbrella. So in 2002, like the prodigal who had wasted away in a foreign land of self-indulgence out from under his father’s authority, I returned and sought forgiveness and restoration. I came back under the umbrella. I submitted to authorities and everything they asked me to do, whether I wanted to or not. I had to do a lot of stuff I didn’t want to do. It was not easy, but the discipline changed my life.
We all, I think, live in tension between wanting freedom and needing boundaries. On one hand we want to do what we want to do, but on the other hand we also need the security of being under an umbrella to protect us from rain. If you have small children you know they will frequently test the boundaries, and find security when you enforce them. Teenagers do the same thing. I am discovering in a most painful way twenty-agers will leave the nest, move out from under the umbrella, and in the course of celebrating liberty (and indulging the flesh) they discover like the prodigal that you get wet and muddy. Too often they make the discovery and muster the courage and humility to return only after acting on poor choices that ruin their lives.
We need to live in this tension. We need to work out the fine line of living in freedom while at the same time living under an umbrella. I think God gave the Jewish people (and us) the Torah as a sort-of umbrella, a broad boundary for living within which we may live in liberty. It is, as Jesus said, the truth we live that sets us free. We may not like the authorities God gives. They certainly won’t be perfect. But they are legitimate authorities, ordained of God. So don’t forget your umbrella.
Some people think denominations are not appropriate but after my prodigal experience I respectfully disagree. Though not biblically sanctioned per se, and though not perfect by any means, I do recall that Paul says human authorities are ordained by God. The umbrella they provide of liberty within boundaries is healthy and necessary.
In today’s Scripture text Jesus commissioned his graduating disciples. He started by saying, “Don’t forget your umbrella.” Or as Matthew put it, “All authority is given to me in heaven and on earth.” Their commission and ours is and always will be within the context of Jesus’ authority. Paul reminds us Jesus is the head of all things and the head of the church. Jesus did not want them going off half-cocked, as loose canons, without his authority. The tension is we are released and free, like those twenty-agers, but we sure better find an umbrella and stay under it.
But there is something else to note. Jesus also gave the disciples an umbrella by transferring his work to them. They became apostles, bishops, disciple-makers. Their work became the essence of the tradition of the church. They help us interpret what Jesus wants us to do.
Our job at hand is to make disciples. That word disciple is related to discipline, and suggests that we invite others under the umbrella to train them. Baptism is an entry point, where the old is renounced and the new embraced. Then comes schooling in the commands of Christ. In a sense we are always disciples, always under discipline. We don’t need to forget our umbrella.
Our task here at Calera First is to make disciples. Our umbrella, through The Book of Discipline, says that as we do that we should transform the world. We invite our neighbors to join us in heart-warming nurture in community and in skill-shaping training to mold us into Christ-like disciple-makers. We together reach out to the world around us in specific contexts – close to home; places no one wants to go, among people no one wants to love; and around the world. We witness our commitment to Christ through worship and telling the good news. This is all within a vision of being a resource to families and caring for children. Doing these things faithfully and together is how we stay under the umbrella.
You have an important part. Our understanding of the priesthood of all believers means we have work to do together under the umbrella. We have been endowed with gifts and graces to get the work of God’s kingdom done.
All of us know we are not doing well and we are in danger. Attendance has dropped to dangerous lows. I will be the first to step up and say I have contributed to that. It has been hard to focus. It also has been hard to communicate, and I have done so poorly. I have communicated the wrong thing, or I have communicated the right thing in a poor way. I have been distracted and therefore have not always followed up. I have not led well. To be the one holding the umbrella is to be responsible, and I accept that responsibility, with whatever consequences come with it.
To make the commission work, to see the vision to come to pass, I need you to help me. Moses carried a rod as his “umbrella.” When he grew weary from raising it in intercession for his warriors in the valley below, his associates came around him to help. They didn’t take the rod from him, but they lifted his arms as he continued to hold it. The battle was won, the work was accomplished.
The work is our ministry together, and together we have hard work to do. I’d like to invite you to help me, by the end of the summer, take our weekly attendance back to a sustained level of 200 on Sundays, and then increase it from there. I’d like you to help me create ministries to the community that touch lives and involve more people. I need ideas and I need leaders. I need people who will invest a little time in community and service over the summer.
To a large degree we’ll have to fly the plane while we are building it, and that is scary to me. But we don’t have much choice. We have much to do and a short time to do it. But with God’s help it can and will be done.
Who will come under the umbrella with me? Who will help me hold it up?
Almighty and everlasting God, you have given to us your servants grace, by the confession of a true faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the power of your divine Majesty to worship the Unity: Keep us steadfast in this faith and worship, and bring us at last to see you in your one and eternal glory, O Father; who with the Son and the Holy Spirit live and reign, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (BCP)Matthew 28:16-20 (Trinity A 2014)
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