Making Disciples

February 4, 2024 homily on Isaiah 40:21-31 and Mark 1:29-39 by Pastor Galen

A Church For the Community

Yesterday was a busy day here at our church: 

At 9 a.m., Anne, a neighbor of our church who works as a teaching artist for infants and toddlers and their caregivers, had an open house to share about some of the musical classes that she’s offering for the community. 30+ families with babies and toddlers packed into the basement of our church and made some wonderfully joyful noise, as the adults talked and had coffee and donuts while the toddlers banged on various musical instruments. 

At 10 a.m., several church members and a neighbor came out to help with our monthly church clean-up. We vacuumed the sanctuary, raked leaves, hung some solar-powered lights along the handicapped accessible ramp, and did some reorganization in the church fellowship hall. In the afternoon, a few of us went to visit and share communion with Ms. Annie, who is now in an Assisted Living facility near Catonsville. In the evening, City Harbor Church’s worship team had their monthly praise team practice here in our church’s sanctuary.

Some of the activities that I just mentioned took place here in our church building, while others did not. Some were coordinated by church members, while others weren’t. And yet they all flowed out of the vision that I have for our church as a “church for the community.” And they all drive forward our church’s mission to “make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.”

The reality is that our church has always been a church for the community, ever since our congregation was founded 155+ years ago. But the community around us is constantly changing. And so this morning we’re going to explore what it might look like for us to continue to be a community church and to make disciples of Jesus Christ in a community and world that is rapidly changing. 

Of course, there’s no better example of disciple-making than that of Jesus Christ. And so this morning we’re going to look at how Jesus formed his disciples, and throughout, I’ll share some thoughts about what this might mean for us as we strive to be a church for the community and make disciples of Jesus Christ.

Jesus’s Method of Making Disciples

Earlier in Mark chapter 1, we saw Jesus inviting the fishermen Simon and Andrew, James and John to come and follow him. Not surprisingly, Jesus took them with him to “church” —or more precisely, the synagogue—where he spoke and ministered to people. Discipleship often starts with us simply inviting people to church. But then they left the synagogue, and they went to Simon and Andrew’s house. For Jesus, making disciples did not stop with inviting people to church. Discipleship can also happen at home, as we teach those under our care and model for them what it looks like to follow Jesus. For our friends, neighbors, and coworkers, it can also involve going to them and being involved in their lives outside of the structure of the church. 

“She Began to Serve”

While Jesus and his disciples were at Simon and Andrew’s house, they found out that Simon’s mother-in-law was sick, and Jesus healed her. And immediately she got up and began to serve Jesus and his disciples.

Isn’t that amazing? As soon as Simon’s mother-in-law is healed, she starts serving Jesus! The word “served” that is used here is the Greek word diakoneo, which is where we get the word “deacon”—an office in the Church that is about ministering to the needs of others. Simon’s mother-in-law is quite literally serving Jesus and the other disciples just a few minutes after Jesus healed her!

Sometimes we think that someone has to be a part of our church for years and years before they can serve or lead. We want to make sure they are really loyal to our congregation before we give them the power to make any decisions. 

But one of the ways that our society is rapidly changing is that many people no longer stay in one place for a long time. It used to be that people would live in the same neighborhood for generations. But now many families move every few years for new jobs or opportunities. I saw one statistic that said that last year 22% of the people in our neighborhood lived in a different house than they did last year! That means that 1 out of every 5 people that live in Hampden moved last year! About ½ of the people who live in a different house moved here from a different county, state, or even country. And if I were to venture a guess, this phenomenon is probably pretty similar in cities all across the country. We are becoming a much more transient society.

One thing this means for us as a church is that if we are to continue to be a church for the community that makes disciples of Jesus Christ, then we must not make people wait years and years before they can serve because if we do, they might never get the opportunity to serve! Yes, we should use wisdom about when, where and how people serve. And no, we should not make people feel obligated to serve if they are not ready to do so. But for people who have been healed and delivered by Jesus, and who are sensing a call to serve, we must create opportunities and pathways for them to serve Jesus. For indeed, every disciple of Jesus is called to serve.

“he…went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed.”

After Simon’s mother-in-law was healed, all sorts of people who needed healing and deliverance came to Jesus. Mark tells us that “the whole city was gathered around the door. And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons” (Mark 1:34). Jesus’s new disciples presumably got to be a part of all of this, or at the very least they had front-row seats to see it all happening. In this way, Jesus was forming them as disciples. He was helping them to see that ministry is not just about being up front delivering public lectures, but it’s also about sitting with someone who is sick or in the hospital, holding the hand of someone who is mourning and grieving the loss of a loved one. It’s about coming alongside someone who is struggling with an addiction, or who is feeling trapped or like there’s no way out. Jesus formed and shaped his disciples by doing ministry together with them.

But then Mark tells us that “in the morning, while it was still very dark, [Jesus] got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed” (Mark 1:35). This too is fascinating to me because there were still more people to be healed. In fact, “Simon and his companions hunted for him. [And] When they found him, they said to him, “Everyone is searching for you” (Mark 1:37). And yet Jesus pulled back to spend time individually in prayer with God.

Surely Jesus must have felt some temptation to just keep working–to just stay there in Capernaum and keep healing people. After all, things were going so well!  He was becoming quite popular! People were bringing more and more people to him to be healed. Surely he could have stayed there in Capernaium and built quite a ministry. But Jesus was willing to pull back, to listen and discern God’s voice. And in this case, Jesus sensed that God was telling him it was time to move on, and so he obeyed.

And so Jesus told his disciples, “’Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.’ And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons” (Mark 1:38-39).

If Jesus needed time alone with God, then so do we. If Jesus sought God’s guidance and direction from his Father, then how much more ought we? 

Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing

Stephen Covey, the author of Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, coined the phrase “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.” This means that we must keep our focus and efforts on the most important goals if we are to ever accomplish them. 

Jesus knew he had to stay focused on the main thing if he was to accomplish the task he had been given. He was anointed to proclaim the Kingdom of God far and wide, and he could not do that if he were to stay in one place. And so, after prayerful discernment, he moved on to the neighboring towns to proclaim the Kingdom.

It can be so easy for us to become comfortable and complacent. To just keep doing the same thing over and over again, and to lose sight of why we’re we’re doing it. But like Jesus, we must periodically pull back, to hear and discern the voice of God, and to be reminded of the vision and mission to which we have been called. 

As individuals, we can do this by intentionally spending time with God in prayer and devotion throughout the week. If you don’t already regularly set aside a few minutes of your day to pray or read Scripture, I would highly recommend it! We have some devotional resources available that could be helpful in this, like Our Daily Bread and Upper Room. 

Sunday Worship is like a Football Team huddle

But we also do this collectively as a group when we gather for worship each Sunday (or whenever you read the sermon that is sent to you in the mail).

One way we can think about our weekly worship services is like a huddle in the middle of a football game. Last week it was exciting to watch the Ravens in the playoffs. Even though they didn’t make it to the Super Bowl, it was exciting that they made it as far as they did.) During the game, the members of the team are out there on the field. They each have different roles to play on the field. But periodically they need to come together for a huddle, to receive directions from their coach, to encourage each other, and to make sure they’re all on the same page. 

The same could be said of us. Throughout the week we’re out there serving Jesus in our various contexts. And it’s not always easy! We sometimes grow tired. We get knocked around by the realities of life. We trip and fall, or get tackled. And sometimes we’re not sure what we’re supposed to be doing. 

But on Sunday mornings we come together for a huddle. We pull back at the start of every week, to receive direction from our coach Jesus, and to read and discern the Word of God, and receive encouragement from one another, so that we can get back out there on the field and serve Jesus in our various contexts. 

Conclusion

So this morning, may we “keep the main thing the main thing.” May we continue to be a church for the community that makes disciples of Jesus Christ, even in the midst of a rapidly changing neighborhood and world. May we regularly pull back to hear and discern the voice of Jesus, and to encourage one another. And may we make space for others to join us in this mission of making disciples of Jesus for the transformation of the world.

Amen!