Unattached (Luke 14:25-33)

So much of the Bible is so inspiring for so many people. Many people have favorite verses, and sometimes those verses are framed or tatted or printed on greeting cards. Verses like Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ.” 

Or, Jeremiah 29:11: “I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord; plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.” 

Or, Isaiah 40:31: “Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles…”

Or, Matthew 19:26: “With God all things are possible.”

And yeah, sometimes these verses don’t mean what we think they mean, once you put them in their context, but they’re still good.

Some verses, however, are not as universally admired as these…

When I was in seminary, I was particularly fond of Ecclesiastes 12:12, which says: “Too much study will wear you out.” I thought that would be a good verse to frame and hang up in the classroom, but I doubt my professors would have appreciated it the same way I did.

These days, I’ve taken a liking to Leviticus 13:40: “A man who has lost his hair and is bald is clean.” And clean, in this context, means approved, worthy…

Then there’s Luke 14: 28, which says: “...first sit down and estimate the cost, and see whether or not you have enough.” I think every Chipotle should frame that verse and post it next to their guacamole.. Because it’s like, what? Four bucks for guac?

But this verse isn’t talking about guac. In context, it’s about something even more challenging; it’s about the cost of following Jesus. Consider what that’s going to cost you. 

“Wait, there’s a cost to following Jesus? There’s a price to pay?”

Yes, there is. 

And our passage mentions what some of those costs are, or can be.

And I gotta tell you, this is difficult, and I don’t really like this scripture…

It’s OK to say that, by the way; it’s OK to say you don’t like a particular scripture. There are a number of scriptures that I really don’t like, and this is one of them; and I was tempted to look for something else to preach on today. 

But then I decided that, while it’s OK to not like certain scriptures, it’s NOT OK to just ignore them. So instead of ignoring this scripture, I decided to instead wrestle with this scripture, and share with you my journey.

The costs mentioned in this scripture are that you:

• Be willing to hate your family

• Carry the cross

• Give up all your possessions.

Since I’m not ignoring these teachings, my next temptation is to say that Jesus didn’t really mean for us to take these things literally.

 But I know I gotta be careful, because too many have given in to the temptation of saying, “Well, Jesus didn’t really mean that literally” anytime a teaching appears that they just don’t like.

“Treat immigrants the same as citizens.” Don’t take that literally.

“Preach good news to the poor, and free the oppressed…” Don’t take that literally.

“Forgive debts…” Don’t take that literally.

People take literally what they want to take literally, and dilute or explain away or ignore the teachings they don’t want to take literally. 

But a lot of these commands, Jesus really did want us to take literally.

However, Jesus also frequently used metaphors to get his meaning across, and told parables that use exaggerated, hyperbolic language. We’re not supposed to take everything Jesus said literally. 

So how do we know what Jesus’ actual intentions were in today’s scripture?

One thing we can do is compare this teaching to other teachings Jesus gave. The command to hate one’s own family, if taken literally, does seem to contradict nearly everything else Jesus said, so that is an indication that, perhaps, he was speaking in hyperbole. 

After all, it was Jesus who commanded his followers to love their enemies. It doesn’t make sense that he would command his followers to love their enemies, but hate their own family.

We can also compare what Jesus says here in Luke to what he says in Matthew. Many of the stories and teachings in Luke are repeated in Matthew, because Luke and Matthew both used some of the same sources when writing their gospels. So if the same story is presented, but something in that story is different, that’s something to pay attention to.

In Matthew, Jesus gives the same teaching, except that he doesn’t use the word hate. In Matthew 10: 37-39, Jesus says: “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.”

And scholars generally agree that how it appears in Matthew is more likely to represent what Jesus meant. 

So now I’m feeling a little more confident that Jesus didn’t really mean we should hate. 

Nevertheless, this is still a difficult teaching.

Yes, we should love our family… but Jesus is saying that our love for God and our commitment to the way Jesus taught should be our number one priority. Like it says in Matthew’s gospel, we are called to love Jesus most of all. And loving Jesus doesn’t just mean speaking his name with your lips. Loving Jesus is not a one-time recitation of a one-sentence prayer. Loving Jesus means committing your whole self and your whole life to the way he taught.

When Jesus talks about loving him more than our own family, or when he says we cannot follow him unless we hate our own family, I think he’s saying that our love for others should not be limited to just those who are part of our own family. Your love must extend beyond your own family. It must include the neighbor.

Because God’s family of which you are a part includes all of humanity. So it’s not that you are called to literally hate your own family; it’s that you are to recognize that God’s love isn’t limited to just them. Family, tribe, nation are all important. But ultimately, our love and our commitment is to extend to every person. 

Lisa Sharon Harper talks about how, in Genesis, God created the world, and pronounced it good; and God created humans, who were created in the image of God; and then God pronounced it all very good.

 And the very goodness of creation exists in how all the elements of creation relate to one another. The very goodness of creation exists in the connections that bind us together as one.

And “sin,” she says, is not “missing the mark,” as some of us have been taught. That idea of missing the mark, and falling short of perfection, is a Greek idea that came into Christianity after Jesus. What sin actually is, is failing to honor the goodness of those relationships; sin is failing to honor the connections we have with one another and with all of creation.

Which means that anytime we place ourselves or our family or our tribe in a higher position than others, or a higher position than creation itself, we sin, because we have distorted the inherently good relationships that exist between all parts of creation.

What Jesus demands is that our love be whole, complete, for all people, and for creation itself. Love for family is good, but it should not in any way prevent you from acting in love toward everyone else.

And the way of love often requires sacrifice.

A parent makes a lot of sacrifices for their child. MLK made great sacrifices for his country.  Jesus made great sacrifice for humanity.

Love requires sacrifice.

That’s what it means to carry one’s cross. And this is not the first time in Luke’s gospel that Jesus says this. Earlier, in chapter nine, Jesus also says that his followers need to carry the cross. But there, in chapter nine, Jesus says that followers must carry their cross “daily.” 

A literal crucifixion, or a literal sacrifice, can only happen once, because a person only has one life to give. But to carry one’s cross daily means to live a life of sacrificial love day after day after day.

I don’t know about you, but some days, I’m just living for myself; like I said, this is a difficult teaching.

And because it is difficult, we are commanded to take a sabbath rest. 

Sabbath rest is not selfish. It is necessary. It’s a day to just be. It’s a day to recognize that your worth isn’t based on what you accomplish in life; rather, your worth is based solely on the fact that you are, that you exist, that God created you and formed you and gave you the breath of life.

A sabbath rest also reminds you that when you put in a good effort, and still fall short, God’s grace is there to hold you.

And about that last command, to give up all your possessions: I find nothing in scripture that lets me think Jesus didn’t mean exactly what he says here. Everything I’ve read makes me think Jesus really did mean just what he said when he said give up your possessions. 

Jesus knows that we often give higher priority to our possessions and our wealth than we do to the people around us. We become more attached to our wealth and our possessions. We love our possessions and our wealth more than we love our neighbor, and more than we love God.

Our wealth and our possessions become our idols, the false gods we serve and worship. Which is why we are called to give them up.

Now I know we’re not going to actually do that in a physical sense - we’re not going to give away our homes, all our clothes, and everything else…

But what we can do is change our way of thinking, so that we understand that everything we have and everything we use is a gift to us, and that ultimately, it all belongs to God. We do not own the land; it belongs to God. We do not own all the things we bought; they belong to God. We do not even own our own lives; our lives belong to God.

That is a radically different way of thinking than we’re used to. And we may still have our possessions, but in our minds, we have started letting go of them. We have begun to detach ourselves from the idea that these things are ours to own, to possess, to cling to.

It all belongs to God.

To really understand that idea, and incorporate it into our living… well, on the one hand, it’s all very good news. You belong to God! God cherishes you! And nothing about you, and nothing you can do, can change that. That. Is. Good. News.

But this is also a great challenge. It’s a whole different way of living and thinking, and that makes it scary. Everything belongs to God. 

Taken seriously, it completely changes everything about how we live. Everything. It calls on us to live a new life, to follow a new path. The path of Jesus. The path of sacrifice. The path of love.

Place of Honor (Luke 14:1, 7-14)

 Grandma Eileen was a devout Catholic her entire life. Her faith helped inspire my own faith when I was growing up. After I became a pastor, she was so happy to attend a worship service that I was leading.

The first time - I don’t even think I had been ordained yet; I was welcoming people to the communion table, serving communion. (I think this might have been at mine and Ginger’s wedding, actually, which included communion.) Grandma came forward, but she wasn’t quite sure what to do. Things are done a little differently in Catholic churches. 

She came forward, and when she reached the front of the line, she whispered, “What do I do?” And I whispered back the instructions on how to take a piece of bread and dip it in the cup.

Ever since then, and throughout my ministry, I’ve looked for ways to help people who might be new or unfamiliar with the way worship is done - ways to help them feel comfortable and experience worship. I know we in the church haven’t always been clear about these things.

 At the church where I grew up, we didn’t print out the words to the Lord’s Prayer, we didn’t tell people when to stand, and we didn’t tell people how to take communion. Back then, we just figured everyone knew, or should have known.

I think the same was true here, and in many other congregations.

We weren’t very hospitable then, were we?

We’ve gotten way better at that over the years; but every now and then I discover a moment when we could have been more hospitable, more welcoming, and more helpful to visitors and guests worshiping with us for the first time. Because it’s nice to know what to expect, and what is expected of you.

It’s helpful to know the rules of etiquette one is expected to follow. 

In college, I took a food etiquette class - it was just a one-night class, just for fun, offered by some group on campus. I remember that, when figuring out which fork to use, you start from the outside and work your way in. I remember that the salt and pepper should always be passed together. And I remember that well-trained servers will always serve you from the left, and remove from the right.

And sometimes I still roll my eyes at servers who don’t follow this rule - they serve from the right, or remove your plate from the left! What uncultured, untrained servers! … Nevermind that I’m at a Denny’s…

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to dine with royalty? To dine (for example)  with the queen of England?

Rules for dining with the Queen are extensive.  You must be dressed a certain way. You must sit in your assigned seat - a whole team of people have carefully created a seating chart that all guests must follow… You must fold your napkin a certain way. You must not start eating before the Queen starts eating. 

When you eat, you hold the knife in your right hand and your fork in your left, and instead of stabbing your food with your fork, you use the knife to slide food onto the fork, then keep the food balanced on the fork while bringing it to your mouth. Don’t rush, because the food will end up on your lap; but don’t go too slowly, either, because when the Queen is done eating, so are you - even if there’s still food on your plate. (The Queen is very gracious about this - sometimes she’ll push that last bite of food around on her plate for while, to give everyone else a chance to finish their meal.)

Anyway, there’s a lot more rules about dining with the queen, but I want to talk, now, about dining etiquette during Jesus’ time… What should a person expect, and how should a person behave, during a formal banquet in the first century?

Some of you may remember that, a few years ago, I talked about these formal banquets. They took place in a room called a triclinium, because in that room were three couches arranged around a table. 

Rather than sitting upright like we do today, guests reclined on their left side, and used their right hand and arm to eat. Their feet were pointed away from the table behind them. 

It doesn’t seem to be the most convenient or comfortable position for eating if you ask me, but then, I’ve never really tried it. Maybe pillows and cushions made it easier.

Unlike meals with the Queen, it doesn’t seem that seating charts were always created in advance. As guests arrived, the host would help them find the appropriate seat, but if the host was distracted, or if several guests arrived at once, it could be that guests were left to figure out for themselves where they should sit. 

The thing is, these banquets were all about impressing other people. The banquet was an opportunity to improve your social standing by showing how powerful or influential you were. The host chose his guests because they were people whom the host wanted to impress; and the guests accepted the invitation because they wanted to impress other guests, to be seen at this gathering of influential people - and because to decline the invitation would be an insult to the host.

The seats closest to the host were where the more prominent guests would sit, and the seats further away were where the less prominent guests would sit. Just sitting next to the host would allow others to see your influence, and the high esteem in which you were held. To be seated in the farthest seat from the host meant you just barely made the cutoff.

A modern equivalent might be how a lot of people try to make a name for themselves on social media. They all want to be the next big star on YouTube or TikTok. And in addition to posting content, they’ll connect with other influencers, in the hopes that it’ll help expand their own audience. “If you like my content, I’ll like your content.” Like for like. Follow for follow. All in an effort to increase one’s own influence, to grow one’s own audience, and possibly profit off of that. Everyone wants to be the top influencer.

In today’s scripture, we heard about a banquet that Jesus attended. At this particular banquet, there was some uncertainty about who should sit where. I imagine that the guests arrived, and at first they cast their eyes at their fellow guests, trying to gauge where they fit in comparison… and then one person, the most daring, the most audacious, the most brazen of them all, walked to the head of the table and claimed his spot… and then the others all started jostling for their seats, maybe not daring to take the top seat, but certainly not wanting to be left at the farthest seat…

And Jesus just watched. Or, maybe - it doesn’t say so in the story, but I think that maybe - Jesus walked straight to the farthest spot, the seat no one else wanted, and took his seat. Maybe even before all the other seats were taken. Maybe while all the other guests were still arguing, nudging, and shoving one another to try and get the better positions.

But as soon as he moved to that lowest spot, they all noticed. Because they were all watching him. They had been watching him for some time. I think one of the reasons Jesus was invited to this banquet was so they could continue watching him closely, keep their eye on him.

So they noticed when he sat at that lowest spot. And it made them uncomfortable, because it was so unexpected - and, they suspected, he did it to shame them.

Then Jesus said to them: “Don’t sit in the highest place, the place of honor, because someone more important than you may have been invited, and your host will have to ask you to move to a lower spot. Instead, sit in the lowest spot, and then your friend will honor you by moving you up to a higher spot.”

This was not a new teaching. The other guests had heard this before, and maybe had even taught it themselves. 

In the book of Proverbs, written centuries before Jesus’ time, there is a verse that says “Do not put yourself forward in the king's presence or stand in the place of the great; for it is better to be told, ‘Come up here,’ than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.” [25:6-7] 

So this is a teaching that the other guests should have known. It probably was one that they did know, but chose to ignore… 

…Just like all the teachings people today know, but choose to ignore. We ignore them because they are inconvenient, because they get in the way of our desire for greatness, our desire for wealth, our desire to be looked upon favorably by others.

This week, when it was announced that many student loans would be forgiven, a number of politicians who pride themselves on their Christian faith criticized the announcement, arguing that those debts should not be forgiven. Yet Jesus spoke often of the “year of the Lord’s favor,” when all debts would be forgiven, and Jesus taught his disciples to pray, “forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors,” and many of those who criticized the decision to forgive student debts actually recite that prayer every time they go to worship. 

But to actually put into practice what their faith teaches and what they themselves recite when they pray the Lord’s Prayer - that is too inconvenient. It gets in the way of their own ambition. And they conveniently ignore or forget or dismiss that teaching.

There are other ways we ignore or dismiss teachings that we know we should be following…

Last week several people I follow on social media shared this comic: Jesus is telling a crowd of people to be kind to everyone. A voice from the crowd cries out: “Wait - even Gary?” Another voice shouts out: “Yeah, Gary’s the worst.” 

Jesus replies: “Look, we’ve been through this… yes, be kind to Gary as well.”

Then another voice from the crowd yells out, “Ha! Suck it, losers!” 

And Jesus puts his hand to his head and says, “Not now, Gary…”

I laughed at that - I still think it’s funny - because I recognize the truth, that it is hard to be kind to people like Gary, and I’m always looking for a way, an excuse to not be kind to Gary. I’m always looking for a way to make myself look better than Gary. I’m always looking for justification as to why my life is better, or why I’m more worthy, than Gary.

And, yes, I would not hesitate to grab the higher seat before Gary, because, he’s Gary, and he belongs in a lower seat.

It’s so easy to make these kinds of justifications, right?

Who is your “Gary?” Who do you - consciously or subconsciously - place in the lower seat?

There is a definite hierarchy to society, even here in the United States. If the entire country were to be invited to a great banquet, there would be a definite order regarding who sits higher and who sits lower. We all think we deserve a higher seat than Gary.

As followers of Jesus, we are called to subvert that order. We’re called to turn it upside down. We are called to sit with those who have been placed at the lower end of things.

Because that’s where Jesus is - and it’s where he expects us to be as well.

Sermon: "Consider the Cost" Scripture: Luke 14:25-33

Into the Wild

Last Sunday, I was not here. (Like many of you, I hear. We’re all guilty together.) I was backpacking in the Sierras. Who has ever gone on an overnight backpacking trip?

Well, let’s see. What can I tell you that would help you prepare for your first backpacking trip?

I could tell you that you will have to carry everything you need for the duration of the trip. All your food, all your clothing, your sleeping bag, your tent…

I could tell you that it will be physically strenuous.

I could tell you that it might get cold at night, or you might have an afternoon thunderstorm. If you’re at a high enough elevation, there might even be hail or snow. So whatever you need to keep warm, you need to make sure you pack it.

I could tell you that there will likely be bugs. Mosquitoes. And they will drive you crazy.

I could tell you that when you need to go to the bathroom, there is no bathroom. And I could teach you how to take care of business in a way that is ecologically responsible.

And with all this information, you would be able to carefully consider whether an overnight hike into the wilderness is something you want to commit to. Because, I admit: it’s not for everyone.

But I’m not sure I could really tell you what it’s like to lay in your tent at dawn, and have the first light of day wake you up, and you unzip your tent to behold the most magnificent vista: a mountain lake, glowing in golden sun, and distant rocky peaks with little, residual patches of snow left on them reaching to the sky.

And I’m not sure I could tell you how amazing the stars look at night from the wilderness. You will never see the stars looking like that from the city.

I’m not sure I could tell you what peace there is sitting by the lake after dinner, as the sun sets, watching the light and shadows change without any interruption, and feeling this incredible peace and awe at God’s beauty. 

I mean, I could tell you, but I’m not sure you’d truly understand the incredible peace you feel being one with nature, miles from any road or development of any kind; just you, and all the other components of God’s creation. There is a part of that that you have to experience to understand.

I feel like the same thing is true for a life of Christian faith…we do need to consider, ahead of time, what we’re getting ourselves into.

I don’t think we do enough to let people know what they’re getting into when they join the church or make the decision to become a Christian. Being a Christian, following Christ, is not easy. It makes you wrestle with things. It forces you out of your comfort zone. It requires sacrifice. 

Just like going on a backpacking trip, there’s a lot you have to leave behind, when you follow Christ.

But also, I don’t think we could tell you everything ahead of time. There is actually great joy in leaving stuff behind. There is actually great joy in sacrifice. Things like that, you have to experience to know just how true they are.

In some ways, whether you are thinking about going on a backpacking trip, or thinking about following Christ, you just need to do it. You just need to experience it.

Consider the Cost 

Jesus says to “consider the cost” of following him. So I guess we should at least do our best to let people know what’s in store. We should tell them, “this is what it’s going to be like, this is what’s going to be demanded of you.” 

And I guess some of that is definitely essential for a backpacking trip as well. I would never invite someone to go on an overnight hike without telling them that, yes, it is physically challenging, that you will be hiking several miles, you will be carrying all your gear, there will be bugs, and you will have to poop in the woods.

Some things, you just gotta know ahead of time.

When it comes to following Christ, you need to know that following Christ is a change in lifestyle. We gotta say that. Even a lot of people who say they follow Christ and who want to follow Christ and who think they are close followers of Christ haven’t been able to leave behind all the worldly baggage. They haven’t let go of a lifestyle that is more concerned with modern comforts and impressing others than it is with truly following Christ. 

And probably, it’s because we who are the church haven’t adequately told them ahead of time just what will be required, the sacrifices that will be demanded of them.

Consider the cost.

During my sabbatical, I visited several Disciples congregations. One was Missiongathering in Pasadena. There are actually several Missiongathering congregations throughout the country; the first one being the one in San Diego.

This week, the city of San Diego ordered that Missiongathering congregation to shut down a youth homeless shelter it had been operating; and the city  slapped the congregation with over $200,000 in fines. One would think that the city would work with the congregation to help meet the needs of that city’s homeless youth, but that’s not what’s happening. Instead, Missiongathering San Diego is facing a huge challenge.

Sometimes, doing ministry, working for justice, and loving one’s neighbor comes with a high cost. Sometimes, following Jesus comes with a high cost. Sometimes there are obstacles. Sometimes it’s a real struggle. That’s something those who seek to follow Jesus should know in advance.

The Cost of NOT Following Christ

When our board of elders and all of you gifted me with the time away that a sabbatical offers, you told me that it was hoped that I would spend some time in prayer and reflect on our New Beginnings process and consider what we might need to do next to keep us following Christ.

And at first, I wondered if we as a congregation might need to consider the cost of the changes that we have made, are making, and still need to make… that we needed to consider the cost of really following Christ, of allowing Christ to lead us.

But then I realized that, for most churches, what they need to consider most is the cost of not following Christ, and not making the changes that God is calling us to make. You know what I’m talking about?

Just as there is a cost to be considered when following Christ, there is also a cost to be considered when choosing not to follow Christ. What will it cost us, to do things the easy way, or to do things our way, instead of doing things Jesus’ way?

What would it have cost Missiongathering, if that congregation said, “It’s too hard; let’s not help the homeless youth of our neighborhood”? What would it have cost Missiongathering if they had said, “let’s not love our neighbors whole-heartedly”?

What does it cost, to gain comfort, but lose your soul?

Every change that a congregation makes has a cost, and requires sacrifice. But every refusal to change, every refusal to do the hard work we care called to, also has a cost.

No Magic Formula

While I was away I thought about all of you, and the elders and our board members and other leaders especially, and I think you who are this church have well considered the cost of not doing anything, not changing - and you’ve decided that the costs and sacrifice of change and transformation are worth it, because the benefits of change and transformation are worth it…

However, I know that a temptation for Christians is the temptation to still do what the world expects of us, to still behave in ways that don’t distinguish us from others who don’t follow Christ. We don’t want to set ourselves apart too much. We still want to be part of the “in” crowd. We still want to be like our neighbors. We don’t want to change too much.

When a church feels called to change, sometimes that church will seek out experts to tell them how to change and they’ll listen and they’ll think about change and they’ll talk about change. And all that is well and good… but after awhile, it just becomes a way of procrastinating. Talking and thinking about change becomes a way of avoiding actual change. Instead of engaging in actual change, we wait for a magic formula to appear that will make change easy and effortless, with no cost.

But here’s what I have learned: there is no magic formula.

Last month I visited Missiongathering in Pasadena, and I also visited another Disciples congregation: Oceanside Sanctuary. I chose those congregations because they have been engaged in processes of transformation, similar to ours, though not exactly like ours.

Missiongathering is a new congregation that meets in the building once occupied by another Disciples congregation. That congregation closed, and Missiongathering came in and began a whole new ministry in that place.

Oceanside Sanctuary, on the other hand, is a continuation of a Disciples congregation that has been in existence since 1875. I didn’t even know there were any Disciples congregations in southern California that had been around that long.

And a year or two ago, Oceanside Sanctuary reorganized itself. It’s the same congregation, but it’s been transformed.

After worship at Missiongathering, and after worship at Oceanside Sanctuary, I spoke with the pastors. Interestingly, they both said that they are still figuring things out. 

One issue that came up is one that has come up here at Bixby Knolls: pews. 

At Missiongathering, worship actually took place in the narthex, because they had just taken out their pews but had not yet acquired the chairs that would take their place. Chairs cost money, and they are working on that...

At Oceanside Sanctuary, they still have pews, and their pews are curved into an almost semi-circle, on a floor that slopes gently toward the front. 

The pastor at Missiongathering said he was reluctant to remove the pews, but he does see that doing so does have some advantages.

The pastor at Oceanside said he’d like to remove the pews, because doing so would allow them to use their sanctuary in ways that they currently aren’t able to. He didn’t seem too deterred by the fact that the floor slopes, and would need to be rebuilt so that it could be level, if they get rid of their pews. It sounds like an awful lot of work and expense to me.

But each of those congregations is working real hard to focus on following Jesus and loving their neighbors. Each is willing to do whatever it takes. Even, perhaps, levelling out a sloping floor.

You Are the Equipment

In the search for answers, experts are helpful, but the best experts will tell you that the answer was with you all along. If we ask ourselves, “What is Jesus calling us to do,” I think we’ll figure it out. If we ask ourselves, “What does Love call us to do,” I think we’ll figure it out.

And we are figuring it out. And part of the reason we are figuring it out is because we’ve been searching deep within us for the answers that have been there all along.

Listening to the experts can be helpful, and finding out what other congregations are doing can be helpful, but above all, we should remember what Jesus told his disciples when he sent them out to minister to the people. He told them, “You don’t need any special equipment… You are the equipment. You have all that you need. You are all that you need to be. To love. To heal. To serve. To bring wholeness.

Spend a little bit of time, thinking and praying about it, and you’ll realize: you are the equipment. You know what to do.

Now do it.