From Sampler to Sower

The Title Slide from Sunday's Message

This Sunday our church tried something different.  That in and of itself would be enough for me to love our church — we have no problem at all trying something new.  However, in the famous words of Ed Valenti, “But wait. There’s more!”

Pastor Phil Rogers spent all week telling people they did not want to be late for church this Sunday because something was in the works that has never happened at our church.  And we could tell something was different from the first moment we entered the sanctuary.  The customary greeters met us at the doors and handed us a packet of sermon notes that had been sealed, along with a stern warning not to open the folder until we were instructed to do so.

The worship team led us in a brief time of worship, followed by the typical announcements and offering.  Then Phil began to preach.  We’re in the third week of a series on Romans chapter 12.  Phil was up to preach a little earlier than normal, but no worries there.  He proceeded to preach for a total of about ten minutes on Romans 12:6-8 on the subject of Spiritual gifts.  The last lines of his sermon notes for the day instructed us “When you get home, break the seal on this folder, read and complete the mission described inside.”  30 minutes after the service started he prayed and told us we were dismissed.

I was stationed in the video booth Sunday morning, and I’m not sure what my favorite part was — listening to the voices in the balcony mutter in confusion when we were dismissed, or the sheer number of my teens asked me on my way out of the sanctuary “Is church really over?”

My response?

“No, I think we’re supposed to take this home and do what it says.”

After getting my herd of kids (including my own five children, two nephews and a pair of my oldest son’s friends) home, we gathered around the dining room table to find out what our mission was.  Here’s what it said inside the folder:

Your Mission:

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to take action as soon as possible to use at least one gift God has give you.  You may act alone, as a family, or as  a small group.  If possible complete your assignment today, but it must be completed by the end of the week.  Your mission is complete only after having returned the enclosed response form.

Action Idea Starters

Prophesying: (used in proportion to my faith)

Is there someone you know with whom you need to share your witness?  You’ve known for some time that God has been laying them on your heart, and the time has come for you to, by faith, talk to them about Jesus.  (Remember, success is not measured by the response the person gives, but by your faithfulness as a witness.)  Maybe there is someone you have not seen at church for some time and God is leading yu to call on them and let them know someone cares about them and misses them.

Serving: (let me serve)

Who do you know has need for some help?  Perhaps they are an older person, or a single mom, or a handicapped person.  Take the time to do something that really helps them out.  Maybe it is cleaning their house, raking their leaves, washing or maintaining their car.  Use your imagination!  Don’t ask, just do!

Teaching: (let me teach)

Do you have a skill or an ability that someone else would benefit by learning?  Maybe it is teaching someone to cook, change their oil, grow things.  You may have a hobby or sport you could take time to teach to a child or someone else who would never get to do something if you didn’t take them.

Encouraging (let me encourage)

Are you aware of anyone that you know who may be discouraged, sad or lonely?  Perhaps you know of someone who is ill, shut-in, or in a nursing home.  You may even want to consider taking some time and just go to the nursing home and visiting with perfect strangers.  Consider asking the staff for the names of any patients who rarely receive visitors.  You can encourage by taking them something special, visiting and talking with them.  Get to know their stories.  Give them the most precious thing you have, your time.

Contributing to the needs of others (let me give generously)

Do you know of anyone who is going through really hard times right now?  Perhaps they are unemployed, or have experienced an illness.  You may know of a single mom who is having a hard time making it.  This may be the time God will lay on your heart to give to them out of the generosity of your heart.  Perhaps you can take them some food, pay a bill, or just give them some money.

Leadership (let me govern diligently)

What needs are you aware of in our church and community that are not being met?  Are you aware of anything that someone just needs to take the initiative to do?  Leadership is not telling someone else what to do, it is empowering and enabling things to be done.  Our greatest tool for leadership is the leadership we model.

Showing mercy (let me do it cheerfully)

Who do you know that has hurt you or someone you know?  Do you know someone who has made some big mistake and is suffering consequences.  God may want you to be his instrument of His grace, love and mercy.  Perhaps God wants you to be the one who will reach out to them and let them know someone still cares for them.   Remember, showing mercy to someone does not imply approval, but rather the possibility of forgiveness and restoration.

I had the chance to talk with my kids about what each of the gifts meant, and then we discussed what we could possibly do.  After a good group discussion we finally decided to head to the house of some of our friends who, because of kidney dialysis and some pretty severe allergies have a problem raking leaves.  Our mission was to use the gift of serving and rake their yard for them.  After borrowing some rakes from J-Dubs to supplement our own supply we headed out to fulfill our mission.

The yard wasn’t too big.  It really didn’t take us too long.  In just a couple hours we had it completed.  But it was great all the way around.

We had a blast.  It was something the whole family could get in on.  Even our youngest (Mackenzie and her cousin Timmy, age 4) could hold the lawn bags as we gathered up the leaves.  And not only were there enough hands to make for light work, there weren’t enough rakes, so everyone got a chance to relax and watch from time to time.  It was one of the best Sundays our family has had together, and we got to learn about our spiritual gifts by putting them to work.

But we’re not quite done.  We haven’t turned in our mission report yet.  The kids are off at Bible Quiz practice right now.  But they’ll work on it when they get home.  We’ve already told them it’s their responsibility to fill out the paper work.  That means we get yet another chance to think and talk about what we learned today.

Now, I realize this is nothing revolutionary.  There’s even a whole prepackaged campaign you can purchase for your church to do something similar.  (I know, we purchased it, and then decided it wasn’t quite right for us.)  But this was more our speed, more our style.  Part of an expository preaching series, rising out of the text, not for the publicity, but simply for the kingdom — this might be something we’ve never done before, but it’s exactly the kind of thing we do.

And I love being a part of this kind of church…

So, I know that some of you reading this are Middletowers too.

So, what did you do?

Haven’t done it yet?

You still have time.

What are you going to do?