CORE VALUES: JESUS IS HEAD OF THE CHURCH

CORE VALUES: JESUS IS HEAD OF THE CHURCH Christ Church Quaker Farms, June 10, 2012 On this Father’s Day, I want to tell you a little bit about my son, Patrick. Although he is now primarily a student, Patrick is actually a professional trained and certified wilderness specialist. He loves to lead groups of adults and students on back packing trips deserts and mountains of California. • When leading a group into the wilderness, he must to protect his group, by making sure they stay together and don’t take any wrong paths, so they don’t get hurt or lost. While he uses all the equipment available to him, including compass, GPS, what he primarily relies upon are the trail markers’ Trail blazes on trees and small rock piles previously left by him and/or others who had originally blazed the trail. • But the key to Patrick’s success is that he knows where he is going. He has previously completed the hike, and successfully arrived at the destination at journey’s end. There is a spiritual sense that my job is very similar to Patrick’s. God and your lay leadership chose me to lead Christ Church Quaker Farms through the wilderness of modern church life. Like Patrick, I have hiked the trails of congregational leadership for many years; I have taken wrong turns, and had to back track; and I have walked the paths that lead to greater church vitality and life. In my estimation , too many local churches in the 21st century are wandering around in circles in a dangerous wilderness, because they are spiritually lost and without strong direction. Within each church, there is a functional Head of the Church. This entity or persons direct the life and ministry. The most important thing to realize is that in most churches, the functional head of the church is Human. • Sometimes the functional head of the church may be the clergy. Or, it may be the congregational governing board, which is called the “Vestry” in the Episcopal Church, we call the “Vestry.” Or, it may be the biggest donors, or the people who do the most work, or the people who have been around the longest, or whomever. • Now, sometimes this system works well; but we live in a highly polarized time, where conflicts erupt unexpectedly in marriages, homes, schools, governments, and especially in local churches. So, when mere humans are the functional head of the church, political divisions are often the result. Now, politics has its place; and I a firm and unapologetic believer in the US Constitution and the American system of government. But, that system was never intended by Jesus Christ to be the basis for our becoming, as He proclaims in today’s Gospel , QUOTE “one with one another and one with Him and the Father.” UNQUOTE. You see, that is the destination that Jesus has for us as a church. On the night before He died, Jesus prayed to the father for us, that we would reach our journey’s end. He said, “Father, I pray for my followers in the future. I pray that they would love one another, as you love me and as I love them. I pray that my followers would be united, not divinized, that they would become one, even as you and are one, that they would be one with me and with you through your Holy Spirit.” On the night prior to his crucifixion, Jesus was not thinking about himself. He was thinking about you and me. He was thinking about his desire for all his followers to be united with one another and Him through the power of LOVE—His love, working in and through the church. That is where Jesus will lead any church that cares to follow Him. And, Jesus has blazed the trail, and left trail markers for us to follow. These trail markers are called CORE VALUES. Core values are the things that we as a church, beginning with the Rector and the Vestry, use to guide the choices and decisions we make. Actually, the discernment of Christ Church’s Core values began with all of you, long before I arrived on the scene. In preparation for the calling of a new Rector, many of you filled out survey forms which were utilized not only to call your new priest, but also to look to the future. Over the past couple months, a Vestry Task Force under the leadership of Renee Knapp has been used that material, along with some of my biblical teaching to produce a draft of our Core values, which you will find on the yellow insert in your bulletin. Please take those out; Now, there are two that we are going to talk about today—which I’d like Renee to read out loud, while we silently read along with her. JESUS IS HEAD OF THE CHRIST CHURCH QUAKER FARMS We value the Lordship of Jesus Christ, His leadership as the head of our church, and we submit ourselves to His will. EMPOWERED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT We value the work of the Holy Spirit, which unites us with whole body of Christian believers, and which empowers us FOR ministry and mission. Thank you. So, let’s see how this might apply. Instead of men and women leading the church, what would a church be like , if we could see if the Holy Spirit inspired, directed, and empowered the Church? If the Holy Spirit was in charge, then everything would change: • Maybe we would have joyful worship? Maybe we would individually grow in our faith? • Maybe our fellowship be welcoming, inviting, and supportive of all people, where no one would be left out, but included ands valued? • Maybe others would come through our doors, and decide to join us on our spiritual journey. Yes, by God. All that would happen, and much, much more. First of all, this would include that we will learn to accept Jesus as the functional Head of the Church. Not the Rector or the Vestry. Not this person or that group. Just Jesus alone. • What this has meant in practice is that together we will discern that Jesus has a specific will for our church. He has a plan. “I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord, “plans to prosper you, to give you a hope and a future.” Just as Jesus has a plan that each of us should experience abundant life as individuals, so he has a plan CCQF. • Now, believing that God has a plan for this church, we must believe that we can discern that plan through the Holy Spirit. God’s word says that the Holy Spirit directs us , together, to the truth. That through the Holy Spirit, we can understand the mind of Christ. So, how can we go about discerning the will of Lord? The Holy Spirit can direct us into unity and consensus about our decisions, choices, and our interactions with each other. If we are open to the possibility, He can lead us to more intentionally listen to each other, to extend the hand of friendship to those we may have avoided, and to seek to glorify Jesus, together. God’s word says, “If we live by the love of Jesus, then we will united in our convictions and united in your love with a common purpose and a common mind.” I wanted to share all this with you this morning, because I want you to know why I believe in CCQF. Not because of the person you chose to be Rector. Not because of the Vestry, which is one of the best that I have every had the pleasure of leading. No, I believe in CCQF because God has a plan for our church—plans to not to harm us but to help us; plans to give us a hope and a future. And if we, together, follow him on this journey, then our next 200 years will even outshine the past, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. CHRIST CHURCH QUAKER FARMS is a Christ centered community church in the Episcopal tradition, dedicated to JOYFUL WORSHIP utilizing: 1. Relevant, encouraging, & positive Biblical preaching; 2. Treasured traditions of the Episcopal church, including Holy Communion and upbeat hymns 3. Spirit-filled worship (which includes appropriate informality, contemporary songs and creative enrichments to our services. 4. OUR CORE VALUES As approved by the Vestry, June 21, 2012 JESUS IS HEAD OF CHRIST CHURCH QUAKER FARMS We value the Lordship of Jesus Christ, His leadership as the head of our church, and we submit ourselves to His will. Colossians 2:9, Acts 2:36, Ephesians 1:22-And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. UNCONTIONALLY LOVED (AGAPE) We value Jesus’ unconditional & inseparable love for us, and we strive to love one another as Jesus loves us. Colossians 2:9, Acts 2:36, Ephesians 1:22, & John 13:34-35: A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” INSPIRED BY THE WORD OF GOD We value the Word of God, Jesus Christ, who is the word made flesh (John 1:14). We value the Bible, through which God speaks to us today.2 Timothy 3:16-1: All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. EMPOWERED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT We value the work of the Holy Spirit, which unites us with whole body of Christian believers, and which empowers us for ministry and mission. 1Corinthians 12:12-13, John 17:20-21 and Matthew 5:14-16 -You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. JOYFULLY WORSHIPING We value Spirit-inspired-worship, as we express our love to God, through: weekly celebrations of the Eucharist; traditional hymns; contemporary praise music; and heartfelt prayer. John 4:2, Matthew 26:26-28 Psalm 100:1-2: Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. AS PART OF THE “ONE, HOLY, CATHOLIC, & APOSTOLIC CHURCH” (from the Nicene Creed) We value our heritage as the successors of the original apostles, through our membership in the world wide Anglican Communion, in the Episcopal Church (USA) within the Diocese of Ct. Romans 1:5 and Ephesians 2:20: You are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus Himself the chief Cornerstone.