Our scripture passage this week came from Deuteronomy and told the story of Moses' death. The passage shared that Moses was allowed to glimpse the promised land, but was also told that he would not lead the people into the land. In the middle of telling about Moses' death, the passage mentions that Joshua "was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him." This small portion of the passage was central to our message this week.
I shared that in highschool I ran track. It was in fact my favorite sport (and my best), largely because it was coed! This was not why you might think, but rather because with girls on the team, profanities were never used to describe me, and I never heard "down and give me 50." Track was mostly an individual sport, except for the three relays. The 4 x 100 relay I always found to be too short. I would get the baton, and in a few steps be handing it off, and before I knew it the race was over. The 4 x 400 relay was, in my opinion, the perfect relay. It helped that our 4 x 400 team was always very good.
I ran the first leg of the race, and so I got to lead things off and give my team a lead or at least keep us in the race. To be honest, my favorite part about the relay though was not running my part of it, but rather the time when the other three guys on the team were running their parts of the race. I enjoyed the opportunity to cheer on my teammates. By the time the fourth guy on the team was running his race, the other three of us would be running around the infield of the track cheering him on and encouraging him to run faster. It was always exciting and thrilling, and regardless of the outcome we all knew that each one of us played a crucial role in the overall success of the team. No one guy could do it all by himself.
Once our coaches tried to have our 4 x 400 team run the longest of the relays, the 4 x 800. Things started out good for us, but as we got around the 600 meter mark, each one of us began to fade and slow down considerably. It turned out we didn't have the stamina to run 800 meters and still be competitive.
The church is very similar, to our 4 x 400 relay team. Each generation has a leg of the race to run. Just like in our 4 x 400 relay, each generation is asked to run with the baton for a distance, and then to hand it off to the next. This is something that often times is not done well in churches though. Too often a generation within the church thinks that they can (or that they need to) run 800 meters instead, only to realize around the 600 meter mark that they don't have the stamina to finish the race.
One such example of this can be found in a church where one man ran everything. He was the Administrative Council chair, the Trustee chair, the PPR chair, the altar steward, and about 100 other jobs. The problem came when he died unexpectedly and hadn't taken the time to show anyone how to do the various jobs he filled in the church. A small example of this came from his caring for the altar every week. He made sure the candles were filled with enough fluid that they would burn throughout the service, but what he didn't tell anyone was that the candles could be filled too much and then they would smoke throughout the service. This was a problem that plagued the church for years after his death. All because he didn't think he needed to hand off the baton.
In the church each generation needs to hand off the baton to those following while they still have enough energy and enthusiasm to properly instruct and encourage those who are running their leg of the race. Likewise the generations that follow need to be there willing and ready to take that baton and receive that instruction and encouragement from those who have gone before.
Since giving this message on Sunday, I've had several people tell me that this is a message that both of congregations need to hear. Some even gave me names of specific individuals! I want to be clear that I think both of our congregations do a great job of this (both the older and younger generations). I also want to be clear that I never give a sermon with specific individuals in mind and so if you felt that I was talking specifically to you, that most likely was the work of the Holy Spirit, not some foolish attempt of mine to get a point accross. Finally, although we as a whole are doing well at this, we must always remember that the church is only one generation from extinction at any time, and therefore we must remain vigilant and diligent in running the race and handing off the baton.
Grace & Peace,
Pastor John
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