Making a Difference
Good morning. My name is Danny Bradfield. My pronouns are he/him/his, and I’m pastor at Bixby Knolls Christian Church.
Today is the fifth and final sermon in our series on Covenant. I hope it’s been helpful to you…
I have this thing where I sometimes wonder if I have any news worth sharing, anything that is helpful or makes any difference in people’s lives. I guess it’s a form of that self-doubt most people experience from time to time.
For me, part of the reason for this is that we live in an age in which anyone and everyone - it seems - is sharing news and information online; everyone seems to be an expert in something, and is out there teaching it to the world. Youtubers and TED talkers and even TikTokers…
And I know from experience that it’s not just about the content; how you present your message is just as important as the message itself. Especially if you want to attract and keep people’s attention.
Last week, Rolling Stone magazine presented their annual “Hot List,” and on their Hot List was a young Disciples of Christ pastor… the article called him a “hot pastor” and “the TikTok preacher,” who is “spreading the good word of a more inclusive, modern gospel.”
And I think: Wow. Where do I fit into all of this? In a world like this, where the biggest influencers have huge followings on social media, do I really have anything worth sharing, anything that people want to hear, anything that will make a difference?
I’m fifty years old, I don’t know how to be a TikTok preacher, and I’m pretty sure Rolling Stone isn’t going to label me a hot pastor - and, let’s face it, the “hotness” of the pastor in the article is probably what caught Rolling Stone’s attention more than the good, inclusive gospel preached by that pastor…
Now, I’m not criticizing that pastor. I have, in fact, learned a few things from him, and I’m glad he’s out there representing Christ and representing the Disciples of Christ. He’s doing good things. The only thing I don’t like about him is that he recently moved from southern California to Washington, D.C., which means he’s no longer a part of our Pacific Southwest region.
But it makes me wonder: in this modern, tech-savvy society, how can I let God use me to proclaim the gospel - the gospel of love and affirmation and inclusivity? How can I let God use me to reach out to those who especially need God’s love and affirmation and inclusivity?
Yes
In our scripture today, and in the video reflection which I’ll post on our church Facebook page, we are encouraged to say “Yes.” Say “yes” to God. Say “yes” to God’s church. And maybe that’s the solution. I may not ever be on Rolling Stone’s “hot list,” but I can always say “yes” to God, and I can share the gospel and spread the news of what God is doing in my life and in our congregation’s life whenever the opportunity arises.
As it turns out, one such opportunity just recently presented itself to me…Last week, I received an email from one of the organizers of the upcoming Disciples Virtual Gathering...
I hope by now you have the date - August 7 - marked on your calendar. And I hope you’ve gone to www.disciples.org and have registered for the Disciples Virtual Gathering.
How much does it cost? Well, when you register, you can pretty much choose how much you pay. If you are strapped for money right now, you can register for free. If you’re doing OK, you can pay the $25 registration cost. If you are blessed with a good financial situation at this time, you can pay more, to help cover the cost of those who can’t pay.
Anyway, last week I received an email from one of the organizers of this event. They wanted to know if I would be willing to help lead a workshop at this event. The workshop is to present and explain the Covenant curriculum, and to encourage congregations to use the Covenant curriculum. They had heard that I was using the curriculum to create this sermon series, and they want me to share the story of how our congregation is using the Covenant curriculum and how we are living into our covenant with the rest of the church.
That’s one of the cool things about being in covenant with other congregations. We get to learn from each other. The stories and experiences of other congregations have helped us, and our story and experiences can help others.
So, of course, I said yes! I’m not always very good at initiating the conversation, but anytime someone wants to hear about Bixby Knolls Christian Church, I’m always excited to tell them. And anytime I have the opportunity to find a way to share the gospel, the good news of God’s amazing love, I always want to say yes.
Because when it comes to God’s love for us, the answer is always yes. No buts. No “yes-and-no.” Just yes. God’s “yes” is renewed day after day. It never wavers.
It does not depend on how well we do or do not follow in God’s ways. Yes, God will always try to call us back to God’s ways, but God will never stop loving us.
Because God’s way is love. And to that, we join with the apostle Paul in saying a great big, “Amen,” which is really just another way of saying, “Yes!”
Jimmy & Rosalynn
Last week, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary. Did you hear that?
Wow. What an accomplishment.
Marriage begins with a yes. “Do you take this man?” Yes. “Do you take this woman?” Yes.
There can be no wavering. No vacillation. No, “Yes, but…”
And that yes needs to continue. Every day, a new “yes” is required. And maybe some days that yes isn’t as clear or as strong as on other days…
That happens… but you need to work through that. Because unless you can get back to a clear, unequivocal yes, the marriage is in trouble.
75 years of “yesses.” That’s amazing. 75 years of saying “yes” to the marriage covenant.
United in Covenant
Every two years, our congregations gather from across North America for a General Assembly. (Because of COVID, this year’s General Assembly has been replaced by the Virtual Gathering on August 7.)
I remember one General Assembly I attended: the assembly was being asked to vote on a resolution, one with which not everyone was in agreement. We are an amazingly diverse church, even right here within our own congregation, but even more so when we get together with other Disciple congregations, so there are bound to be differences of opinion.
As the General Assembly began debate on the resolution, I remember one pastor got up to speak at the green microphone, and he spoke strongly in favor of the resolution.
And then another pastor got up and spoke at the red microphone, speaking strongly against the resolution.
And then we voted. And, of course, one of those pastors won the argument, and the other one lost.
But not really...
After the session was over, I was out in the lobby, and I saw those two pastors talking to each other. Were they arguing? Were they yelling? No. They were greeting each other with handshakes and hands on their shoulders, and they were reaffirming their commitment to one another, to the church, and to the covenant which holds us together.
That was an inspiring moment that I’ll never forget. It showed me what it means to be a church in covenant.
And I realized that they had both won. They both won because even though only one of them could say he was pleased with how the vote went, they both reaffirmed their commitment to the church that is willing to discuss difficult topics and yet remain united. Their differences did not keep them from saying “yes” to the church, or “yes” to their love and friendship for one another.
Our “yes” is louder, clearer, when we say it together.
Learn As You Go
To say yes and share your story, you don’t have to be an expert. You don’t have to be the highest authority on a given topic.
This is what I need to remind myself of. All those youtubers and TED talkers and Tiktokers all look like experts, but many, if not most of them - don’t know what they are talking about. The honest ones will admit this and describe how they are always learning. The dishonest ones will act as if they know everything.
I certainly don’t know everything about how to best live out the covenant we are a part of. I’m still learning. In fact, putting this sermon series together has been quite a learning experience for me - and I hope, for you as well.
Saying “yes” to help lead this workshop next month at the Virtual Gathering doesn’t mean I’m a top authority on the subject. But I’m excited by what I’ve learned, and I want to inspire others and get them excited as well.
Doing ministry - as well as teaching - during the pandemic has also helped teach me this lesson. Doing worship via livestream, and teaching students via zoom, something is always bound to go wrong.
At school, I quickly learned that some days, the one important lesson I had to teach was, “How we react when things don’t go the way we planned.” That’s an important lesson, one that presented itself quite frequently this past year, and I tried to teach by example.
You don’t have to be an expert to say yes. You don’t have to have everything all figured out to say yes… going back to the marriage example: In a marriage, you’re always figuring things out: figuring out how to make the marriage better, figuring out how to say yes day after day.
The same is true for the covenant that binds us together as a church.
Our church exists in three expressions: the congregation, the region, and the general church. All three expressions are bound together in covenant, as outlined in the Design.
Our church also has many ministries and organizations: Week of Compassion, Global Ministries, the National Convocation, NAPAD, Convencion, and many more… and they’re all held together by covenant. All these ministries and organizations constantly say “yes” to one another, over and over. They constantly reaffirm their commitment to the unity of the church.
And as a congregation, it’s important for us to say “yes” to covenant as well… to continue learning, every day, what it means to be in covenant… because as I said, it’s covenant that makes us stronger. It’s covenant that allows us to speak more boldly, and to share the good news of God’s love for humanity.
I am so blessed and so grateful to be in covenant with all of you, working together to bring wholeness to our fragmented world. I am so blessed and so grateful that, together, we are doing our best to seek justice, show love with kindness, and walk humbly with God. And I am doing my best to say yes to our church and to God, every day.
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