Years ago, I got in trouble because of something I said in one of my sermons. I’ve preached over 500 sermons, no two the same, and those sermons contained approximately 850,000 words, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that a few of those words would get me in trouble. After all, no one’s perfect.
In that sermon, I quoted David Ray, a pastor in the United Church of Christ, who has written several books on ministry in smaller churches. In one of his books, Ray wrote about different “isms” in society. He said that “when one race or ethnic group sees another as inferior and acts accordingly, we call it ‘racism.’ If one gender takes a chauvinistic approach to another, we call it ‘sexism.’ When older people are ridiculed and dismissed, we call it ‘ageism.’”
David Ray then went on to describe what he called “sizeism,” our society’s obsession with size and “giantism;” and he presented some examples of this obsession. I quoted him (and this is what got me in trouble) when he mentioned our fascination with having the “biggest tomato, biggest muscles, biggest sex organ, biggest skyscraper, biggest salary, biggest children, biggest audience, biggest house, biggest town-state-nation, biggest fish.”
Can you guess what it was that got me in trouble?
It was, I think, a year or two later, that a member of the church brought up that sermon. She was upset over something else that I did or didn’t do or didn’t do right, and in a conversation with other church members, she said, “Well, do you remember that sermon in which the pastor talked about the size of people’s sex organs? I think there’s something wrong with him. I think he has some issues he needs to work out.”
Well, there is, I think, an issue here that needs to be worked out. But it’s not just my issue. It’s society’s issue. It’s sizeism.
In that same church I would sometimes take groups of youth on little trips. Sometimes it was into town, to McDonald’s, to get something to eat.
Those youth were great kids, but they were always laughing at my car, a ten year-old Toyota Corolla wagon. “Dude,” they’d say, “we should nominate you for one of those shows where they completely rebuild your car. What kind of horsepower you got in this thing? Man, you need a bigger engine.” I’d tell them that my engine was just fine, that I didn’t need any more horsepower; and they’d laugh some more. I told them that I’d rather save gas, save money, save the environment, and so what if it took me a few seconds more to get up to freeway speed?
But they didn’t get it…. And then we’d arrive at McDonald’s, and they’d order Big Macs, because, after all, they’re big; and when asked if they’d like to supersize their value meals, they’d always say yes, even if they really weren’t all that hungry. Because: bigger is better.
This summer, the biggest, tallest rock climbing wall in all of southern California is being installed. It’s 51 feet tall, and is being installed in a brand new residence hall at Chapman University. Chapman is mighty proud of their new rock climbing wall, as they should be. It was mentioned not once, but twice, in the most recent issue of Chapman Magazine. If it was just a normal-sized rock climbing wall, it probably would have only got one mention.
In his book, David Ray wrote that “one of the most interesting and revealing ways to understand a society is to examine its language.” Then he presented a list of synonyms for “big,” and a list of synonyms for “small,” which he got from Roget’s International Thesaurus.
For “big,” the synonyms include: GREAT, GRAND, CONSIDERABLE, SUBSTANTIAL, LARGE-SCALE, MAN-SIZED, AMPLE, EXTENSIVE, EXPANSIVE, COMPREHENSIVE, SPACIOUS, GENEROUS, STALWART, IMPOSING, WELL-FED,MASSIVE, IMMENSE, VAST, ENORMOUS, TREMENDOUS, PRODIGIOUS, STUPENDOUS, MIGHTY, COLOSSAL, FULL-SIZED, LIFE-SIZED, NOTEWORTHY, and POWERFUL.
Pretty impressive, huh? Just hearing that list makes me think, “wow.”
In contrast, here are the synonyms for “small:” little, slight, puny, poky, piddling, dinky, cramped, limited, one-horse, pint-sized, teeny, teeny-weeny, little bitsy, dwarf, pygmy, undersized, stunted, runty, scrubby, feeble, infinitesimal, indiscernible, insignificant, inconsequential, pittance, partial, no account, feeble.
When the LORD sent Samuel to find and anoint a new king for Israel, Samuel was sure that the one he was looking for would be a man described by the words in the first list, the synonyms for “big.” When he arrived at the home of Jesse, Jesse brought out his seven sons, starting with Eliab. Eliab was strong and good-looking; clearly, he would make a powerful and mighty king.
However, God said to Samuel: “Don’t be fooled; looks aren’t everything. Don’t be impressed by his height or his muscles or his good looks.” So, Samuel went on to son #2; but he wasn’t the one chosen by God, either. He went on to son #3, but again God said no. He went to sons #4, 5, 6 & 7; but none of them were the one chosen by God.
“Well, are there any other sons?”
“Yes,” said Jesse. “There is one more son, the youngest, littlest, puniest of them all…. He’s out with the sheep.”
“Send for him,” said Samuel. “We will not sit down until he comes.” And they waited for the arrival of David, Jesse’s 8th son, who would become the greatest king in Israel’s history.
Apparently, someone forgot to tell God that bigger is better.
When it comes to Bixby Knolls Christian Church, how would you describe our ministry? Would most of the words you use to describe our church come from the first list—the synonyms for “big”—or from the second list, the synonyms for “small?”
It’s easy to feel inferior in a society that is obsessed with bigness. However, in the United States, the majority of churches—two-thirds of all congregations in the U.S.—average less than one hundred worshipers. Given that we live in a “bigger is better” society, it’s remarkable that so many smaller churches exist—many of which are far smaller than we are here at Bixby Knolls.
David Ray described a visit he made to a smaller church in Vernal, Utah, a church that averaged about thirty people in worship. Despite its small size, the members of that church refused to feel inferior or inadequate when compared to much larger churches. Their pastor even compiled a list of reasons why he was not ashamed. The list includes:
• I am not ashamed that my oldest daughter gets one-on-one attention in Sunday school.
• I am not ashamed that we know each other’s first names, and we don’t have to wear silly name tags to remind us.
• I am not ashamed that we can take council or board meeting time to discuss issues facing individuals in the church and how we might help.
• I am not ashamed that I know by heart where each member and friend of the church lives.
• I am not ashamed that the youth call me “dude” instead of “Rev. Popham.”
• I am not ashamed that when you miss a Sunday, three people will either tell me where you are, or ask about you.
There is, of course, nothing wrong with big churches, or churches that are growing—obviously; but at the same time, there is nothing wrong, nothing to be ashamed of, in smaller churches.
There is another way that people sometimes feel inferior, and that is in the amount of ministry that gets done. Bigger churches, it seems, do bigger ministry, while smaller churches do less.
But is this really true? It depends on how you look at it. The food that some of you help prepare for the hungry and homeless: that’s a BIG deal to the recipients of that food. The Sunday School that some of you help teach: that’s a BIG deal to your students. The church friend who you listened to and prayed for during a difficult time: that’s a BIG deal.
A member of the diaconate at Mt. Zion Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), in Brooklyn, New York, once said: “This church is not small. Don’t ever call it small. This church is big, because what we do is big, very big in God’s eyes.”
Fred Craddock once preached a sermon in which he talked about our desire to do grand things for Christ, to “give our life to Christ” in some magnificent way. Perhaps it’s becoming a missionary, or developing a new ministry from scratch, or organizing some massive service organization. And sometimes that happens; sometimes God calls people to such things.
But for many of us, that’s not our experience. Fred Craddock said that he waited a long time, and it never happened. He said, “I wanted to write God a check—my life—and now fifty years later I think the largest check I have written to God is 87 cents.”
And then he talked about “committee meetings, running to the hospital, talking with someone about their family, a funeral or a wedding now and then, studying for Sunday school class, going with a group to this or that.” Little things, really. Checks, written “for 39 cents and 87 cents.” But those little things add up. A whole life of them is just that: a whole life. A whole life, lived for God.
The new world in which followers of Christ live, that Kingdom of God… with what can it be compared? Something great and marvelous? Something big, something from that first list, something immense and enormous?
No. That’s not what Jesus compared it to. Jesus compared it to a seed. The seed of a mustard plant, which really is such a tiny little seed.
Just start with that. Start with that seed; it is enough. Start with a check for 39 or 87 cents. It is more than adequate. Start with just a little bit of faith. Start with one prayer, said in the morning, a short prayer, or even just a moment of silent gratitude. Start with just one extra dollar in the offering plate, and see what comes of it. Start with just one act of forgiveness, one instance of overlooking a wrong, rather than dwelling on it and brooding over it. Yes, start with that.
Start with one little act of kindness: a smile, a greeting, or a hug. Start with educating yourself about just one place in the world where injustice is occurring, and what our church is doing to help. Start with attending just one church event you’ve never been to before; do one new thing: a regional gathering, Founders’ Day at Chapman, a men’s or women’s retreat.
Start with that. Start with one mustard seed, so tiny that you can hardly feel it when you hold it in your hand.
It’s just a little seed; but not really. Not in God’s eyes. For God has the ability to transform even that tiny little seed into something great and wonderful.
References:
David Ray, The Indispensable Guide for Smaller Churches. Pilgrim Press, 2003.
Fred Craddock, "Asleep in the Storm," a sermon in As One Without Authority, revised edition. Chalice Press, 2001.
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