North Puget Sound, Seattle
Friday, October 9, 6:30 PM
If we live by the Spirit, let us be Good-Spirited Partners.
Red Sox
By now our attention is on the Yankees and Indians’ American League Pennant Series. And even though, they won over 90 games to capture the wild card spot, my Boston Red Sox has started their golf games again. If I’m not mistaken, the Red Sox had not won the World Series since 1912. Some said, it is the “curse of the Babino,” when Boston sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees.
When Boston lost to the Indians on their second play-off game, the score was 9-5. My wife said, “that’s not too bad.” My response was that “It doesn’t matter how close the game was, they lost.”
In our world, winning is frequently seen as an end in itself. The thought of victory is more important than life itself and many literally are willing to kill themselves by taking steroids to get to the winner’s circle. We are taught from an early age to focus externally, and if we win, somehow we will be happy and our life would be great. Winning, according to some people, may even make you a better human being.
Galatians
The theme for our annual convention this year comes from Paul’s letter to the Galatians. In Galatians 5:25, Paul writes “If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.” Or “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” The main purpose of Paul’s letter was to discuss whether or not a Gentile must become a Jew before becoming a Christian. Paul was astonished that the Galatians had so quickly turned from the gospel he had preached to a different gospel that actually wasn’t a gospel at all but a perversion. To illustrate what he was talking about he gave some details of his own conversion and events following it. Through telling of his own life he was able to convey his point that a Christian does not have to become a Jew before becoming a Christian. Paul argued that conforming to Jewish rituals would not cleanse a person’s heart. If justification came through law “then Christ died to no purpose” (Gal. 2:21) and “if a law had been given which could make alive, then righteousness would indeed be by the law.” (Gal. 3:21)
Paul confronted this legalism by saying, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that counts is faith working through love.” (Gal. 5:6) And because we have this freedom from all these dos and don’ts, we should use our freedom not for self-indulgence, but to love our neighbors as ourselves.
Walking in the Spirit Together
On Monday of this week, I attended my first SF/Daly City Cluster meeting of the ABC of the West. Of the 16 churches in this cluster, 6 congregations were present represented by their pastors. As the new senior pastor of the First Chinese Baptist Church of San Francisco, I was officially welcomed and introduced to the rest of the ministers. We went around the circle sharing prayer concerns that we each had both personal and congregational ones. We took turns praying for these concerns and helped lift each other’s burdens. The area minister shared his struggle of confronting churches that have become inactive and unsupporting and sought for guidance and prayers. We heard about a recent training conference at which the pastors learned about the life-cycles of a church and what may be the most strategic remedy for renewal. We ate hamburger pie casserole and for dessert, we ate birthday cake celebrating the birthday of our area minister’s spouse. Even though this was my first lunch with the cluster, I still paid $5. It is American Baptists, you know! After about two hours, we gathered together and held hands and I was asked to pray until we meet again.
My inaugural local ministers fellowship experience is probably very typical of the ones you are a part of. We come with concerns that are so personal and intimate that we may be too embarrassed to speak about. There may be particular local parish situations that have become twisted, wind-blown, and certain personalities have made it difficult to navigate through the rushing waters to safe harbor. These situations are so complex that we just ask for simple prayers.
When we live by the Spirit, we also walk together in spirit.
I didn’t understand what everyone around the table was going through.
There are things that I don’t need to understand.
There are some things that are better not said.
There are things that require God’s time to work out, not according to our timepieces.
There are achievements that we see in others that call us to celebrate rather than to compete against.
And in the game of life, there is no need to always have a winner and a loser. Think about this: When one eye is on winning or outcomes, there’s only one left to focus on the moment. Focus on the moment, the experience itself, rather than how successfully you arrive.
As long as we live by the Spirit, we also walk together in Spirit.
Walking Together as American Baptists
I’ve been an American Baptist all my life! In fact, if it were not for the American Baptists, I would not have been born. It was the First Baptist Church of Boston that helped my father sponsored my mother to America after World War II. My mother was one of the over 50,000 refugees and immigrants that ABC churches have sponsored to America. For a small denomination that we are, ABC has sponsored more refugees and immigrants than any other Protestant denominations. More than the Methodists. More than the Presbyterians. (I hope I’m not competing.) In the shadows of Fenway Park, I was born as an American Baptist in Boston.
In my former position with Educational Ministries, I traveled extensively around the country. I’ve been to the deep south to Tutwiler, Mississippi where the Tallahatchie Development League is. Here I’ve seen American Baptists raise their standard of living through education and job training. I’ve been to Kansas and Iowa where ABC churches are composed of farmers and ranchers; a hard life that is dependent on the whims of nature. I learned that a John Deere is green and an International Havester is red. I’ve been up north to what is simply referred to as the “county,” Caribou County in the upper tip of Maine. This ABC church stands in the middle of town and is a magnet for the many stoic “Mainiacs” to come for Christian fellowship. I’ve traveled to downtown LA where last year about this time, my briefcase was stolen literally under my nose while I was checking out of my hotel to get ready to preach at FBC. Stunned and feeling violated, the saints of FBC of LA apologized on behalf of the whole city for what one person has done.
Wherever I have visited, American Baptists live by the Spirit and are walking together in the Spirit. Regardless, of how “bad” we may become, I will always be an American Baptist. American Baptists have never given up on me. I will never give up on my church family.
Closing
Eugene Peterson’s version of our convention passage reads like this:
Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but to work out its implications in every detail of our lives. That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original.
If we live by the Spirit, let us walk together as American Baptist Partners.
Let us pray.
Gracious and Loving Father God, we celebrate the freedom that we have in Christ to live by the Spirit and not the law. Draw us together as your humble saints who sacrificially give willingly and generously to the ministry of your church. Remind us that we have this ministry together; keeping one another in our prayers that we can all make God happy for who we are and what we do in ministry. In the name of Christ Jesus we pray. Amen.