11 To this end we always pray for you, asking that our God will make you worthy of his call and will fulfill by his power every good resolve and work of faith, ¹² so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

So often in Paul’s letters we hear the Apostle either defending himself (because as the various churches that he helped to found begin to go astray, they all seem to blame Paul for something), or firing corrective verbal salvos trying to get the people of the churches who have gone astray to get their collective ship righted.

Neither of those appear in what we have heard. Instead, what he have are comments akin to a proud parent, patting their child on the back after they have done something well, saying to them, "great work. You have done really, really well." That is what the line of "We always give thanks to God for you … because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of everyone of you for one another is increasing." That’s Paul’s version of the ‘atta boy’.

The interesting thing, especially as the lectionary cuts and pastes the text, is that Paul is not satisfied with giving the Thessalonians a pat on the back: Paul wants to implore them to do more so that even greater successes might be recorded through their actions. This is what the second half of the passage is speaking of when he says, "To this end we always pray for you, asking that our God will make you worthy of his call and will fulfill by his power every good resolve and work of faith." The proverbial pat on the back is good and important, but that is not where it should end for as Paul sees the church at Thessalonica, they have the opportunity to do so much more, not because of who they are but instead because of how God is able to work through them. Paul is saying to the members of the family of faith, "don’t stop! Keep moving forward doing those tasks that bring even greater glory to the "Lord Jesus Christ". Don’t be satisfied with past success. Strive forward knowing that even greater success is yet to come because you have been filled with the very power of God. Strive forward!" I believe that this is a message that all communities of faith, including ours (maybe especially ours) needs to hear, because if we don’t we will end up falling into that human tendency of fearful doubt, instead of faith-filled determination.

This past Thursday night I led our latest Inquirer’s Class where people come to hear about the history of the church and the denomination and ask any questions that they may have in regards to whether they feel that membership in this community is what God is calling them to. One of the questions that was asked was the same one that someone else, in a completely different situation, asked me. The question was this: what’s your vision for St. John’s? Where do you see it going in the future?

Over the years I have come to believe less and less in happenstance, and more and more in the guiding hand of God. This one question, asked by two different people, especially with this passage as a backdrop, I believe to be more than enough impetus to let you in on my answer.

First off, if you ever run into a community of faith where the vision that is being forward is that of the pastor and pastor alone: run. God, and God alone, places the vision before us for where the church should go and how we should serve. Can the pastor become the articulator of that vision? Yes. But it needs to be of God, or else what you are building upon will ultimately fall away. Humans fail. God does not. The vision for the church comes from God.

That being said, what I see God calling this community of faith to become is a regional center of faith, that our greater community and other churches look to for support, ideas, encouragement, and empowerment as to how to more faithfully serve Jesus Christ in their world. One of the great ways that this can be accomplished is by this campus reclaiming its status as a community center.

For way too many years the church has acted as if the days of the church being vitally important are over, that we should be grateful if we are able to get an hours worth of commitment out of people. Simply put, if this is what the church is satisfied with, then that is what it will become.

This family of faith has recognized that such an existence is not how God would have us live, either together, or in the world. We have begun new things in the recognition that what we are doing through these various activities is allowing the glory of Christ to shine. You may not have realized that this is what is going on when you’re having an exercise class or participating in brain games, but that is what is happening. The two Bible Studies, the pre-school, the choirs, and the youth groups are more traditional avenues through which the glory shines, and we do our best to make each of these activities relevant and vibrant.

Using the model that we are given in the passage to the Thessalonians, I am so very grateful for all of the good work that you have allowed to be done through you because you have done so much to forward the cause of Christ in the world. Great work!

Now don’t stop! God is with us and the blessings of the Lord are flowing. We must not stop! We must recognize where God is calling us and proceed forward knowing that what will be done will be fulfilled by God’s power. We need to bring in more office for the aging programs, we need to go on more mission trips, we need to have more bible studies and small groups, we need to have new and different forms of worship (the concert that was held two weeks ago is an example), we need to have more athletic programs that will allow those who are on the fringes the opportunity to know that they are part of the family of faith and are loved by God, we need to open up this campus so that it becomes the community center that it once was. How do you see God being served in this place? Let’s talk about it and get it started so that the cause of Christ might be championed.

These things are able to be accomplished, this vision is able to be realized, when we allow the power that God is filling us with to be articulated in a greater level of commitment to the cause of Christ.

This brings me back around to those three things that I was looking at prior to the scripture being selected. This greater level of commitment needs to be felt in our pledging process. Right now the average pledge is up but the number of pledges are down. Unless we are able to get the latter adusted in an upward direction, the budget that you are going to be voting on at the congregational meeting is going to be quite different from the one that Consistory is now working on. We are good stewards of our financial resources and we are not going to spend what we don’t have. We need to have a greater level of commitment.

In regards to the BRC and the parsonage, and this whole facility for that matter: God is calling us to serve the cause of Christ, not preserve buildings in perpetuity. One does not necessarily equal the other. Sometimes they are in direct conflict. We need to make sure that how we address the parsonage and the greater campus is in a way that allows the love of God to love, not preserve a picture of what we feel comfortable with. We need to have a greater level of commitment.

Finally, when it comes to Consistory, I am grateful for the people who are serving but the fact that we have been running one short is not a positive sign. I hope that the nominations process moves in such a way that when you get a phone call, and there are a few of you who will be getting that call, that you are able to show that greater level of commitment and show that the work that God is calling us to do can be fulfilled as we allow His power to work through us.

God has done so much through this community of faith. Great work! You have done so very well. Now keep it going, not because we are trying to bring glory to ourselves, but because God is working through us to bring glory to the cause of Christ. Won’t you be more committed to this cause? It will be fulfilled as the power of God works through you. Trust it! God is with this community of faith. Now let us be with the cause of Christ wherever it may lead.

God, You have blessed us so very richly, and yet there are so many times when we fearfully doubt who You would have us become. God allow Your power to flow through us so that who we become is of You and to Your glory. God, fill us with Your power so that we might be faithfully diligent. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.