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    Sep 25, 2016

    Answer God's Calling

    Passage: Ephesians 4:1-6

    Category: Leadership

    God calls every member of the Body of Christ to be part of Christ's ministry.

    Today's message began with a brief skit:

    Actors:  God and a "regular" person.

    Tall person walks up the aisle and is tapped on the shoulder by a short person. The tall person stops, looks up, and over the shoulder but does not see the short person. This happens 2 times. The 3rd time the Tall person looks down and sees the short person.

    T: Who are you?

    S: I’m God

    T: Right, God is tall and mighty, if you are God I should have to look up to you.

    S: That is the way so many people think it will be. I sense you are in doubt about who I am. Don’t you remember I work around, with, and through people. If I were to come across as some huge, mighty being I would just scare people all the time. Remember God is love.

    T: I never thought of that. Wait a minute…if you really are God why are you standing beside me and talking to me like this? I haven’t done anything wrong. OK I did use your name in vain once..i mean a few times…can’t you……..

    S: I believe the list is a little longer; and yes I have forgiven you but I am concerned about your self-centeredness. You are blessed with the gifts required for you to be an ACTIVE member of your church.

    T: But I am an active member of the church; I mean I go to church every Sunday….Most Sunday’s…Many Sunday’s?

    S: So you have enabled me to allow you to witness how I work around you with the beauty of nature and through other people with music, events, and the message. So why do you make it difficult to work through you with the skills and abilities I blessed you with.

    T: Augh…..I’m nice to people what else should I do?

    S: Invest a little of your time in working with others and be a part of the vine so I may have you as my tool to carry my word and message to many.

    T: So how may I do this?

    S: Listen to the message and answer My calling.

    THE MESSAGE:

    Good morning, I’m Jon Sadler one of the lay leaders of the church and as you know we are celebrating Laity Sunday. So what is Laity Sunday? Let’s start with a little history:
    Ministry of the Laity (a definition from the Book of Discipline)

    The ministry of the laity is the work of mission or ministry to which each believer is called. As Christians we are all called to this ministry or priesthood – not just clergy. Each of us has a responsibility to proclaim the Good News and reach out to others in love. Methodism, in all its roots, has a long history celebrating and recognizing the ministry of the laity. In the early days of American Methodism, the laity served and maintained congregations between visits of the circuit riders. Today, lay people are the front line of daily ministry at the workplace, in the home and within the community.

    So how does this apply the to the members of the RUMC? Well, and no offense to Pastor Vivian, no one can run the entire church, and all the people we touch throughout the community, by themselves. There are actually 23 different organizations within the church along with five single person leadership positions. Yes, we have those organizations that include finance, and treasury, and lay leaders, and of course the pastor. And you’ve probably heard of the United Methodist women, the men’s fellowship, along with the youth Fellowship. And we have a Sunday school superintendent and people who run the family ministries, stewardship, evangelism, education, the library, worship, missions, communications, parish nurse, small group ministry care team, and of course the prayer chain. To those who are currently serving in these positions we say thank you and I ask “What’s Next?”

    As you can see some of the groups focus on carrying the Love of Jesus beyond the walls and members of the church. The Missions and the Volunteers in Missions teams are some that focus on our community and support to people across our nation.

    So how does all this work? I mean how do we find people who have a calling to fulfill the staffing of the committees and leadership positions?

    Some of the positions we need filled this year include:  Council Chair,  Lay Leader, Evangelism Chair,  and Finance Chair -- just to name a few.  There are also several positions for those who would like to just serve on a ministry team.

    One of the tools we’ve used this year is the nomination survey. If you have done this you will see how we are looking for people who feel a calling yet are not sure how to fulfill it.  (You may access the nominations survey at http://rumcweb.org/nominations-survey/) 

    The following positions that will be vacant on Jan 1:
    • Council Chair *
    • Lay Leader *
    • Lay Member to Conference *
    • Finance Chair *
    • Staff/Pastor Parish Relations Committee or SPRC Chair *
    • Property Chair (best if it’s a voting trustee)
    • Communications chair
    • Evangelism Chair
    The ones starred require being a member of RUMC

    We need at-large people in the following teams or members to fill rotating classes for administrative committees:
    • SPRC – 2 *
    • Finance – 3 A-L *
    • 1 trustee in class of 2019 *
    • Assistant Sunday School Superintendent
    • Family Ministries – needs 3 to 5 team members
    • Worship – 2 A-L
    • Evangelism – 2 or 3
    The ones starred require being a member of RUMC

    Some of the questions that I’ve heard talked about focus on how much time will it be to serve on one of these boards and do I have to be a member of the church to participate. Well trying to figure out how much time it’s going to take will depend on how deep you want to get into the work, and what committee you would be a part of. Some of these positions require you to apply a few hours per week, and others just a few hours per month. We also need volunteers for specific events that require only a few hours per year.

    So let’s get down to some of the basic responsibilities of being a member of any of the committees. It may surprise some of you to learn that you do not need be a member of the Reisterstown United Methodist Church to be a member of most of the committees. So hopefully some of you who are sitting in the pews, and falling asleep because you don’t see how you could be part of this; I hope I’ve awakened you-to answer your calling. The best way to learn about the functions of the church and yourself can develop or be enriched through being a member of a committee. Not only will you be able to be a provider of the service with new ideas. You have the ability to learn so much more about yourself and how Christ works through so many people, yes even yourself.

    In my own spiritual journey I became very involved with the men’s group. Initially I needed to be supported for I was dealing with serious health issues. From there I took classes on being a lay-speaker and as time progressed and I became a lay leader. My spiritual journey in leadership was spread out over several years and significantly influenced by three pastors as I had those AH-HA moments or minifany’s. I guess I should say that tap on the shoulder. I was struggling with the work I did as an engineer vs following a calling to serve others in a spiritual way. Pastor Dick Harden shared his story about being an engineer and having a calling that carried him to become a pastor. This led me to become a lay-speaker for the church and a leader in the Men’s Fellowship Group. Through this I started volunteering in the community and sharing my experience that developed a passion to become a pastoral counselor. That’s when I crossed paths with Pastor Steve Cochran. He had just finished the Pastoral Counseling program at Loyola where I was studying and could relate to my efforts. Although I became a little less active in the Men’s group I was following my calling in ministry. Pastor Steve’s example and guidance has had an influence on where I work today. Pastor Vivian helped me grow through my becoming a lay-leader, of which, I must confess, I’m still learning a lot about my roles and responsibilities. So I hope this helps you understand we don’t immediately jump to the top of where we think we are being called, we must follow the examples of others, listen to His calling, and take the footsteps, not giant leaps.

    If you are not ready to be a member of a committee, there are a multitude of ways you can serve as a volunteer. Sometimes there are sign-up list and for some activities it is a matter of raising your hand. All our leaders of the activities should have a place for your service. A good example of this came together last weekend on the men’s retreat. You see I was ready to apply my leadership skills as necessary to find (or should I say appoint) volunteers who could help with the basics. You know those fundamental basics involving shelter, clothing, staying clean, and for us men, having full stomachs as we enjoy the food we ate. We had everything lined up for the music, the studies, and the activities through a committee, where the members of the committee provided the services necessary to make the activities happen. We did not have people assigned to the basics though. As it turned out we had a person there who used to be a professional cook, others who worked in various kitchen roles, and others in areas of work such as cleaning and organizing. Things necessary to make it a successful weekend. All we had to do was ask for volunteers and people raised their hands. Granted we had some people who were no longer physically capable of providing such services, yet their participation in our group discussions and sharing their experiences was their true calling. Picture 17 men working together where people apply their God-given gifts and all the necessary functions to make sure we had a terrific and blessed weekend.

    I also got to be a witness to how God and Father of all, who is above all, worked through all the men and was in all the men. You see 3 of the men were from the Westminster Rescue Mission. As we drove home they talked about how the other 14 men had faced or were facing significant life issues but did not use an addiction to drugs or alcohol to get through it; or should I say hide from it. You see they thought they were alone in dealing with such issues as divorce and loss, those times when you feel all alone, and how faith and friendship can be the tool to get through it. 14 men probably didn’t realize how their experience in those dark times and willingness to share was demonstrating how God is always with us and at the time to share experience on the retreat was His tapping them on the shoulder as He worked through them.

    So if you are comfortable where you are, I challenge you to pay attention to the tap on the shoulder you received today. As your mind comes up with twenty reasons not to apply yourself in the church and community, I challenge you to listen to the quiet voice of God. I must confess there have been many times when asked to serve immediately I had a multitude of reasons pop up in my mind that said “You’re not qualified, Don’t do this!”. Yet as I listened to the answer I actually gave I heard the complete opposite, often “Yes, I can do that”. The more you reach out into that uncomfortable area, the more you can learn about yourself; how you may grow not just within the community but within yourself; spiritually in a connection with Jesus. You may become frustrated at times, yet develop new friendships and discover your calling; you can also discover the difference between joy and happiness. Where happiness is that momentary uplift while Joy is the uplift that continues even through those dark times. The challenges you face now will become smaller as your connection with God grows. Remember God is around you, He is working through you, and everyone.

    So if you’re wondering what stage or level you are at in the work you can do within the church be sure to talk to a lay-leader, Pastor Vivian, or any of the committee members to learn more. Or simply fill out the nominations form, you may be surprised at the outcome as you allow Christ to work through you. In Jesus name we pray that this can happen. And the people said: Amen