A Friendly Dinosaur
The Brontosaurus was one of the friendliest creatures ever created by God. Palaeontologists tell us it travelled in herds. The adults would circle the young to defend them from a hostile environment. An older Brontosaurus would teach the younger ones which tree-tops were the tastiest to eat. They would share food with each other, play with each other, and laugh cheerily with each other.
A Brontosaurus would never intentionally hurt a mouse, unless the "mouse" was a Tyrannosaurus Rex and it was in self-defence. If a stray Brontosaurus wanted to join up with the herd, the herd would put the newcomer on probation for awhile to see if he (or she) measured up to the standards of the herd. They would watch how he or she walked, ate, played, and laughed, and if the newcomer passed inspection, they would be welcomed joyfully into the herd and allowed to mate. The Brontosaurus was one of the friendliest creatures God ever created.
They are all dead.
A Friendly Church
English church congregations are among the friendliest people God ever created. Everywhere I go there are congregations with big signs on the front lawn that read: "St. Turnip Street Church: A Friendly Congregation!". In every congregational survey I have ever seen, from any MCC the answer to the question "What is the best thing about our church?" is always, always the same. "We're a friendly church."
Sociologists tell us that church people travel in herds called "congregations". The longest serving members of the herd look out to defend the herd from a hostile environment and make sure only the most healthy behaviour patterns are encouraged. The congregation love coffee hour following the service. They share food with each other, play with each other, work with each other, and laugh cheerily at each other.
If a stray Newcomer shows up in the congregation, they put him or her on probation for awhile to see if he or she measures up to the standards of the herd. Do they dress like us? Do they make any sudden moves in worship that are embarrassing? Are they gay or lesbian? Are they too opinionated? Do they believe anything really crazy? Will they fit in here? And (most important of all) will they use envelopes and give more than 5 pounds a Sunday? If the newcomer passes inspection, they can be baptized, allowed to join or simply be allowed to mate with a member of the Board.
Everywhere I go in the UK, and in MCC there are friendly congregations. They are declining. As many as 35% of congregations, of all denominations in England will be closed within 25 years.
Food Needs Change
The world around us is changing. What worked in the 20th century, will not work in the 21st century. The food that nourished us in the 20th century, will poison us in the 21st century. The dinosaurs are dying. Will that mean church life will come to an end? By no means! Jesus has promised that the "gates of Hell will never prevail against the Church". For, whilst the dinosaurs may be dying, the mammals are starting to flourish. They are a whole new "breed" of God's creatures. They are different. They eat differently, they play differently, and they behave differently. They worship differently, organize themselves differently, and do ministry differently. They are incredibly diverse. The only thing all the new congregational "mammals" of the 21st Century all have in common is that they are definitely not dinosaurs!
What is the difference between a Brontosaurus and St. Paul? For the Brontosaurus, all that matters is the survival of the herd. But for St. Paul, as we heard in our reading today, all that matters is the Gospel!
St. Paul says: "To the Jews, I become a Jew; to the Gentiles, I become a Gentile". In other words, to reach the public, I'll go to the donut shop, instead of insisting they come to the church. If people don't relate to me unless I wear blue jeans, I'll wear blue jeans. If people can't experience Jesus through organ music, I'll use an electronic keyboard. If people won't take the time to find my church, I'll move the whole congregation to where they can't miss it. (We did this and people are finding this building much more easily than they did St Peter's). I will cut my hair short, or grow my hair long. I will serve communion on trays, by intinction, or standing on my head. I will do anything, I will change anything, I will become anything....if that is what will help somebody be changed by the Gospel of Jesus.
Change?
Now, would a Brontosaurus do that? Of course not. The Brontosaurus won't change, because that would betray the great heritage of Brontosaurs that we have preserved intact for a thousand years! "We have an identity to maintain!", says Ms Brontosaurus of the Board of Directors or from the Church Council. "If someone wants to experience Jesus, they must become a Brontosaurus like us!"
All that Matters is the Gospel
St. Paul says that the only thing that matters is the Gospel. Five times he has been whipped forty lashes, once he has been stoned; three times he has been shipwrecked. Day and night he is stressed out. He's always travelling among the donut shops and pubs, always crossing the Rubicon on delicate issues. He is not only perpetually in danger from unjust people in society, but he is threatened by the Town Hall, and criticized by the collective herds of brontosaurii known as "The Denominations" because he is never politically correct. He is in danger in the city, in danger in the rural areas, in danger at sea, and in danger in the township. He is always, always, always in debt......and he hasn't slept in a comfortable pew in years.
Now, would a brontosaurus do that? Of course not! The Brontosaurus never takes risks. It might undermine the future security of the herd. It might use up the cash reserve stored away in the bank for a rainy day! People in the neighbourhood might begin to think him odd! "We have our reputation to consider!", says Steward Sally, Chair of the Standing Committee to Defend the Status Quo. "If we behave foolishly, we will not have the resources with which to continue the preservation of our glorious heritage!"
That's the difference between a Brontosaurus and St. Paul, you see. The Brontosaurus has been so busy saving for a rainy day, he hasn't noticed that its already raining "mammals" outside. For the Brontosaurus, the youth are the future of the church. For St. Paul, the youth are never, ever the future of the church. Transformed adults - who have been changed, gifted, called, equipped and sent into ministry, by the power of Jesus - they are the future of the church.
The World is Changing
The world is changing, and the Brontosaurus is passing away. What is it that is different about people on the edge of the 21st century?
I have served as a pastor for 10 years in MCC and, for most of the five years before that I worked in MCC as a faithful member. I was taught to assume that we offered people a chance to make friends, that what people wanted was to put down roots, make friends and find some stability in the midst of a hostile world. And it is true, that most of those who have come along and stayed wanted just that. But in all my years of being in MCC I have seen more people drop out of MCC than have ever joined us. Most drop out before they even get to membership classes. Sometimes people would even tell us that this is what they wanted. "We want to get baptised", "We want to have a wedding", "we're new to this area", "I've just come out", "I want to make friends". It sounded pretty good to our herd of Brontosaurii. So we would baptize the person, do the wedding, help them make friends yet a year later they were gone.
My eyes were opened through conversations with those same folks in the bars. Sometimes it took the person two hours and five drinks to say it, but this is basically what was said. "Pastor", he said, "the truth is I don't give a damn about belonging to your church. I have better friends in my social group and here in the bar, and I don't have do all the mumbo-jumbo of your church. And the truth is I couldn't care less that I got baptized. When we first met, I lied to you. I didn't come to your church because I wanted to belong....I came to your church because I wanted to change!"
Power to Change
At this his eyes began to tear. She continued: "Pastor, I came to church because I desperately want to be different. I want to change. My partner is addicted to alcohol, I'm mired in a routine that I hate, I have a lousy job, and I feel all empty inside. My life is a waste of time, and I want it to have value. Pastor, I want to be a different person!".
He didn't want to join the herd! He didn't want to mate with a Board member! He wanted the Power of God to change his life. Probably he would move away again anyway, and never stay with our herd. He knew that. He just wanted to have someone help him travel with joy and confidence.
Why are Dinosaurs/Churches dying?
"Why are the dinosaurs dying?" Isn't that the question that intrigues us? Is it because churches became to numerous in the neighbourhood, and there weren't enough people to fill the herd anymore? Is it because the meteor of the sexuality issue crashed into modern churches used up all the oxygen in the General Synod? The big reason the dinosaurs are dying, however, is that the spiritual environment is changing.
Sally and Sam
Let me introduce you to "Sally" and "Sam". (The names are unimportant and simply invented. Call them 'Peggy" and "Bob", or "Algernon and Matilda") Sally and Sam are about the same age, but they represent the changed spiritual yearning of the 21st Century.
Sally is into "belonging". She has a million friends with whom she talks on the telephone constantly. She has lived in the same house 15 years, been married to the same person for 20 years, has been debt free for 10 years, and takes a good holiday in Florida every year. She's basically happy, and that is all she ever really wanted in life. Celebrating her identity is important to her. Her house is loaded with antiques, and she has the family tree on the dining room wall dating back to Saxon England in 1510. Sally fits right into the dinosaur church. She is President of the Women’s Group, an usher once a month, and actually enjoys going to Board Meetings.
Sam is into "changing". If Sally values friendship, Sam values intimacy. He does not have a million friends, but he does have eight intimates with whom he will routinely bare his very soul. Sam lives in a new location every five years, he has had three different relationships blessed by the church, takes a holiday every Sunday afternoon, and knows that he will never, ever be debt free. Sam doesn't want to be happy. He wants to be ecstatic! When emotions course through his body, and joy blows him away, he knows he is really alive. Sam has already been in therapy for five years and he knows who he is. Identity is not the issue. Destiny is the issue. He wants to know what he can become, and how he can be transformed.
If Sally's church can't offer him more than mere friendship around the coffee urn he'll go to the donut shop instead. He's not looking for friendship. He is looking for intimacy.
If Sally's church can't offer him more than a mere vision of happiness and contentment, he'll go somewhere else Saturday night and recover the next day. He is looking for ecstasy.
If Sally's church can't offer him more than a rather poor psycho-therapeutic re-run of what he already paid thousands of pounds to get in therapy, he'll stay home every night to watch "Star Trek: The Next Generation." He is looking for his destiny.
The point is that the searching publics are not looking to "belong to the herd" anymore. The dinosaur strategy no longer meets their need. They are on other journeys through the jungles of life, in smaller units of intimacy. They aren't looking for a Head Brontosaurus who can lead them to the watering hole. They are looking for Moses who can lead them through the wilderness to the Promised Land.
All that Matters is the Gospel
Because, folks, all that matters in the 21st Century is the Gospel. That's the way it was in the 1st Century, too. Do you think St. Paul endured all those shipwrecks, and imprisonments, and beatings, and anxieties.........for the sake of a Church Building? or for the sake of a Fund Raising campaign? or for the sake of whatever glorious heritage the Jerusalem Jews wanted to preserve for posterity? No. It was for the sake of the Gospel, and only the Gospel.
That's what the Mission to the Gentiles was all about. That's why it was so very controversial. You read your Bible. Read the Book of Acts. That's why Paul was in trouble with the established Church. They wanted all the Gentiles to become like Jews, in order to experience Christ. "Join the herd!", they said. "Be like us. Be doctrinally pure, and politically correct. Make sure you are circumcised, and eat all the right kosher foods, and use all the correct terminology in worship, and go through all the proper hoops of the bureaucracy."
But for Paul.....and for congregations today that are really thriving......all that matters is the Gospel! If our meeting places and liturgies and processes help people experience the life-changing power of God, then let's do it! But if they block people experiencing the power of God, let's forget it and try something else! All that matters is the Gospel. I will become all things, to all people, that I might in all ways, save as many as I can.
Nothing is sacred, except the Gospel. Nothing is important, except the Gospel. All that matters in the 21st Century is the Gospel. It's more than an attitude. It is a concrete strategy that is changing the life and mission of whole congregations.
Can A Dinosaur Change?
Is it possible for a dinosaur to be transformed into a mammal? Can a Brontosaurus become a Moses? Ask a scientist, and they will tell you it is impossible. A dinosaur cannot evolve into a mammal. But don't ask a scientist. Ask Moses.... the one whose life was turned upside down by a burning bush, in the middle of a wasteland, where he least expected to find miracles.. He will tell you that evolution won't do it, and better education won't do it, and tinkering with the system won't do it, but the Transforming Power of God can do it! If God can set a bush afire without allowing it to be consumed, God can change dinosaurs into mammals.
It isn't easy, of course, The Brontosaurus herds of the mainline church have gotten mighty comfortable sitting around the same old water hole for over half a century. Many of them have come to believe that, even though the water is getting pretty muddy, and even though the food is getting pretty scarce, and even though the herd is ageing and no more young Brontosaurs seem to be lumbering over the horizon to join up....despite all this its the only water in the desert of life.
When Moses appeared with his wild story about the Burning Bush, it took a total of ten plagues to convince the herd to move on! And when they did move on, they kept grumbling about the stress of change, and longing for the "good old days" when they could age gracefully beside the old watering hole. But the transforming Power of God never gives up.
It was the same with St. Paul, after he saw the blinding light on the road to Damascus, he couldn't convince the Jerusalem church that dinosaurs could be transformed into mammals either. It took ten crises, 3 shipwrecks, umpteen imprisonments, and the sack of Jerusalem by the Romans in AD71, to finally convince the church that the future was with the Gentiles after all.
But St. Paul didn't care. All that mattered was the Gospel. And he knew that the power of Jesus Christ that could raise the dead, bring water out of rocks, and bring a bunch of grumbling dinosaurs to the Promised Land, could transform the church for the 21st Century.
Amen.
This sermon was first preached in the Metropolitan Community Church of Manchester. Click here for further information.