Purpose
In his book titled "Mission Mover," Thomas Bandy writes "Once upon a time preparing for ministry meant meetings, political activism, counseling; now it’s preparing to interject Jesus into the conversation and a willingness to relinquish control." We are called to be "people of God" and interject Jesus into a world that would rather think in sociological, political, economic or exclusively anthropological categories.
Many of you remember the Cold War, Bay of Pigs, fall out shelters, and the threat of Communism. The church was offering Christ in the midst of godlessness. We were worried about secularism and atheism. Today we find ourselves swimming in a flood of vague spirituality. We find rampant godliness couched in a vague, free-floating spirituality. Our job is to participate, with the Holy Spirit, as people around us are called to look at their lives not in terms of sociology and worldly consumer spirituality but in terms of the specific discipleship demands of Jesus Christ, to interject Jesus into the conversations of the world. In confirmation we call this "being a Christian on purpose."
The article shared when Thomas Bandy was asked, "What do you do when you want the congregation to grow but your pastor just won’t lead in evangelism?" The old model would be for the church growth consultant to recommend calling a meeting, taking a survey or having a vote. Maybe even going to the personnel committee and mandating a change in the pastor’s job description. Bandy responded, "If you want to change your church or your pastor, you need to go deeper in Scripture. You need to get closer to the Holy Spirit." Spiritual growth in the church is growth coming by the power of the Holy Spirit through people who are committed to be "Christians on Purpose." The article stated, "In the church, we ought to be so bold, set our priorities so high, hold ourselves accountable to such lofty expectations, demand such dramatic results that if we do not go deeper spiritually, we will utterly fail." The church should be committed to intentional growth only attainable with God’s help. Deep spiritual growth comes through the power of the Holy Spirit working to bring about change. The Holy Spirit keeps pushing the church beyond its comforts and securities. When in confirmation we confess Jesus as Lord and promise to serve him, the Holy Spirit drives us towards people on the outer edges, out on the boundaries. The church experiences something divine, new and creative, and blames it on the Holy Spirit. When we commit to be Christians on purpose, we agree to participate in those fresh and outlandish experiences.
I invite you to join with the confirmation class in actively renewing your own vows by intentionally turning your life towards the ways of Christ, confessing your desire to serve him, putting your whole trust in God’s grace and accepting that, through the freedom and power of the Holy Spirit, all things are possible.
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