Jan 13, 2008 - "The Story We Find Ourselves In"

Crescent Hill Baptist Church
Louisville, Kentucky
Centennial Anniversary Sunday
First Sunday After the Epiphany
Baptism of the Lord Sunday
January 13, 2008
W. Gregory Pope

THE STORY WE FIND OURSELVES IN

Isaiah 42:1-9; Psalm 29;
Acts 10:34-43; Matthew 3:13-17

(A Sermon on the Centennial Anniversary)

The Story We Find Ourselves In

One hundred years ago this weekend, 43 members from Clifton Baptist Church gathered in the old building of Crescent Hill United Methodist Church to sign a charter and begin a new community of faith they would call Crescent Hill Baptist Church.

All churches have a story. Rooted in the biblical story, each congregation has its own unique story. It is the story we find ourselves in.

Our church’s story is historic, touching literally thousands of lives. Only twenty years old, having just torn down their first building and built this sacred space, the Depression hit spinning the congregation into a financial crisis. To avoid foreclosure on the church property some members took the risk of mortgaging their own homes. Struggling together they made it through. And each week we gather in a space preserved by great sacrifice. We must never forget that. Rather, we should let it inspire us to generosity as we look ahead to a new century of ministry.

This congregation has known more than its share of grief as children died of leukemia, and teenagers died in car accidents, and several other untimely deaths shook our congregation. Ministers have faltered morally, and at times conflict has threatened to tear us apart.

There have also been grand days of worship and mission. Beginning new churches, starting new missions, hearing sermons that transformed your faith and helped you believe again.

There have been days of gladness when this church took pride in being a spiritual home to thousands of seminary students, professors, and presidents. To understand the people here you need to know the story of those days as well as the days of deep darkness when that part of our history came to an end.

There are days through which only God could have carried this congregation. Days of conflict and nights of darkness that have proved God’s grace.

And though our past, both good and bad, shapes who we are, we must be careful not to be defined by our past.

That is why we always need the larger biblical story to live into and out of: so that we never become completely defined by a century that is brief compared to the biblical story that takes us back to creation, leading us through the wilderness and the promised land, bound by a covenant with God, even through exile, waiting and looking for the Kingdom of God to break in around us, a kingdom embodied in Jesus.

Exile and God’s New Thing

Our church has lived for some time now in a particular form of exile. With our identity as a seminary church removed, we’ve been searching for who we are in this particular strange land. We put together mission and vision statements. We’ve organized into ministry teams. We’re still feeling our way through decision making processes. But most of all, we’re still wondering who we are as we walk into the future.

Our scripture readings for this 100th birthday weekend I believe help us in finding our way.

The word from Isaiah is given to a people in exile. It is about the identity of God’s people and what God has in store.

The prophet acknowledges what has happened - the good and the bad of Israel’s past. And then says “New things are on the horizon.” The “new things” refer to the restoration of Israel as a people and a return from exile to a new place.

Could this be God’s word to us on this first Sunday of a new century of ministry? A return from exile, restored to a new place?

Put the Wounds of the Past Behind Us and Forgive

Isaiah says the former things have come to pass and that God is wanting to do a new thing.

Perhaps this is God’s word to us to put the wounds of the past behind us once and for all. We can’t forget them, but we can say they will no longer define or determine who we are.

Would you this day be willing to forgive those who have hurt you? A failure to forgive defines us as victim. It keeps us in the past and keeps us from living in God’s present and in the future God has in store.

As we live with our past and celebrate all that is good about it, we are called to move on from what is painful and embrace what new things God has given and will give to us.

Embrace God’s New Future For Us

What about this new thing God has done in our midst with the addition of our Karen brothers and sisters?

I think one sure way of realizing when God has done something in our midst is when something happens you didn’t plan on and you can’t fully explain. This is one of those things. It has changed us in ways we are still unsure of.

Sometimes it’s hard to embrace the new thing God does, because we’re so used to the old. Did you know that some Israelites did not leave exile when given the opportunity? We have to be willing to embrace the new thing God is doing in order to move into the future.

What will our new future look like? I was just thinking this week wondering who the people of this congregation will remember 100 years from now: William Bunger? Lula Mae Solley? Eh Ka Paw? Hey Moo La Eh?

We look back today amazed the congregation survived the Depression. One hundred years from now, will this congregation scratch their heads in amazement that the church survived the Pope’s pastorate?

One hundred years from now, who will they say we were? What story of ministry will be leave for them?

Embrace our Identity as the Servants of God

The word Isaiah uses to describe the identity of God’s people is “servant.” The “servant” is a fascinating theme in the book of Isaiah. Scholars debate whether or not the servant is the people Israel or an individual of whom Christ is a model. Some say it is both. And I agree.

Clearly Christ was God’s Servant. He said “I have come to serve not to be served.”

He is God’s chosen, the beloved. At his baptism he heard the voice from heaven, “This is my Son, the Beloved.”

Christ was God’s beloved servant. And we as God’s people are the body of Christ called to be God’s servant in the world.

Isaiah says that the servant’s work will make a new day possible in the world. We are to be a light to the those around us who sit in prisons of dungeon and darkness. We’re called to work for justice. And to be make ourselves vulnerable. And to be attentive to others who are vulnerable, those whose lives are bruised and whose light has grown dim. Isaiah says God’s servant will not grow faint until our purpose is accomplished.

The Worship of God as Central to our Life Together

The psalmist says our God, the Creator of heaven and earth, will give us breath and strength and bless us with peace as we worship and listen for God’s voice. The voice of God described in our psalm this morning reveals a “God on the loose.” This Voice thunders across the waters with life. The Voice resounds through the fields leading the calf in a waltz and causing a young ox to jump for joy. The wilderness shakes and trees dance to the music of God’s voice.

Baptism: The Call to Ministry as God’s Beloved

It is the dance of God’s Beloved. God’s blessing is never more profound than it is at our baptism. I believe God wants us to hear at our baptism the same words that Jesus heard at his. It is the voice of God to us: “You are my beloved, in whom I take delight.”

It is a grace-filled moment when the heavens are opened to us and God’s Spirit descends upon us and empowers us to live as God’s servant, living lives of peace and righteousness and justice, telling the gospel story.

Tell the Story

It is the story told so beautifully by Peter. Following his vision on the roof where he was taught not to regard anything as unclean that God had made clean, Peter encounters the Gentile Cornelius and learns a powerfully new thing: The good news of forgiveness is for everyone. God shows no partiality. The Gospel is for all people. God was in Christ reconciling the world. And still is.

It is our story to tell that God’s grace and forgiveness are here for the taking. And that peace can be ours when Jesus is Lord of our lives. When anger and the desire for retribution are drowned in the waters of baptism. When we embrace our enemy with the love of Christ. When we are not consumed by our possessions, but freely give them away for the kingdom of God. When the love of self is transformed into compassion for those in need. When we trust ourselves into God’s hands and shape our lives in the way of Jesus - loving one another, making disciples, serving the world. That is when grace and forgiveness and peace flood our lives.

As Peter told God’s salvation story, Luke, the writer of Acts, says that the Holy Spirit fell on those who heard the word and they were baptized.

Part of our identity as servant of God is to tell the story of God’s love and grace, embodied in Jesus.

And then together we live the story.

How will we live the story as servant of God in a new century of ministry?

For almost three years now I have been with you, learning who you are, and together we’ve been struggling to define what God is calling us to do. I have offered a repeated refrain for us to engage our community and we have talked about it together. We even made a list one day in Fellowship Hall, but no one really stepped forward. That was perhaps due to the uncertainty among us as staff and congregation about how we actually work together in our new ministry team structure. And we have in many ways felt paralyzed.

Well I know of no better time than on this first Sunday in a new century of ministry to rise and walk, to turn the talking into acting - intentional acts of service, engaging our world with the love and grace of God.

Two initiatives I want us to begin immediately:

With the understanding that everything we do is missions, that missions is both in-reach and outreach, I want to lead us into an in-reach mission and an outreach mission.

Priests to Each Other Through a Connection Ministry

The in-reach mission is a connection ministry where we serve as priests to each other. At minimum everyone who agrees to be a part of this ministry is contacted once a month just to see how they are doing. My hope is that this can grow into a small group ministry where relationships are strengthened and nurtured and spiritual growth takes place. You will hearing more about this very soon.

Body of Christ to the World Through Community Ministry

The outreach ministry I propose is a community ministry where one Saturday morning a month people of all ages from our congregation and community will gather in groups to engage Crescent Hill and the city of Louisville in mission work, all of which is directed outside the walls of the church.

Things like: fixing houses, painting schools, cleaning public restrooms, helping people carry groceries to their cars, visiting nursing homes, or children’s homes like Brooklawn and Home of the Innocents and St. Joseph’s - homes for neglected and abused children - and doing activities with them - crafts, games, reading books, decorating cookies - anything you would do with your own kids.


We can engage in ministries to the homeless, serve in a soup kitchen, help single moms, provide meals or cookies for Kosair Parents while their children are in the hospital, and serve our neighborhood through United Crescent Hill Ministries.

For those who cannot do certain work because of physical limitations, we can have projects to work on here at the church: writing letters, making phone calls, sending greeting cards to prisoners, crafting place mats or centerpieces for soup kitchens, knitting baby hats and blankets to give to women’s shelters, making disaster relief kits, collecting bags for a community food drive - perhaps asking neighbors to sit canned goods outside their door if they cannot physically join us.

These are not fund-raisers. All of this is done with no strings attached.

And these are not hit-and-run service projects. We will seek to build relationships with those we are serving.

A church in Kansas began making visits to an HIV treatment facility. That led to a cookout for the residents one Saturday. Following the cookout one man emailed the church asking if someone could come and tell him more about Jesus. Later in the year the residents were invited to the church’s Christmas Eve service. Only a few of them could come. For others it was too difficult due to their compromised immune systems. So the facilities volunteer coordinator asked the church if they would hold a monthly worship service at the center. And they did. At each service the room is packed with residents. They participate in group prayer, sing their hearts out, and are very receptive to the message. It has transformed lives.

That’s just an example of how I would like for us to give of ourselves, building relationships with those we serve, no strings attached. I would like for us to look toward for the last Saturday in February to begin this ministry.

As your pastor, I stand before you today rededicating myself to our mission of in-reach and outreach, asking you to join me. If you are interested in helping lead either of these endeavors with me, let me know this week.

Sail On!

For over twenty-five years we’ve been singing about this ship called Crescent Hill Baptist Church seeming small and frail. As the human captain of this ship, often frail myself, I want to lead us to embark on a new voyage where we leave the chains of the past behind us while allowing the heritage of our past to inspire us.

Throughout this century, God has taken us by the hand and kept us. As we enter our next one hundred years God will continue to take us by the hand and keep us if we are open to it. As the former things have passed, God calls us to the new things God wants to do among us.

Are you ready to join with me for a new day of mission and ministry? Leaving the chains of a wounded and exiled past behind us. Letting the heritage of our history inspire us. Led by worship. Listening for God’s voice. Living as God’s servants. Priests to each other. The Body of Christ in the world. Telling the old, old story of Jesus and his love.

I think I’ve shared with you the words of this song before, but they are most fitting for our church at this point in our history. Listen for God’s voice to you. It goes like this:

You know a dream is like a river, ever-changing as it flows.
And the dreamer’s just a vessel that must follow where it goes
Trying to learn from what’s behind you and never knowing what’s in store
Makes each day a constant battle just to stay between the shores.

Too many times we stand beside and let the waters slip away
Till we put off till tomorrow what has now become today
So don’t you sit upon the shoreline and say you’re satisfied
Choose to chance the rapids and dare to dance the tide.

There is bound to be rough waters and I know I’ll take some falls
But with the good Lord as my captain I can make it through them all.

So I will sail my vessel till the river runs dry
Like a bird upon the wind these waters are my sky
I’ll never reach my destination if I never try
So I will sail my vessel till the river runs dry.

(Garth Brooks, “The River”)


O God, plunge us on! Plunge us on with hope and courage. Hope and courage. Hope and courage.