My Best Church Life - Week 6 - St. Peter - Pastor Jim Fleming
My Best Church Life
Week 6 - St Peter
Pastor Jim Fleming
We are in a Series now called My Best Church Life and we're thinking about the 5Gs and how we do that as a large church. So this morning, we're going to follow that theme and talk about that. And I'm going to talk a little bit about my background in a former life. I did 20 years of Native American ministry: 18 years on the Navajo reservation and two years on the Rosebud reservation. And over that time, I picked up many things about culture of the Navajo people. And so I want to talk about that little bit at the beginning and end of my sermons. So this is a ring that a person gave me and it has a little rock in it.
What color is this rock?
Turquoise? Good guess. Thanks older sister for helping out, right? So this was a ring that I wore regularly and when I got to Wisconsin I was still wearing it for a while but I don't anymore because as I walked around, you know how many other men with a turquoise ring. I saw this many. Like none. So I'm like this turquoise ring is not really part of Wisconsin culture, so I probably should not wear it here. So I didn't another part of Navajo culture. Another person gave me a little silver cross, and when I would do worship and I would wear a robe, you know, in some churches, the pastors wear robes, I would put this over and wear it so I had these two pieces and I love them and I value them a long with that. Another man gave me some large turquoise necklaces and beads. And I'll just hold these up and these are very old turquoise and very valuable the darker, the stone. And you also get like little spider marks in them, that means this is real turquoise and that's very old. So these are very valuable and a man gave me this. Ronald was his name. Now, I did not wear this jewelry because it's kind of too much.
So the Navajo people, there'd be like a birthday celebration, an anniversary, a graduation then some people would put on all of the turquoise and really dress up in moccasins and other things like that. But if I were to do that as a white guy, people would look at me and go. Why are you trying to act like an Indian, Jim? You know, that's too much but I can wear the ring and I can wear the little cross and that sends a message. I value your culture. It is important to me. I want to be part of it and I'm willing to display this to try and be like you and to relate to you in your culture and what you know and understand and how you see the world. Now I didn’t get up here just to talk about my jewelry this morning, but it actually has a purpose. We call ourselves a 922 church and really the meaning and the purpose in the whole reason. For that 1 Corinthians 9:22. Yes, we want to reach out to all people, but it's really about culture and that's what we want to look at this morning for a moment. Look at these words of Paul that he writes to the Corinthian congregation. He says though I am free and belong to no one I have made myself a slave to everyone to win as many as possible to the Jews. I became like a Jew to win the Jews to those under law became like one under the law though I myself am not under law. So as to win those under law to those not having the law became like when not having the law though, I am not free from God's law but I'm under Christ law. So as to win those not having the law to the weak, I became weak to win the week. I become all things to all people, so that by all possible means. I might say some,
Do we understand is just a difference that existed between a Jewish person and a Gentile person? A Jewish person would not go to certain places and touch certain things because they would become ceremonially unclean. A gentile would have no problem going to certain places and touching everything that that was good and fine for them. A Jewish person would never eat pork or baby back, ribs ever. A gentile is going to have no problem eating a pork chop or baby back, ribs or pork in some way, right? A Jewish person monotheistic, they worshiped one God. If you had a religious gentile, they believed they worshipped many gods. And one last thing, a Jewish person could go into the temple to worship in Jerusalem and a gentile, could not. And there was racial hostility that existed between the Jews and other people. It wasn't all flowers all the time. And so when we come to these words of Paul, they are dramatic and they are surprising. And it tells us that message that as we consider our best church to go root, it is for all cultures and all people to become all things to people, that's what Paul did. Now, as we think about that, as I assimilated into Navajo culture, I tell people you have to become like a snake. And that sounds a little bit weird to say that. But if you know anything about snakes when they've had, when they come out of the egg, they're really small. But what happens to them, over time they grow? And what happens each time they grow, they shed their skin and they grow new skin. And that's kind of what it's like to assimilate into another culture. You have to look at yourself and say what are things that I don't need? And what are things that I want to pick up from this culture, to be like them and to shed the skin and assimilate into that culture? Now, I'll be honest with you, when I first came to Saint Peter, in 2015, I was kind of shocked because there are a lot of white people here in our church. And yet, within any culture, there are subcultures, there are people who have certain interests with food, or they like to gather a certain place or they like hobbies or they like reading, there are subcultures within a culture. And so, as a nine to two church, family, help do I listen and learn and look and see what people are doing and think of ways to share the gospel with them. We are doing that.
And could I just tell you that God has blessed us tremendously? And I'll make a confession to you some years ago when we when I got here we had a evangelism committee. My brother-in-law was on it and the evangelism community a couple times. A year would do events and over the summer. We had ice cream and brats and all that anyone. Remember that we'll get guess what? I killed it and I let it go and I didn't really support it. You know why? Because it's not just the responsibility of an evangelism committee to do evangelism. It's all of our responsibility. It's our privilege to do that to have God, use us and we're doing it. As I mentioned earlier, we are now at church of over 3,000 people on any given Sunday between our two campuses. We have over 250 guests in our latest starting point class. We have 80 people that signed up. 80, poor pastor Michael because he has to look at 80 homework sheets every week.
Tremendous blessings that God is showing upon us. And so when we think about my best church life as a large congregation, I think it's easier. I think it's easier than doing Navajo mission work because we have so many ways to touch the lives of others. We have our ECM, we have the school, we have different styles of worship. We have social media, we have a great staff, great location, right? All of those things we have partnerships with time of grace, lighthouse. Same families. I mean, the list goes on and on and on, and all of these things that we do are an opportunity for us as a large church to touch the lives of others. In a sense for me that I know, this sounds weird to be a snake To set our skin and to relate to the lives of others' nets. Our first takeaway this morning and if you want to tell me later pastor Jim that doesn't work, that's weird. I'm fine with that but I'm gonna go with it. Okay. So that we think about shedding our skin and growing and becoming like the people around us. That's our first takeaway as we think about our large church or my best church life, but there is the why Why do we do it? Paul said, I do all this, for the sake of the gospel that I may share in this blessings. I'm do we know who Paul was formally called Saul? Maybe I'm preaching to the choir here. Maybe there's some newbies to Christianity or people watch this online and they don't know who Paul was. But Paul at one time was named Saul. And he was not a Christian, he was not a believer, he hated Christians, he imprisoned them and he was okay if they got killed. That was Paul and Jesus kind of got his attention, hit him in the head with the two by four and he becomes a believer, a Christian and not just a Christian but he comes a missionary and he goes on three or four mission journeys and he starts planting congregations and he writes these words to the Corinthians right? Also, I will become all things to all people. That that was Paul. In fact, Paul said about himself, he said I was once a blast femur and a persecutor and a violent man.
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom. I am the worst.
And he goes on to say, I was shown mercy, the grace of the Lord was poured out on me. Abundantly along with faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
Would any of us? Would any of us have picked, Paul of all people to be a Christian missionary? Probably not, we would run from the guy, but look at the grace and look at our Savior Jesus, to take this man and to turn him into his tool. Amazing and Paul never forgot who he was.
Does it surprise us that Paul of all people uses the word grace and mercy more in his letters than any other writer in the New Testament? It shouldn't surprise us. See when Paul when he looked at his life, he saw that his sin was great. But that the mercy of God in the forgiveness of God was even greater understood that in a touched his life and it motivated him. This was also true for the people that Paul wrote these words, to, to the Corinthians first Corinthians 9:22. And it is interesting. When Paul starts out his letter, I'll 1 Corinthians, he starts out to those sanctified in Christ Jesus. Again, this kind of shocking. Because if you know anything about the Corinthian congregation, it was a mess. When people got together to celebrate, Lord's Supper, they got drunk. There were cliques, there were lawsuits between each other, there was sexual immorality, and there was so much to write about going on in that congregation that Paul didn't just write one letter. He wrote 2 long letters to the Corinthians.
With all that going on starts out by saying to them to those sanctified in Christ Jesus. You are forgiven and you are loved by God. And I am doing everything that I can to become like you. It leads us to reflect as gentiles.
How do I look at my sin in my own life? Do I think to myself? I don't have any addictions. I don't have any pet sins. I come to church, I give my offerings. I help out. I'm a good parent. I'm doing pretty well. God, do we make our sin small Because if I do, I make my savior small
But if I'm like, Paul and I see the greatness of my sin. If I think to myself, I am the worst of sinners. I make my sin great. Then my Savior becomes even greater in God's grace becomes even greater for me. And that is the case, brothers and sisters. Paul said, I do all this for the sake of the gospel. And for us to know and understand that our destiny is not the fires of help. But eternal life, And God calls me sanctified just like those Corinthians Christians and I belong to him. That is the why? Behind the go.
Can make a confession to you. At one time I would make trips up here, we call it our yearly pilgrimage, we moved, we would drive from Farmington, New Mexico to either Appleton or Milwaukee because that's where my family was. And when I would talk with my relatives, I would tell them, I'm never coming back here. I'm not going to be a pastor in the Midwest Church. And the reason I said that is, I simply cannot go to a place where it's routine ministry, like, you baptized Mary and Barry and go in peace. And then, you go to next week for an hour. I can't go and serve in a place like that because the gospel message was important to me. I was a missionary and I, when I received the call in 2015, to come and serve here. And I talked to people and I listened to people I heard that the gospel was important, 922 Ministries, all things to all people. And guess what? I lied and here I am today to serve with you. But we are doing it. It is important to me because of the gospel message, I do all this for the sake of the gospel. And this is our second takeaway, brothers and sisters. This is our second way, the gospel message drives the go root. When we think about our best church life and serving here and being part of this church family, it is the gospel message that drives us and what Jesus has done for us. But there's one more thing that we want to be aware of. And think of, as we think about the goal roots. We can share, we can use all of these means and things that God has given to us. I can tell you as a pastor, there is no greater joy than to work with someone and talk with someone eventually see the holy spirit. Create faith in their heart. No greater joy. And I want to share closing story with you that goes along with that. If you could show that picture and up there, this woman.
Came up to me with tears in her eyes, and she had a glass jar of New Mexico, green chili sauce. Because she knew I liked that. And with tears in her eyes, she handed that to me, and she said, thank you, pastor Jim for showing me Christ. And that's all she could say and she was crying. And I was crying and it was a mess. I told my wife, I just can't cry anymore. But it was a journey with this woman. Verna is her name. I had visited Verna for seven years and I got to know her boys, Zachary and Xavier and they came to church activities. I picked them up with our church van and I bring them to Sunday school youth group other things like that. And one day after church, I'd always go. And I pick them up, I'd say Bernie, you're welcome to visit us sometime and she would, I say up someday sometime, but not now pastor Jim, you know, it's like, okay. Seven years later, I had Zachary and Xavier in Sunday school and they said to me, moms come to church this morning and I said, oh to pick you up and they said no, she's coming to church. I'm like what? And I walked out into the entryway and there she was sitting there and she said, pastor Jim. I'm coming to church today and I said great verda and if I could have done cartwheels, I would have, you know, but I didn't. But that was the beginning of a relationship because she continued to come and then she brought one of her daughters and then her boys and then even her husband started coming and she took bit class or starting point class and then there was the baptism for Verna and she kept coming in her family kept coming and then relatives would come with her. And so we grew in our relationship as pastor and member. And I love this woman even today, she was a very, she was a sweet heart. But she didn't have come from much of a Christian background, but God used me as a tool to reach out to her. And so, the purpose of the story and why, I share it with you, is that the gore root takes patience. I tell people, you have to be like dripping water.
Do just a little bit at a time. Don't drown them with the gospel. Don't pressure them, but just a little bit of water at a time, the gospel message. And so this is our last takeaway for us. The goal will take patients. It will take patience for us. And so brothers and sisters, this ends our series My Best Church Life. And for us as pastors, I pray that has been blessing you to reflect on what it means to be part of a large church. And how we do ministry, and how we use our roots. May God bless you and be with you.
