"Ordained To Serve"

1 Timothy 3:1-3, 8-9, 11-4:14

Rev. Samford Turner
Executive Presbyter

January 6, 2008

                 Over the years, I have discovered something about Presbyterian Churches. The greatest indicator of the health and strength of any Presbyterian Church is - the health and strength of its lay leadership – its Session and Diaconate. Good, strong, lay leaders make for a good strong Church. And quite frankly, good churches make good pastors even better.

                 I do not mean to say that pastors are unimportant, for that is surely not true. But I have learned that strong lay leadership makes for strong Churches – and that means good lay leadership makes up for weaknesses in a pastor – and quite frankly, all of us pastors have weaknesses.

 On the other hand, no matter how good a pastor might be, he or she cannot make up for weak lay leadership. Weak lay leaders are those who either do not know what they are called to do - or do not do what they are called to do, to the best of their abilities.  Strong lay leaders who know what they are called to do - in leading a Presbyterian Church and - who lead effectively - make for a strong and effective Church.

Our tradition of ordaining lay people to leadership in the Church is a practice that is as old as Exodus. Our text from the Book of Numbers tells of God’s plan for Moses to set apart certain lay leaders to help govern the people of God. Moses was even instructed to give them some of the Spirit that God had given to him. Thus was born our ancient tradition of laying on of hands. In just a few minutes, all of the Elders past and present will gather around these newly elected Elders and Deacons  – and they will lay hands upon those who are to be Ordained.

The laying on of hands is not an empty gesture.  It expresses the giving and receiving of a gift.

Jesus laid his hands upon children and said that the kingdom of God belonged to them.

Jesus laid his hands upon people who were sick – and with a touch of his hand, healed them.

The Apostles laid their hands upon people and the Spirit of God was given to those who had been baptized.

In the early Church, individuals were set aside for special tasks in the Church by the laying on of hands

The Holy Spirit spoke to those gathered in Antioch and said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”  Then those leaders who had gathered there, laid their hands upon them and sent them off to do the work the Spirit of God had called them to do.

This ancient practice continues in the Presbyterian Church when God - through the voice of the Church - calls men and women to serve God and others as Elders and Deacons and Pastors.  Paul’s admonition to Timothy – and I believe it is God’s admonition to all of us who are – or are about to be - ordained this day-  is – “Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given when the council of elders laid their hands upon you!” Do not forget - that you have been ordained – you have been gifted - to lead the Church.

Like all positions of leadership in the Presbyterian Church, Elders, Deacons and Ministers of the Word and Sacrament are called and ordained to ministries of SERVICE. Our ministries of service are modeled on the ministry of Jesus Christ, who said that he came NOT to BE served – but to serve. We have been ordained not to be served, but to serve God - and to serve all of God’s children.

It is the genius of the Presbyterian Church - that the Ordination of Elders and Deacons is essentially the same as the Ordination of Ministers of the Word and Sacrament. You will hear the Ordination and Installation Questions shortly – please note that the questions asked of Elders and Deacons are the same questions asked of Ministers of the Word and Sacrament.  The only question that is different is the last question, which has to do with the function of the Office.

Leaders in the Presbyterian Church are not called to follow their own understanding. Instead, together you Elders are called by God to seek the understanding of Christ and to Follow Christ wherever he leads. You are called to lead this Church in following Christ.

 Leaders in the Presbyterian Church are not called to represent any group or faction within the Church or the society.  While we are a representative form of Church Government, leaders are called to represent the whole people of God - and to follow not some ideology or cause, but rather to follow Christ.

John Warren, the first pastor of this Church quoted the Psalmist when he said, “here let rich and poor meet together and know that God is Lord of all.”  I would add, here let rich and poor, liberal and conservative, Democrat and Republican, black and white, yellow and brown meet to worship the One who is God and Father of us all.

Following Christ is not easy now and it never has been easy. Christ leads us on paths that many of us would rather not walk. He leads us to do things that we might ordinarily never do. It has always been so. Jesus was constantly putting his first disciples on the spot. And those first lay leaders, who he called to follow him, had to decide whether to follow Jesus, or to go in some other direction. Now, as then, we have to decide whether we really want to follow Jesus – no matter where he leads us. His way really is the road less traveled. Elders, it is your call to lead this Church wherever Jesus wants this Church to go.

Whenever the Session of this Church meets, it gathers to collectively listen for the guidance of God’s Holy Spirit – the Spirit of Christ who is the Head of the Church.  For that reason, it is essential that each one of you:

Individually live into the word of God in Scripture and live out of that word.  Be a student of Scripture, your attention to God’s word will help you become a strong and effective leader

Carefully listen for God’s word to the Session when there are crucial decisions to be made – listen for the guidance of the Spirit - and like unto that,

Carefully listen to one another - you never know who may be speaking the words of God at any given moment.  To decide not to listen to any one of the other Elders – is to say that God could not possibly be speaking through that person in that moment.

 This season of Christmas reminds us of the Angel’s words to Mary – With God, nothing is impossible.  So Elders, listen carefully for God speaking through each and every one of the other Elders on the Session.

Elders, you have enormous responsibilities in leading this Church.  In fact, it is easier to name the things for which you are not responsible – than it is to name the things for which you are responsible.  You are not responsible for electing Pastors, Elders and Deacons – or for the buying, selling or mortgaging of Church property – the Congregation is responsible for all of those things.  You are not responsible for choosing the texts for preaching and the sermon – your pastor is responsible for that.

You are responsible either solely or jointly with your pastor and the deacons for everything else in the life of this church.   That is a tall order!

Of course, you cannot do all this alone – you must depend upon other members of the Church to use their gifts and talents in serving God in this place – that together you may fully accomplish the mission and ministry of this Church.

Each and every one of you is a member of the Body of Christ – and the Body of Christ, the Church, cannot function well without the full and faithful participation of all of its members.  For this Church to maintain a strong witness in this community, all of you must use your considerable gifts and talents to serve God through the mission and ministry of this Church.

Deacons, you are called to serve God by serving those in need.  The Book of Order says that “It is the duty of deacons, first of all, to minister to those who are in need, to the sick, to the friendless, and to any who may be in distress both within and beyond the community of faith.’  This is a change from the responsibilities of the Deacon years ago – and it is a good change – going back to the Biblical roots of the office of deacon.

When I was ordained as a deacon in this church 30 years ago, deacons were responsible for church property, church finances, and for pastoral care of members and others in need.  I knew a little about property and finances, but I knew very little about this thing called pastoral care.

Fortunately Peter Mockeridge was also called in those days to be a deacon and he taught us all what pastoral care was about.  In those days we had folks we called “Special People”.  These were folks who were in the nursing homes, or home bound – or who had other special needs for pastoral care.  It was the responsibility of the deacons in this Church in those days to provide pastoral care for these church members.

Each Deacon had from 3 – 4 “Special People” and every year as new deacons were ordained and installed, the Diaconate would reconsider the list of Special People and which deacon was responsible for each Special Person.   The names of those Special People who had been cared for by those Deacons going off the Diaconate were available for the new Deacons coming on the Diaconate.  Also, if there was some reason another deacon felt it might be better to have someone else provide care for one of their Special People, then the name of that person was also available for one of the new Deacons.

We will call her name Samantha.    Samantha was about 87 years old and a

shut-in in her home.   She weighed about 87 pounds – and people who knew her thought that most of her weight consisted of rattlesnake venom.  No one ever could satisfy Samantha – she was chronically unhappy and she seemed to be dedicated to making all around her unhappy as well.

Each year as the deacons gathered to decide on Special People, some poor deacon would try to unload Samantha on some unsuspecting new deacon.  The names of the Special People were written on 3X5 cards with address and phone number.  At times this process resembled a high-stakes poker game – or perhaps better, a game of Hearts.  Samantha’s card hit the table with greater frequency than the Queen of Spades in a Hearts Game, and with a fearful response from the deacons.

Existing deacons were pretty tight mouthed about Samantha, for fear of tipping off the new deacons.  Inevitably, some unsuspecting new deacon would say, “I’ll take Samantha” and there would be a collective sigh of relief from those in the know.  Such was the case when Peter picked up Samantha’s card.

Peter was very faithful in whatever he did.   He set out to care for Samantha in every way he knew how.  Peter could fix pretty much anything.  He loved to fix old clocks, but he could fix appliances and door bells and practically anything else imaginable.  Peter shopped  for Samantha’s groceries every week.  She provided the list and Peter bought what she put on the list.  But Samantha was never satisfied.  It was the wrong brand, the wrong size, or it was not made the way it used to be made.

Peter fixed everything in her home – clocks, appliances, electrical items and wiring, plumbing problem – you name it – he fixed it - but of course according to Samantha, he never fixed anything the way it should have been fixed.

The year came and went and then the deacons were together again with a new class coming on the Diaconate – and it was time to allocate Special People again.  As the cards were placed on the table, there was the normal expectation that Samantha’s card would be dropped – but it wasn’t.  Peter kept her as his Special Person.  He did the same thing a year later, his last year on the Diaconate.  He continued to care for her after he went off the Diaconate – and cared for her until she died.  It would be a great story to tell you that over the years Samantha changed and responded well to Peter’s pastoral care – BUT SHE DID NOT CHANGE – Peter could do nothing right in her eyes until the day she died.  And Peter never changed, he always cared for her to the best of his considerable abilities – and by his example taught all of the rest of us about how to be a faithful deacon and care for those in need.

Newly elected Elders and Deacons – you are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses.  Specifically this morning, you are surrounded by all of the Elders and Deacons in this congregation who have served faithfully in this Church.

I would like all of you who are here today who have served as a Deacon to please stand.   New deacons look around you – and remember that we believe the there is such a thing as the Communion of the Saints – and know that there are many, many more deacons who have served this Church and they too surround you this day.  Please be seated

I would like all of you present today who are already Ordained as Elders to please stand.  Elders elect, look around you.  And remember too, that you are surrounded today by the Communion of Saints as well, all those who have faithfully served as Elders in this great old church throughout the years.

In every age we are tempted to think that our particular time is different from all other times.  Today I hear many in the church claim that our day and time is a most difficult day and time to be the Church.   Many would long for the good old days of the early church when they think it was easy being the Church.  If you have ever had such thoughts, I beg you to read again the New Testament – and this time without rose colored glasses.

If you are tempted to think that previous generations in this Church did not have to deal with the difficulties we now deal with, please read the Archives Tell a Story, the history of this Church through 1958.  Read with particular attention Dr. Burgett’s farewell sermon after serving from 1860 to 1900 as Pastor – during which time this Church saw Civil War, the magazine explosion, reconstruction, and financial ruin for many citizens, episodic yellow fever epidemics, economic recessions and depressions.

Consider the years before 1860, with a struggling young Church, economic depression and the financial ruin of its greatest benefactor, Henry Hitchcock, and then his death along with so many in the early 1840’s from yellow fever.

Consider the 20^th Century – with two World Wars with the Great Depression sandwiched between them.   Consider the threat of nuclear war and the arms race – and the racial conflicts of the 1950’s and 60’s – the Vietnam War – and the wars that were fought in this very Church over these very issues.

It has never been easy to be the faithful Church of Jesus Christ – it has never been easy to follow Christ wherever he leads us.  It has never been easy – but it has always been essential if we are truly to be the Church.

If all of this seems overwhelming, then take heart – The Good News IS - the future of this Church is in God’s hands – but God has called each one of you to lead this Church into the future God has prepared.  While we do not know what the future holds, we do know that God hold us - and the future - in God’s hands – and that is enough to know.

 Therefore I charge you new officers to lead boldly and faithfully where Christ leads you – and do this in his name – and for his sake.  Amen.