Dr. David D. Young
May 7, 2006
Jeremiah 31: 1-6
Ephesians 4: 11-16
“Measuring Marks of Faith”

I know a mother who told me that her daughter on the night before her sixth birthday – as she was getting ready for bed – took off her shoes and put them in the wastebasket next to her bed. When her mother asked why she had thrown her shoes away the little girl responded by saying, “Well, when I wake up in the morning and am six years old, I will have outgrown them.”

It is wonderful to see children grow! Kids love to stand next to their parents and measure how tall they are and see where they come next to them. And it’s amazing how quickly they grow.

Charlie Brown and Linus are sitting down – eating their sack lunches at school and Linus says, “I’m still hungry – I ate a peanut butter sandwich, an apple and two cookies, but I’m still hungry.” As he throws his sack into the trash he says, “That always used to be enough for me – I think I’ve outgrown my lunch.”

Growth can be painful or growth can by joyful. But growth is always extending beyond a previous condition. Today, we are looking at our growth as Christians. Growing in faith is often a difficult thing to get a hold of. We all come from different spiritual journeys – having different backgrounds and different experiences – with none of us being at the exact same place in our faith.

Personally, I find this truth to be enriching – not disheartening. For ours would be a very boring life and community – if we all had the same faith, belief and perceptions. And yet, there is a certain sense of unity – without uniformity – that we share – a centrality in Jesus Christ – and that which holds in life.

Most sermons are theological in nature – and even abstract at times. But today, I would like to lift up some specific yardsticks and handles that can serve as measuring marks of faith. This sermon for this morning can only have relevance if each of you do two things. First, consider certain measuring marks for yourself and your faith. And second, consider certain measuring marks for our church as a whole.

Our text from Ephesians that Grant Khosla and Jessie Vissicchio read for us begins with these words,

“And his gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, for the equipment of the saints, for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.”

You see, we have all been given different gifts, different skills – that make us each uniquely who we are. The gifts with which we have been endowed are not better one from another – they are simply different. Whenever we ask the growth questions in our faith – we always need to ask, “Are we using the gifts we’ve been given to the fullest?”

And his gifts were that some should be: church school teachers, JPF or SPF advisors, and others, child care providers – some servers, servers of coffee hours, receptions – weddings and funerals – meals – for church dinners, shut-ins or the soup kitchen. His gifts were that others should take their turn as church leaders – serving on committees and supporting the program arms of the church – while others might volunteer in the church office, Women’s Fellowship or the Rummage Room. Still, others might cultivate church membership by sharing with others about God’s goodness and the church. Some are called to outreach through direct or indirect support of all our mission opportunities – our work in Honduras at H.O.M.E. in Orland, Maine and numerous other projects. Others share gifts of – music and singing – ushering and greeting. While still many others offer financial gifts which support the worship, community and service of this church.

All of these that I have mentioned are rather obvious gifts and roles that people share in. It is my hope that most of us participate in more than one of them – or some other that I may have neglected to mention. And that we ask ourselves “How might I grow in the roles I am playing?” or “What new roles might I grow into in the coming months and year?”

Our obvious measuring marks, I am suggesting, are the particular means through which we choose to express ourselves and offer ourselves. Each of us has to take stock of our own involvements – to see if they are enough or not and whether ours is a growing quality contribution.

It has been observed that people in a congregation are sometimes divided into two types: “trees” and “posts.” When a tree is put in – it grows. When a post is stuck in – it just sits there. No one is being accused of being a post today. But if we are truly persons of growth – it is important from time to time to measure our growth – so that we can consciously see where we’ve been and where we can be blossoming.

On the corporate side of the church as a body – there are some obvious measuring marks as well. We can look at things such as: membership numbers and the corresponding trend lines. With our new members joining today I said to them that we are really not interested in numbers, we don’t play the numbers game. We are really interested in being a growing congregation, where people are growing in their faith and if others are attracted to that kind of a life, so be it, we’ll grow in numbers as well.

We can track worship attendance. We can track church school attendance but the same thing applies to our children. We could track the numbers, all we want, but what we really care about is the individual faith growth of each of our children.

We can count the number of active groups – be they fellowship, study, or service in orientation – and ask, are they growing or declining in numbers? We can observe the increase in the variety of programs that are being offered. We can see growth coming in the area of Pastoral Care. We can measure our outreach budget and our overall church finances. We can assess our building and its use and the fact that we are a community resource. We can look at our planning processes, the way we’re organized and structured – to sense whether they all facilitate growth or maintain the status quo. And we can evaluate many of the services within our own membership and beyond.

These are some of the obvious measuring marks for our corporate body. And my personal sense tells me that there are some very positive signs of growth – yet each of you needs to look at corporate growth from your unique vantage point.

Until now, we have been dealing with what I’ve called obvious or fairly tangible measuring marks of growth. Now, I’d like to shift to the less obvious and less tangible aspects of our faith – that are essential to what and who we are. Returning to the personal area for a moment. When we measure ourselves over the course of the past 6 – 12 months, are we more: truthful, loving, caring, committed, faithful, attentive, sincere, real, supportive, enthusiastic and eager to learn?

What have been the spiritual or inner insights that have helped us to see our life’s meaning in a new light? And if there haven’t been any, why not? Have we gained a clearer sense of purpose and direction? Has our moral and ethical integrity deepened or strengthened in recent times? Has our involvement with justice and compassion increased? Do we sense greater joy in the inner person now – than we did several months ago?

These are just some of the less obvious measuring marks of faith. And again, only each one of us can take stock of our own growth. It’s is my hunch that most of us are happiest when we are growing. It is my contention that whether we are eight, twenty, sixty or ninety we should still – if at all possible – be growing in our faith.

The Apostle Paul complimented the Christians who lived in Thessalonica by writing,

“…we thank God for you…because your faith is growing more and more…”

Turning again to the corporate and less obvious measuring marks of faith we find at least the following – some of which apply also to our individual growth. As a community of faith some of our standards might include: love, openness, warmth, acceptance, mutual respect, vitality, a sense of mission, vision, and purpose, strong leadership and open processes, the ability to meet a wider range of needs, quality programs, fellowship, unity, community and stewardship. There are some things that are very hard to measure – like “what’s going on within our congregation during a worship service?

How do we answer questions like, “What is God doing here – in our church?” And do the vast majority of our members own the ministry of First Congregational Church? Isn’t the ministry more than what the paid staff members do? But if so, what is it? And finally, isn’t a measuring mark – the sense of joy that permeates our faith community? For Jesus said, “My peace I leave with you – that your joy may be full.”

Janet Westbury shares the following incident,

As a checker in a supermarket, I sometimes have to ask the stockers to check the storeroom when we run out of something on the shelf. One day a customer informed me that we were out of Joy dishwashing liquid. I immediately got on the loudspeaker system and asked, “Is there any Joy in the storeroom?” The response left many shoppers snickering: “No, but there’s plenty of Thrill.”

Perhaps a corresponding question for us might be, “Is there any joy in the congregation today?” For as the French priest and paleontologist, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin reminds us, “Joy is the surest sign of the presence of God.” It is also a meaningful measuring mark of faith. Our spring theme is “Celebrating Life: Journeying in Joy.”

I have tried to offer some specific indicators and questions that are both obvious and less obvious – personal and corporate as measuring marks of faith – not to come up with an exhaustive list but to help us consciously assess our growth as Christians. For there are certain things we can do and specific steps we can take if we want to grow in faith.

A certain religious man died and was met at the pearly gates by St. Peter bearing a clipboard and check-off list. St. Peter explained that in order to get to heaven one had to get 1,000 points, and one got points by listing the good things done on earth. So the man was confident and began listing off his accomplishments. “I was a church school teacher for 20 years and 5 years as superintendent.” “Fine.” replied St. Peter, “3 points.” “And I was an usher for 19 years, never drank nor swore, nor smoked. I never missed a service of worship in 44 years.” “Great,” answered the Saint, “that will give you another 3 points.” The confidence gave way to frustration and anxiety as the man spewed out his next set of accomplishments. “Well, I worked to help get equal housing in my city and worked on Habitat Houses. I signed petitions for peace and the environment. Why I even gave 10% of my income – before taxes, mind you – to church and charities.” “Fine, fine,” said St. Peter, “that will give you a total of 10 points altogether. Now what else have you done to get to 1,000?” “Well, at that rate,” cringed the man, “at that rate the only way I’ll get into Heaven is by the grace of God.” “Exactly,” replied the Saint, “welcome.”

In verse 7 immediately preceding our passage we find these words,

“Grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.”

And this brings us to the culmination of this morning’s message. It’s at the heart of our Ephesians text,

“And his gifts were that some should be…” – and you fill in the blanks.

“for the equipment of the saints, for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature personhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; so that we may no longer be immature, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the cunning of others, by their craftiness in deceitful wiles. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every joint with which it is supplied, when each part is working properly, makes bodily growth and upbuilds itself in love.

The ultimate measuring mark of faith is Christ. Every child who is proud of mom or dad at some point hopes to grow up to be just like mom or dad. But we, as adults are encouraged to grow up in Christ – to mature personhood to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”

To unite ourselves intimately with Christ is to feel something that all the comforts of the world do not give. It is the joy of feeling close to God. It is the deepest joy our hearts can ever have. As we grow in Christ, we embody as his body his spirit, his values, his beliefs, his trust and his commitment in both personal and corporate expressions of identity.

What is a growing Christian? A growing Christian is a mind through which Christ thinks, a heart through which Christ loves, a voice through which Christ speaks, and a hand through which Christ serves. Of all the measuring marks of faith – the ultimate measuring mark is Christ! And that, my friends, is a word of limitless growth and grace!

Amen!