We are beginning the last week of 28 Days of Thanksgiving.  This week our focus is, “Thank God for Community.”  When I say thank God for community, I mean community as God intends it to be and that is found in the church.  My experiences in the church go way back to childhood.  I was an acolyte in the First Evangelical United Brethren Church on Main Street in Findlay, Ohio.  Now I am not sure whose idea it was to put an open flame in the hands of a third grade boy (who by the way had a few behavioral issues with fire) and have him march through a sanctuary made of wood and a congregation made up of people with lacquered hair.  Let me just say that there is evidence of deep faith from the opening moments of a worship service.  In that church the acolytes sat up in the chancel area where everyone could see him or her.  I thank God for that congregation, the patience that they showed to me, and compliments that they offered so freely.  I thank God for every church after that as well.

The apostle Paul made it a habit to thank God for the churches with whom he had ministered.  In his writings he gave thanks for the churches in Corinth, Rome, Thessalonica, Philippi, Colossae, and Ephesus.  He spent more time in Corinth and Ephesus than any other places. It is not surprising, therefore, when it came time for his final meeting with the people of Ephesus, that it was an emotional event.  Listen to how Luke described it in Acts 20:17-38.  You will find selected verses in your worship guide.  Hear now the Word of the Lord:

¹⁷From Miletus he sent a message to Ephesus, asking the elders of the church to meet him. ¹⁸When they came to him, he said to them: “You yourselves know how I lived among you the entire time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, ¹⁹serving the Lord with all humility and with tears, enduring the trials that came to me … ²⁸Keep watch over yourselves and over all the flock, of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God that he obtained with the blood of his own Son… ³²And now I commend you to God and to the message of his grace, a message that is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all who are sanctified… I have given you an example that by such work we must support the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, for he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” ³⁶When he had finished speaking, he knelt down with them all and prayed. ³⁷There was much weeping among them all; they embraced Paul and kissed him, ³⁸grieving especially because of what he had said, that they would not see him again. Then they brought him to the ship.

This is the Word of God for the people of God.  Thanks be to God.  In this passage Luke described to his readers the bond between the apostle and the church in which he invested so much.  As I read this account I am reminded of so many churches that have been a part of my life.  I thank God specifically for three things: for their examples, for the value that God places on the church, and for the relationships that continue to bless me.

I Thank God for Examples of the Faith Lived

Paul boldly lifted himself up as an example, and rightly so.  He had not only proclaimed good news to the church in Ephesus, bringing about such a revival that the idol industry feared going belly up, he lived out this faith.  For over three years he lived among the Ephesians, but look at what he reminds them of.  He served the Lord with humility and with tears, enduring the trials that came to him.  He did not clothe himself in arrogance, that we Christians can occasionally do, but approached his ministry with humility.  He did not remain aloof, as an outsider, but wept for and with the Ephesians whom he loved so much.  He did not hightail it out of there when the first wave of opposition came his way, but stayed with them for three years.  He lived out his faith as an example that others could follow.  Bishop Will Willimon wrote in his commentary on Acts, “Without examples to follow Christians have very little to offer the world…the world is quite right in assuming that if the gospel of Jesus is true it will receive embodiment in the lives of people who follow Jesus.”

This week I was inspired by the stories of lives altered by the Bonfire Tragedy ten years ago.  Carolyn Adams was the mother of Miranda Adams, one of the twelve who died in the tragic event.  She told the reporter who interviewed her ten years later, if it hadn't been for God, she doesn't know how she could have survived the death of her 19-year-old daughter.  Then she was quoted in this week’s newspaper saying, “I didn't think I could live a day without Miranda, and God is so good. He has seen us through this and continues to hold us up,” she said. “If anything, I think our faith has strengthened.”

 “If the gospel of Jesus is true it will receive embodiment in the lives of people who follow Jesus.”  Carolyn Adams assures me that the gospel is true.  But I have never met Carolyn Adams.  I have met Jo Walker, who will get me for mentioning her name.  The other day I was visiting Alice Edwards, our oldest member.  She is 101 years old.  When I was visiting her she was having a hard time remembering the events of that day – medication and post-surgical weakness had made her amazingly clear mind a bit foggy.  She apologized for the lack of clarity and then smiled, “I do remember Jo Walker coming by earlier,” she said. “She read the Bible to me and sang some hymns.”  She sighed and said, “That is always so nice.”  I know that is true, because I have walked in on Jo in the midst of her ministry. 

Who are the examples around you that have inspired you in this church and other churches of which you have been a part?  As a pastor, I look for examples among the clergy and find them right here.  Bob & Violet Waters are practically an institution in this church.  For 12 years Bob served as the pastor of this church and Violet was an integral part of his ministry that inspired this community of faith and touched this entire area.  He led and served with the same devotion to God that reflects from him still.  Guy and Betty Pry continue to be active and passionate about ministries to which God has called them.  Guy’s heart for prison ministry, Habitat for Humanity, and nurturing those who are seeking to know more about Jesus serves as an example for me.  Lawrence and Mary Margaret Smith lead Bible studies, host church events, have sponsored confirmands, and visit hospitals with the same love and devotion that was lived out in full time ministry.  Dan & Joyce Louis have yet to discover what retirement means.  I have lifted up the pastors so far, but this time let me talk about the pastor’s spouse.  Joyce has provided leadership not only to our own United Methodist Women, but leads in the district in several capacities.  Duane and Carol Suter were missionaries in the Philippines and if want to get a sense of what the heart of Paul sounded like, talk with Duane and Carol about their inseparable connection with the people they served.  “If the gospel of Jesus is true it will receive embodiment in the lives of people who follow Jesus.” Who are the examples around you that have inspired you?  I thank God for community and the examples that it has given me.
 

I Thank God for the Value God Placed on the Church

Have you ever read a chapter of the Bible and one verse just jumped out at you?  That’s how it was when I read Acts 20.  I was reading along and “Bam!” verse 28 happened, “Shepherd the church of God that he obtained with the blood of his own Son”.  Talk about a declaration of value!  How can we ever treat casually something that is so cherished by God?  I inherited a Currier and Ives dish collection from my Grandma Gilts.  These were the everyday dishes from which I ate whenever I would visit.  A couple of years ago, Zachary was spinning the top of the sugar bowl and it spun off the bowl and onto the floor, where it shattered.  The whole house froze.  I wish I could tell you that I simply hugged my boy and said, “It’s just stuff.”  Instead, I lectured him on how valuable that set was to me and that he shouldn’t treat it so casually – or something like that.

I had never heard the story of Jeff Whiting until this week.  Some of you may be familiar with the story.  Jeff is a former student, class of 2000, who was stunned by the collapse of Bonfire November 18, 1999.  He sat in the field and stared at the rubble that had claimed lives just hours before.  “Everyone else had something to put down there, and I didn’t,” Whiting said.  So he tore a sheet of paper out of his computer science notebook and scribbled a note: To our fallen Aggies, I want you all to wear my ring today. Since you who have passed will never get to experience the joy and happiness I was fortunate enough to feel, I want you all to have my ring for a while. You will remain in our hearts forever, Jeff Whiting ’00.  Then he slid his Aggie ring off his finger and placed it, one of his most prized possessions, on the ground -- leaving it there in honor of the fallen.  When they showed that ring on the news that night he began to fear that someone might steal the ring.  When he went back to check on it, he discovered the opposite.  Several others had placed their Aggie Rings beside his and the Corps of Cadets had organized an honor guard to protect them day and night.  The rings lay there for about a month and were returned to Jeff and the others who had placed their rings at the site.  When Jeff Whiting was asked if the ring means more to him now, he said, “Just because I set it down out there doesn't mean I love it more,” he said. “It always meant everything to me, so how could it mean more?”

When I read that quote in this week’s Eagle, I remembered that phrase from verse 28, “Shepherd the church of God that he obtained with the blood of his own Son”.  Richard Baxter wrote in his book The Reformed Pastor, published in 1656, “Let us hear these arguments of Christ whenever we feel ourselves grow dull and careless, ‘Did I die for them and will you not look after them? Were they worth my blood and are they not worth your labor?  Did I come down from heaven to earth, to seek and to save that which was lost; and will you not go to the next door or street or village to seek them?’”

What do you value?  Is it a dish that once belonged to your grandparents or a ring that connects you to the Twelfth Man?  For God it is the church, something so valuable to him that he obtained it with the blood of his own Son.  I thank God for community on which God has placed such a high value.
 

I Thank God for the Relationships that I Experience in the Church

Paul wept at the thought of never seeing his friends again and they wept mostly about these words.  But Paul assured them that they have each other and they must honor that.  He passed the mantle of care, nurture, and protection to the leaders of the church.  He told them that he had been a faithful watchman, but now that task was theirs.  He encouraged them to give selflessly to others, especially supporting the weak and vulnerable.  I. Howard Marshall wrote, “It is better for a person who can do so to give to help others rather than to amass further wealth for himself.”

This month’s cover story of Texas Monthly is simply entitled “Bonfire.”  It provides an oral history by Pamela Colloff who interviewed a number of people, letting them tell the story through their quotes.  Several students mentioned the youngest and last Aggie to die as a result of the collapse, Tim Kerlee, Jr. who was an active part of this church in his few months in College Station.  James Brown said, “I think he was probably the biggest hero of the night.”  Collin Zack remembered Tim refusing help and pointing out people who needed rescuing, “I can see so-an-so over there.  Go help him.  He needs the help. Don’t worry about me.”  Carrie Lunceford remembers Tim and her praying together from the fallen stack.

This is a vivid picture of the self-giving nature of the church.  Our history is filled with people who give to help others, even when their own life is in the balance.  I thank God for the relationships that I encounter in the church.

I thank God for community.  I mean community as God intends it to be and that is found in the church.  Here I find examples of gospel enriched, transformed lives.  Here I discover a community that is highly valued by God.  Here I find relationships that continue to give in a way that inspires so many of us to tears.  I invite you to spend time this week thanking God for community as God intends it to be – community that is found in the church.  Amen.