The United Methodist Church of Swartz Creek

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February Newsletter 2010

Message: The Healthy Church
John D. Landis-UMC of Swartz Creek
Scripture: Ephesians 4:11-16
Sunday, January 24, 2010

Most of us have numerous appointments each year where we have our health checked out. We go to the eye doctor, the skin doctor, the dentist, and the family doctor. We want to get a check-up and see if we are healthy. Just as we check on the health of our bodies, we also need to take inventory on the health of the body of Christ the church. In the series I am doing on the church the first part was in discovering who we are as God’s people in ministry, secondly how we function in mission, and today I am looking at how we work together as a healthy body.

When you think of a healthy body you think of each part doing what it should, with a sense of wellness throughout the body. It is tough for the body to be healthy if the stomach is always churning. It is difficult if you have a back problem. It affects walking, sitting and doing simple tasks. The body of Christ must also have every member doing what they are called to with basic good health. Each member must be healthy in the way they operate. Those who lead children must have a healthy understanding of how to care for them. Those who minister to families must be sensitive to the unique struggles that they face in today’s world. And those who care for persons that are ill must have some awareness.

Perhaps the first and foremost important attribute for health in the body of Christ is unity. Paul said in Philippians 2:2, make my joy complete by being of one mind. Think about how your body works together as a unit. When the body is working properly all the signals are coming from the brain and all parts are in sync. Sometimes trauma occurs to the body and signals go haywire. An example of this is when a person has a stroke. When the blood clot hits the brain all of a sudden things stop working properly. One leg tries to walk and the other limps. One hand seeks to reach out and the other is frozen. The brain tries to say things that the mouth will not speak. It may be so bad that the body may not even be able to get up.

This is what happens in the Church when we are not all getting our signals from the central nervous system or head. Who is our head in the church? It is Jesus Christ. What keeps us from getting the right direction from Him? We may not be in the Word, we may not be praying enough. We may be allowing our hearts to become proud or selfish. We may simply refuse to submit our will to something God wants us to do. We show favoritism and build factions. The church is dis-unified, and like a stroke victim it cannot function in a healthy manner. It can get so bad in the church or body of Christ that the church becomes dysfunctional. It can even die. So the first step in the healthy Church is to be…

I. United in Purpose

On the night in which Jesus was betrayed He said, Father I pray that they may be one as we are one. He understood how important it was for the church to have the same unity of purpose that He and the Father had. There is nothing wrong with Christians having different sorts of ministries and special focuses, but when the body is so divided that people think we are an entirely different religion things have to change. I think when Christ looks upon the earth that He must be disappointed. There is tremendous division in His around the world. In North America alone there are 1,000 denominations. I think that He must weep.

As believers, to keep unity we must learn to discern what the essential doctrines are of our faith, those you must believe to be called Christian and then those beliefs that sincere Christians have differed on since 40 AD. One of the reasons the church locally and nationally is so divided is that we do not know the many things we are united in, and we do not realize there is some grace to agree to disagree. On the day that we had our Christmas concert for the food bank Father Steve and I joined hands as we said the Lords prayer. Some people said they had never seen that. But we can have unity. To help you discern and have a reference for your spiritual life let me give you this list of things we should have in common.
I have touched on some of these things over the years, but today I want to give you a more complete list.

I hope that you can use this in your faith, in your discussions with others, and in building unity. I believe God would have us move beyond our differences to unite his church with love in our hearts. John Wesley said it well, in essentials we need unity, in non-essentials liberty, and in all things charity. If you study the bible, and if you look at what the church has believed for centuries in the great Creeds, The Apostles, the Nicene, The Westminster Confession, The Church of England’s 39 Articles, and our Own Doctrine you will find great unity on essentials.

Essentials of the Faith

I. A Belief in the Trinity, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Matt. 3:13-17

II. A Belief in Jesus Christ, God’s Son who was Human and Divine. Phil. 2:5-8

III. A Belief That Jesus Truly Died, Was Buried, Rose, and Will Return Again. I Corinthians 15:3,4, I Thess. 4:13-16

IV. A Belief That Jesus Christ is the only one who can Atone for our sins, and give us the gift of Eternal Life. Romans 3:23,25, 6:23

V. That Scripture is God breathed, preserved and our authority for Knowing God and Knowing how to live. I Timothy 3:16, 17, Isa. 40:7

VI. That Each person must receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, thereby allowing the Holy Spirit to enter their lives. I John 4:13,14;5:12

VII. That God calls us to live a life of obedience, and faith according to Scripture. II Timothy 3:14-17

VIII. That God calls all of us to mission and ministry making disciples of all people. Matthew 28:18-20

IX. That submitting your life to the Teaching of the Word, Order and Sacraments in the Church is essential. Acts 2

X. That There is a heaven to gain and a hell to shun. Luke 10:20, Matthew 10:28

Essential Doctrine, that we can agree to disagree on.

I. The Time, and Form of Baptism.
II. Understanding When and How Christ Will Return.
III. The Way That a Church Governs Itself.
IV. The Use of the Gifts of the Spirit.
V. The Understanding of God’s Sovereignty and The Free Will of Human Beings.
VI. How Communion is Administered and what the Elements Mean.
VII. The View of War and Responsibility to Government.
VIII. The Style and Form of Worship
IX. How We Are Resurrected
X. What Will Happen In Eternity

Unfortunately presently and throughout history Christians have not practiced charitable unity on these doctrines. Christians have even killed other Christians for not believing what they thought on baptism. My ancestor Hans Landis was put to death for his view on war, on communion, and baptism. Both the Protestant and Catholic Church were intolerant on those things. Whole denominations have been started over stressing non-essential doctrine.

Churches have said you cannot take communion if you are not a member, you cannot join unless you take a certain view on tongues, or on the end times. Christ’s body is divided. Do you really think Jesus is going to keep anyone out of heaven because they do not believe in the proper moment he will return. My goodness Jesus did not know Himself. He said that only the Father knew. We think we know more than Jesus.

Now I thank God for the unity in this church. I see you working with other denominations such as the Catholic Church in the food bank. I see harmony within this body on respecting what others believe. Let us be a light to the world. I have found that if you emphasize the things we have in common that we can minister effectively. If you are with Baptists, don’t try to force them to be an infant Baptist. If you are with Charismatic folks don’t put down their conviction on miracles. If you are with Presbyterians don’t down-grade their view of God’s sovereignty. And if you are with Methodists, don’t tell them they can believe just any old thing.

If President Clinton and President Bush can have unity over caring for Haiti, then we should have unity in our mission. Listen to the Words of Paul… make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit by the bond of peace Ephesians 4:3 Secondly, to be a healthy church, we must…

II. Build One Another Up

Let’s think of the body again. What builds it up?

Maybe we should start with what runs it down. If you don’t get rest the body wears out. If you only ate nacho chips and drank pop all week long, you would not have the nutrition you need and it would tear your body down. Proper nutrition and proper exercise are critical. The nutrition is feeding on the Word of God and sharing about it. The exercise is doing the things we are called to do.

In my new years sermon I talked about committing to exercise and I want you to know that I have walked or jogged just about every day since then. I noticed that my knees felt stronger, that I had more energy and strength. Paul says that if the body properly exercises each part that it builds itself up. Did you know that the use of muscles around the joints actually strengthens the ligaments and builds up bone mass. Ephesians 4:16 says this very thing. The whole body is joined and held together by every supporting ligament and causes it to grow and build itself up in love as each part does its work.

We see in Scripture that every part of the body needs to be working. We know that some of the best exercise is when we use every part of the body. We need to get the blood pumping, the lungs breathing, the heart moving and as many muscles working as possible. That is what you will do in therapy after surgery. That is what builds up.

So in the church of Jesus Christ we need every person to do their work. If someone has a gift they need to use it. If someone has a talent that does not seem to fit in with what we have then we need to develop new things. The healthy church is always starting new ministries. We ought always to be discovering the gifts in more and more people. We ought always to help people get training to develop those gifts, so that everyone in the body might have their needs met. We need to be in prayer asking God what it is that His body needs.

For the last few months I have been feeling that we need to work on strengthening our marriages. We do a lot of things in groups that focus on our personal relationship with God, and our fellowship with others in the church, but sometimes churches ignore marriages. One man said to me years ago that he said didn’t feel the church ever gave tools to help build his marriage up, to help him understand communication. As I looked back on the history of that church I knew he was right. I don’t want that to be the case here.

We are going to start some groups in a few weeks to help focus on building up our marriages. We are going to use the material from Love Dare and the movie Fireproof. It is really powerful. It has helped thousands of people around the country, and some right in this congregation. Some of you might feel, well my marriage is ok, but it can still improve. Others today might feel I am so far on the edge I cannot wait another few weeks. But we are going to start with the idea of two groups in mind, more if needed. We also hope to have 5-7 groups studying love in all relationships.
Now as we build one another up, the bible says we must have a servant attitude. This attitude is one which thinks I am doing this to bless others.

If people let me down I am going to keep on giving because it is not about people pleasing me, and doing it my way but it is about helping others to have their needs met and to grow in Christ. When you get involved in a ministry or activity if you have a servant attitude, you will be able to accept disappointment, failure and in some cases rudeness. If you do not have a servant attitude, as soon as someone disagrees with you, challenges you, or fails you your thoughts will be… I am outta there.

Think about Jesus. If he would have given up every time someone criticized him, disappointed him, or was rude, he would not have gotten past day one. Jesus whole life was characterized by enduring countless thousands of misunderstandings and failures. But He hung in there. He had a greater vision. Listen to what Paul said, Let this attitude be in you which was in Christ Jesus who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing taking the very nature of a servant…and he humbled Himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross. Phil. 2:5-8

Folks we have to learn to die to our pride, our self-centeredness, and the desire to always be appreciated. We have to do some things because Jesus told us too. How many acts of love does a mother perform for her child, without the child truly appreciating it? I heard a man say the other day…I did not really appreciate who my father was as a man until I went to college.

A servant has one goal, and that is to please the master. Now I know that we all need affirmation, support and appreciation, and that must be there in a healthy church, but we also need to grab a hold of this servant attitude. We are not going to be able to serve, care, and be healthy without it. Because of our own fallen nature, it cannot happen by ourselves but only through the Holy Spirit. But when we let the Holy Spirit take over you know a funny thing happens, not as much stuff bothers you. So you are happier. So don’t worry be happy…be a servant.
Now it is not always easy, but it will give true fulfillment.

So let us be united, let us build one another up, and let us do ministry as servants. Amen.

Message: Sent With a Mission
Scripture: Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 1:4-8
UMC of Swartz Creek-January 17, 2010
Rev. Dr. J. D. Landis

As I prepared for this week I was not sure which sermon to preach first. I had decided to do a series on what we are to be as a church. My third in the series was going to be our mission and outreach. After the events that occurred in Haiti, and the numbers of persons who expressed concern for that land, including a conversation with someone at channel twelve, I felt that this was the Sunday to share. It a seemed like the Holy Spirit led me in this series for a time such as this.

My heart was moved deeply this week by the suffering of the people in Haiti, because of a work mission I had taken there. Though it was over 20 years, I have kept aware through others who have made the trip. As I watched the news, I saw places that I had visited. Not much has improved in Haiti. On Wednesday I learned that our conference had a team of 17 persons there, 120 miles from Port-au-Prince. We were quite anxious for them. They were able to send us an e-mail was that they were all safe. But as week unfolded we realized that it was going to be very difficult to get them out because of a shortage of gas, space, and resources in Port-Au-Prince.
I ask that you pray for Don Gotham pastor at St. Clair and Mark Miller pastor at Midland Aldersgate and the rest of the group, some who are from their churches.

I know that many of you have been moved by the suffering in that nation. Some of you perhaps also know people there. As a nation we have been focused on the Middle East with our soldiers being there, but we are learning that the numbers of our citizens in Haiti is also quite large. There are 45,000 Americans who have been there, and 345,000 people in this country have come from Haiti. As a nation we have realized we must do something for this country that is really very close to Florida in the Caribbean. Hopefully Christian ministries, companies and government can work together to bring a better life for Haiti, the land of mountains. I believe if we trust Jesus Christ we can.

As we think about our call to missions and outreach, the bible shows us that God loves people in great need before we even know about it. God called Jonah to go to Ninevah, and help the people and he had mostly ignored them. Throughout the Old Testament we see God sending prophets to call people back to the Lord. God saw that the people were not fulfilling His heart of compassion for the world, so He sent His Son Jesus Christ to faithfully fulfill His plan. If you want to know the heart of God, you need to understand, that He is a searching and seeking God, who wants to bring the people He created back to Himself. And God is forever calling us as His people, the church to join Him. The first thing you need to know about our mission outreach is that.

I. God is a Sending God.

Jesus said look at the fields they are ready to harvest, but the laborers are few. God is saying He does not have enough laborers in the field. Again as we watched the story unfold this week in Haiti, most of us agonized because there were not enough rescuers and equipment to get the people out of the rubble who are suffering. I was really praying for this. Yesterday when I saw that the US Navy Ship Comfort was being deployed from Baltimore I felt that a prayer was being answered. In the same way God looks down at the world and sees its suffering. He yearns for people to respond. They are His instruments. If they respond lives will be rescued, if they fail in the task the mission will fall short.

Someone might say well how do I know that God cares so much? We know because of the love He showed us through Jesus Christ. Christ came into this world passionately seeking the lost, calling them to Himself, and healing their broken lives. The key verse in the bible tells us…For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes on Him would not perish but have everlasting life. And Jesus made it clear that if we love Him, then we will do what He did. We are to go out in the highways and byways and bring as many to His house that we can. John Wesley saw this. When asked what his church was he said, The World is my parish.

Jesus said in Matthew 28 that we were to go and make disciples baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and teaching the all things I have taught you. These followers became like little Christ’s in the world. Peter went to Asia. John went to the Middle East, and Paul reached Greece, Rome and Europe. Thomas went to India, and others went to Africa. But it was not only the 12 but it was also thousands of other followers who got into every city and village in the known world. But God is not satisfied until everyone has heard, and everyone has an opportunity to come, so God also sends every Christian in every age to be in mission. That means you and I.

God is a missionary, Jesus is a missionary, the disciples were, and so are you and I. Our traditional view of being a missionary is somebody sent to Africa or China. When my wife Carolyn was a little girl she responded to an invitation to follow Christ and be in mission and outreach. When she went forward to the altar, it seemed like they were calling her to go to Africa or something and that scared her. She only wanted to follow Christ. But little did she know that this call was a commitment to be in mission in other ways, serving as a leader with her husband who is a pastor.

Everyone of us here has a call to mission. It is different for each of us. God calls to find that mission and then live it out. Many of you are serving in places in this ministry fulfilling your mission. Some work with youth, some teach, some with seniors, and some do works of service in the church and around the community. As we go about our mission God wants us to realize that we need Him to equip us and prepare us for the work. Whenever God gives a call to do something He wants to prepare us and train us.

II. To Prepare His People to Be Sent-

Before Jesus sent His disciples out to take the message and to bring healing and hope to the world, He gave them instructions. The bible says He taught them over 40 days.

In order to be effective in mission and ministry outreach we need training. I have seen many people who wanted to work with certain groups, but they did not take enough time for training. Think about the doctors, the relief workers and soldiers being sent to Haiti. They have had years of preparation. They know how to meet the needs of people who are hungry, thirsty, cold, sick, and ready to perish.
God wants to equip you and I to do His work. That is why we gather to study. That is why we offer training events.

Many of our people are getting training through lay leadership, through conference events. Our district offers an event in the beginning of February. If you want more preparation let us know.

Not only do we need teaching and training but we also need the power and presence of God. We cannot accomplish the mission without that. We cannot do the work at this church, in this community to whatever group we work with, without the power of the Holy Spirit. Those of you who are serving in new areas remember your need of the Lord. A big part of knowing God’s presence is prayer. Jesus told His disciples that they needed to wait in prayer for 40 days and nights for the power of the Holy Spirit to come. Acts 1:8 He said when the Spirit came they would have power to be His witnesses, to share the Good News and to help people who needed God’s love.

We do not give enough time to prayer to allow the Holy Spirit to show us what to do and where we are to go. Therefore we are not as confident in our task. In Acts 14 it says that the disciples fasted and prayed for a number of days. It was then that the Holy Spirit spoke and said set apart Paul and Barnabas for the work I have for them. So they knew they were to go out to the nations, and they did.
In the communication that we received from our people in Haiti, it was clear that many of them had prayed quite a bit for preparation for this trip.

Mark Miller pastor and friend said that in prayer God had laid on His heart the call to minister to these needy people. There were others who felt the need to enlist prayer before they went like never before. Now they know why because God was preparing them for the stress that would come. In some sense they are trapped in the village of Jeremie, 120 miles from Port-Au-Prince. Port-Au-Prince is the city of exit by plane and boat and it is completely devastated. Friends God wants to prepare us for our task through prayer. What is He putting on your heart this morning? Invite Him to show you step by step what to do. It may take weeks, months or years, but He will show you. Thirdly I want to look at the fact that…

III. Every Believer is Sent in Mission

Jesus told the Disciples when the power of the Holy Spirit has come, you will go out to Jerusalem, Judea and all the Earth. And that is what they did. But it was not only the Apostles that did this it was all the believers. We read in Acts chapter 8 that during a time of persecution that everyone but the Apostles were driven out. These people went out and shared the gospel and brought the message of Jesus Christ to cities all over the Middle East, Europe and Asia. We are blessed to have a church that reaches not only Swartz Creek, but Michigan and the world

And it is the whole church that is called to do the work of the ministry. When the ministry falls to just the pastors and staff, then it becomes a professional duty and not a personal responsibility. Sometimes I hear people say, well is the church going to do something about this person who has a need. Well remember the song last week. I am the church, you are the church we are the church together. If you see a need be the first one to step out and do something, don’t wait for someone else.

I am so proud of this church and the mission and ministry that does go on. When I see the amount of food and clothing given out by our food pantry it blesses me. When I see our youth travel and do mission work that touches lives, I am encouraged. When I watch a class respond instantly to a need and take an offering for a family I am touched. When I see another class take upon itself the siding of someone’s home I am so proud to be part of this congregation. Serving in mission can be as simple as making sandwiches. I head that one particular group in Flint loves our sandwiches, because they are made with good bread, good meat and love and care. Fourth, I want you to see in our mission calling…

IV. We Are Sent To Make a Difference.

We are called to bring people back to God so that they might experience Healing, and Hope, and know they have eternal life. There is no greater opportunity then when something happens like Katrina in the gulf or the earthquake in Haiti to reach out and show the love of God. I saw a deep spiritual hunger in Haiti before and I see it today. Every time I turned on the TV I saw spiritual hunger. I saw people lifting their hands to God, praying at gravesides, and laying a bible at the hands of young girl that was trapped. They had a peaceful march which seems more like a prayer walk. I have not heard the networks talk about faith and prayer as much as this week.

Friends we must care for our town, our state and our nation, but we must do something about things like this that happen in other parts of the world. One church cannot take on the needs of the whole world. But if each of us do our part, much good can come. I thank God for what our denomination is doing. Between our Conferences in Michigan and those around the nation, thousands of mission trips have been made to Haiti. I was told by a pastor on Friday that we are second only to the Catholic church in outreach and mission ministry there. If you took all churches mission efforts out of the country it would probably drop over 20% of its support. But there is now more to do then ever before.

The news was comparing their poverty percentages to ours. It said they had 80% and we had 12% but that is a misconception because I guarantee that the poverty in Haiti is 10 times worse then those in the poverty level in the US in terms of dollars. Beyond a wood, metal or cement dwelling and a couple of shirts, pants and skirts, a couple of pots, and odds and ends most people have nothing. Water must be drawn from the well, and there is often only 1 doctor for 10,000.

Families have to pay to go to school, and many cannot. There are no drugstores, no Mcdonald’s with 1.00 specials. Often their needs are met by mission groups who bring food, clothing, bibles, and toys for children. Doctors come for 2 weeks and treat patients giving treatment to peoples health needs, including eye and teeth exams. Without the thousands of health kits we send they would have little health care.

As I think about our conference work mission that is there, they are a picture of what the church of Jesus Christ is to do in the world. We are to be God’s people planted in the world wherever we are to make a difference. The church was that in the book of Acts during Pentecost. They studied the Word of God, then they went and helped their neighbors, the people in the city, and eventually went out to all continents. They fed, they clothed, and they housed people. They made a huge difference. You and I are called as believers to make a difference in the world.

Let me ask you a very important question. I want you to thank about this for you personally. What will be different in the world because of you? What mark will your life have left? Will your family be different? Will this church be different? Will our community be better off because of you? You are called to be Christ’s presence in the world. When Jesus came He fed people, He healed them, He comforted them and led them to God. We should be doing that. Jesus Christ is going to ask you that question. What difference has your life made?

In Matthew Jesus says that some fed the hungry, clothed the naked, visited the sick and those in prison, but some did not. For those who did they were the sheep that entered heaven, but for those who did not they were judged. You are called to make a difference. You are called to be in mission. Our God is a missionary God. He sends you as His representative. Just like in Haiti, people’s lives are in the rubble. They are trapped by the circumstances of life. They are hurting. They need love, support, and purpose. Some are out of work, some are broken because of troubled kids, and some have habits that are killing them. We need to pull them out!

Let me close with words from our Discipline which is our call to mission and ministry. To carry out our mission we send persons into the world to live lovingly and justly as servants of Christ by healing the sick, feeding the hungry, caring for the stranger, freeing the oppressed, being a caring presence, and develop social structures consistent with the gospel. Para 122 God is a missionary God, and we are His missionary people, all of us. God sends you forth…Go!!!

If you’re interested in discovering more about this church’s ministry, our foundation of faith, and how you could use your gifts and talents as a member, please call Barb Mulnix at 635-4555 or email (bmulnix@umc-sc.org).  A class will begin soon on Sunday at 9:45 a.m.

Have you ever wondered where all those shoe box gifts collected for Operation Christmas Child go?  Thanks to a new tracking label we have learned that shoe box gifts collected at our church relay center in November have been sent to Central Asia, Madagascar, Ukraine, and Phillipines. It is a blessing to know we are touching the lives of children all over this world. If you know of other places where shoe boxes have been sent, please let us know so we can keep a list. Contact Kathy Strauss at 659-5746.

The 30-Something Group (No ID’s will be checked!) will be starting a new Bible Study on Prayer starting January 17.  Please join us if you are interested in learning more about why and how to pray from examples in the Bible.  A Sunday School Class is an excellent place to grow in faith and develop new friendships.  Through fellowship and bible study with peers we will learn and grow, sharing life experiences, encouraging, supporting each other through prayer. Any question email us at nettandjerry@sbcglobal.net (Dannett and Jerry Rice).  We meet in the Lounge, hope to see you there!