Beyond the Ordinary!

09/15/07

Scripture:

Several years ago I purchased a book authored by Dr. Ralph Neighbors.  Dr. Neighbors was a church transformational strategist who was well-ahead of his time.  His book was titled:  The Seven Last Words of The Church.  Though much of his book is obviously dated, the seven last words are not dated!  Those words are:  We never did it that way before. 

That same kind of sensitivity surfaces in the story that never seems to go away:  The Wizard of Oz.  When Dorothy awakened following the tornado, she knew she was in a place where she had never been, it certainly wasn’t Kansas.  Then at the close of the story Dorothy awakens, hugs Toto, and cries there’s no place like home.  Whether the phrase reads we never did it that way before or there’s no place like home sweet home, the idea is that we are most comfortable when we are stoking the fires of the ordinary.

The myths of the ordinary are tempting assumptions about congregational life.  Ultimately many of our myths have locked us into beliefs and actions that have allowed us to avoid change and hold on to the same old methods with the same old results.  Our myths of the ordinary keep us from living out the answer to our congregations most important question:  What is God calling us to be and do as a congregation?

In The Wizard of Oz Dorothy and her companions discovered that in going beyond the ordinary their dreams were realized:  the Scarecrow found that his mind could process creative thoughts, the Tin Woodman found that his heart beat with the intermingling of feelings and hope, and the discovered that courage and strength were part of his person.

Like these three characters we need to move beyond our mental maps and see what possibilities are there for us as we use our minds, hearts, and courage to discover our congregation’s strengths.  In this process keep in mind that our congregation already has some strengths because some things already work, much of what we need more of already exists within our congregation, and there are some things from our congregations past that can be used to move us into a more positive future.  Today we will look at six internal strengths.  Next Sunday we will note four external strengths.  The question we will ask ourselves is very basic:  Are we “ordinary” or “beyond ordinary” in regard to this strength? 

Frederick Buechner:  When faith stops changing and growing, it dies on its feet.

William Temple:  To worship is to quicken the conscious by the holiness of God, to feed the mind with the truth of God, to purge the imagination by the beauty of God, to open the heart to the love of God and to devote the will to the purpose of God.

Leonard Sweet:  EPIC

The Prodigal:  He got right up and went home to his father.

Chinese Proverb:  One generation plants the trees, another gets the shade.

Leonard Sweet:  Sing your song and help others sing theirs.

Conclusion:  The Psalmist:  You answered when we called.  You built up strength within us.  You will do everything you have promised us.  Complete the work you have begun (Ps. 138).

Sermon Multimedia:

• Beyond the Ordinary

  You do not have the Flash plugin installed, or your browser does not support Javascript. Both are required to view this Flash movie.