A few weeks ago I had coffee with a man named Jim. Jim is a young married man with two kids. He is finishing up his PhD in apologetics. Apologetics is the study of the reasons why people believe in God. Jim has focused his research on young adults, also called Millennials.
Jim and I ended up talking about one of the major obstacles keeping Millennials from following Christ. What is that obstacle? It is the church. Millennials have become infamous for saying things like “Give me Jesus but not the church.”
And over our coffee, Jim shared something surprising about that obstacle. Many of the authors whom I have read, and many of the church leaders whom I have heard, talk about getting young adults back into church by using one primary argument. And it goes something like this: “You should like church because the church has so much to offer you. You should give church a chance because the church can do so much for you.”
But after a sip, Jim said this: “When I talk to young adults about their hostility toward church, here’s the first thing I say: “The church is not for you. Don’t get involved in the church because you’re looking for something for you. The church is not for you. The church is for something much more than just you.”
And I was surprised. Because that argument sounds like a guaranteed way to turn young adults further away from church. But ironically, Jim said, “Once I persuade young adults that church is not for you, but for something far greater, they are much more likely to jump in. Because ultimately what most people truly want is some way to be part of something larger than just you.”
That conversation rings in my ears as we open Acts 1. This morning we’re starting a new series in Acts. The series is called “Mobile.” And it’s going to lead to our biannual Outreach Contribution on May 18. Twice a year we raise money through our Outreach Contribution to fund our ministries to our mid-South neighbors, the needy and the nations. Our Go brochure which is available at the Welcome Center shows all of the ministries funded through this contribution. Our goal on May 18 is $130,000.
In many ways, Acts is a book about the church. Its long title is “The Acts of The Apostles.” After all, the apostles play very prominent roles in Acts. Some have also suggested it be called “The Acts of the Holy Spirit” because the Spirit is so active throughout Acts. But in reality, it could also be called “The Acts of the Church.” Because it focuses the activities of the very first churches. Acts may be the one book in the Bible most focused on the church.
And in Acts 1 we find a fascinating conversation about Jesus and church. On Easter Sunday, Jesus was raised from the dead. And now he is spending 40 days with his followers. And while those 40 days were filled with all kinds of conversations, Luke highlights the final conversation: 6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6 ESV) We have to remember that these first followers of Jesus are Jews in Israel. They love their nation. But presently, their nation is oppressed by Rome. And now, they ask, will Jesus finally throw off this oppression and give Israel (and the church) the political freedom and sovereignty it deserves? The word “restore”—“will you at this time restore”—refers to returning something to its original condition. Will Jesus now use his power to restore Israel to its former glory—which, by the way, will also lead to the church experiencing glory? Will Jesus use his power to elevate Israel and the church in Israel so that these first followers finally get to enjoy safety and respect?
And Jesus responds rather coolly7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. (Acts 1:7 ESV). In other words, “Even if that was the right question to ask about church (he’s about to show that it’s not), the answer is something, literally, that only God knows.”
And Jesus continues: 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8 ESV)
“If you’re looking for power,” Jesus says, “I’ve got it. Only I’ve not come to give the church in Israel power so that you can feel safe and satisfied. I’ve come to give the church power so that you can go from here to the ends of the earth and witness to others about me.”
This conversation sets up the classic tension which plays out throughout Acts and which has played out in Christendom until today. It’s the tension between those who think, or at least act, like “The church is for us and our needs” and those who think, and act, like “The church is for the world and its needs.” Acts will tell stories of men and women who use the church to get what they want. But it will also tell stories about men and women who are used by the church to help others get what they need.
Jesus wants there to be no mistake. That’s why the one biblical book most focused on the church starts with this conversation. Jesus wants us to hear this: The church is not for us. The church is for the world.
Jesus starts with the city of Jerusalem and says, “The church exists to help the people in this city know more about me and what it means to let me rule their lives.” Then Jesus backs up so we see the wider region of which Jerusalem is a part, a region called Judea. And Jesus says “The church exists to invest in the lives of people in this wider region.” Then Jesus back up even further so that now we see that much-maligned region called Samaria where people live whom the Jews have a great dislike for. And Jesus says “The church exists to serve, love and lead to faith those who live in Samaria.” Finally Jesus backs up all the way so that the entire planet earth is visible. And Jesus says this: “The church exists as a witness and servant to those who live at the farthest reaches of this planet.”
As this book about church begins, Jesus wants this clear: The church is not for us. The church is for the world. The church exists to bless and benefit others—even at the farthest reaches of the world. And the truth is, when we participate in that kind of church, we ourselves are blessed and benefited.
I’d like to share a story about how this church has been striving to live out that truth—to the ends of the earth. It’s a story that takes place a long ways from here—literally half way around the world. It takes place among the many islands of the Philippines.
You may recall that last year the Philippines were hit by Typhoon Haiyan. This typhoon hit landfall at 190 mph. 5,200 people were killed. Half a million homes were destroyed. 4.3 million people were displaced.
Countless homes were lost, including most of the 61 homes on the island of Malucaboc. Malucaboc is comprised of three connected islands. Most of the 61 families on the middle island suffered catastrophic damage to their homes. Some lost entire homes. Most lost entire roofs. Not only were they left without shelter, but they were left without fresh water. Islanders rely on the roofing to help catch and collect fresh water. No roofs meant no fresh water.
The islanders live stark and simple lives with few resources. Most of the men fish the local waters and sell what they catch on the larger island of Negros, a 45 minute boat-ride away. Recovery from the typhoon was daunting.
Let’s change locations now. Let’s go south from Malucobac to the city of Bacolod on the island of Negros. Miles away on the island of Negros, in the city of Bacolod, a young man named Brian had fallen for the daughter of a local family. The daughter and her family were long-time members of the Bacolod Church of Christ, which meets in the open-air auditorium of the Shiloh Christian School. Nathan Luther and his father Alvin—a lifetime missionary in the Philippines–provide leadership and encouragement to both the church and the school. As Brian’s relationship with this young woman grew, so did his interest in her faith. Brian was a non-Christian. She was a devout Christian. Over time, the young woman and her family introduced Brian to Jesus. Not long ago, Brian was baptized into Christ at the Bacolod Church of Christ.
When typhoon Haiyan slammed into Malucaboc, Brian’s cousin Marisek got word to him. She and her family were leaders on Malucaboc. Her husband fished and hired his boat out, sometimes ferrying people back and forth between Negros and Malucaboc. Marisek wanted to try to find some way of getting relief resources to her island. She wondered if Brian, down in Bacolod, could help. So, she got in touch with him.
Brian shared the plight of Marisek and the islanders with Nathan, Alvin and the Bacolod Church of Christ. The church was eager to help. Knowing that national relief efforts were often poorly organized and sometimes ineffective, the church wanted to contribute directly to victims with whom they had a personal connection. This seemed like the perfect opportunity–a divine door of providence.
Partnering with the students and faculty of the Shiloh Christian School, the members of the Bacolod Church of Christ took up donations for those on Malucaboc island. With those contributions as well as with funds sent by members of the Highland Church, the Luthers started sending water, rice and other goods to Malucaboc. Marisek and her husband provided logistic help on the ground and organized the distribution to the families on Malucaboc.
In January, a plan was devised to purchase and ship dozens of tin sheets to Malucaboc to help re-roof every home. However, it soon became clear that the needs were more complex than first thought. Some islanders needed tin. But others needed lumber. Still others needed cement. The Luthers prayed for a way to effectively provide the widespread needs of the islanders.
The answer to that prayer came in the form of a new student at Shiloh Christian School. Lee had joined the other 322 students at the school near the beginning of the 2013-2014 school year. Lee was a child with special needs. His parents had placed him in a different private school in Bacolod, hoping it would be a safe and nurturing place. Instead, Lee was bullied and ostracized by those students. His parents pulled him out immediately. Knowing of the good reputation of Shiloh, the parents met with the Luthers to see if they would take Lee. They gladly agreed.
When the typhoon hit and the Luthers began asking around about meeting the diverse needs on Malucaboc, Lee’s parents took notice. Lee’s aunt just happened to run a major hardware store on the north end of Negros Island. Not only could this aunt make tin available, but lumber, cement and other resources as well. Lee’s parents contacted her and together they devised a plan and presented it to the Luthers. If the Luthers could find the funding, the aunt’s hardware store would provide vouchers to Malucaboc islanders good for anything in the store. Again using resources from the generous Christians and students in Bacolod as well as the Highland Church of Christ, the Luthers paid for the vouchers.
On January 18, 2014 David Ralston, Lawana Maxwell and I travelled from Bacolod to Malucaboc. With another typhoon stirring the oceans nearby, the waters were just barely passable. Marisek’s husband met us and the Luthers at a rock dock on the north end of Negros. We brought bags of rice as well as the hardware vouchers onto the small fishing boat. Braving waves and wind, we sailed across the ocean to Malucaboc where the islanders swarmed us.
Before we were allowed to distribute the goods, Marisek demanded we be guests of honor at a seafood feast. She brought us to her small concrete home while the other islanders trailed behind us and watched from the outside. Inside the home was a long plastic table with bowls filled with crabs, fish, multiple species of shell fish, and seaweed–all of which had been recently caught by island fishermen and cooked on the charcoal firepots in the open-air kitchen outside. It was a meal fit for royalty. David Ralston gave greetings from the Highland Church of Christ and prayed blessings over the family, the food and the islanders. (When the islanders learned we were from Memphis, one of them quickly asked, “Have you ever met Elvis Presley?”) Here are some of the shells from the food we actually ate.
After eating, we gathered on the basketball court which also served as the island dock. We distributed bags of rice to each family as well as the vouchers from the hardware store. And, Nathan preached the gospel to them. He explained how the typhoon had not been punishment on them from God (many believed it had been). Instead, God loved them and had sent his son Jesus to die for them. In fact, each bag of rice and voucher, Nathan said, was a sign of God’s love and grace for them.
And that day, on the other side of the world on a forgotten island, the church became what the church was meant to be. The church wasn’t for us. Had church only been for us, we’d have never travelled thousands of miles to Malucaboc. We’d have never braved those rough seas. We’d have never worn ourselves out to bring goods and the gospel. But the church wasn’t for us. The church was for them. For sixty-one islanders at the ends of the earth. But the three of us would tell you, that in letting the church be for them, we received as much, if not more, than they ever did.
Our Outreach Contribution three weeks from today makes all of this possible. It provides funds for the Luthers to minister in the Philippines. It allows Highland to be a church that is mobile and able to reach to the ends of the earth. It’s part of the way we remember that this church is not for us—it’s for the world. Please begin to prayerfully consider your gift toward our $130,000 goal on May 18.
