Charge To The Congregation

Installation of Rev. Lisa Rzepka
John Calvin Presbyterian Church
06.01.08; Rev. David Williams

Romans 10:13-15 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"
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A few years ago, I wandered through those doors back there as a stranger. I needed to intern somewhere to meet one of those pesky seminary requirements. My friends were getting churches five zip codes away, but I had two very young kids, and didn’t relish the thought of having to spend more time away from them. I thought to myself, there’s a church right across the street. Maybe if I asked really nicely, they’d be willing to take me on. So after a very pleasant worship, I sidled up to Bruce after the service, and asked. He immediately said, sure, and we launched into a talk about all the different things I might be able to do here. On my way home, I thought to myself, “Wow. What a great church.”

For two years, I got to know you folks. You endured my first efforts at preaching with both grace and encouragement, which..if you’ve listened to many seminarians preach...is really saying something. I had the privilege of leading a cadre of your kids through confirmation class, and was amazed at their creativity and intelligence. I got to lead Bible studies, and found folks to be open-minded and accepting and thoughtful. I listened with pleasure to the choir and the musical gifts of the members. I saw the commitment of folks in the church to justice and to the community. As I left seminary, and moved on into the ministry, I left this place thinking, “Man, what a great church.”

Now, Lisa has responded to God’s call to serve here with you and you begin this new phase of your journey together. As that new period begins, there are two questions you need to answer.

First, do you realize that this is a great church? Yeah, you don’t have three thousand four hundred forty three point five members. You don’t have eighteen paid pastors on staff. You don’t have four choirs and a praise team and a forty member Christian maraca ministry. You do not have a Hi Def Jumbotron Screen, upon which you can see every pore and follicle on the face of the liturgist of the day. You lack those little trolleys to take people to and from their cars across your hundred acre expanse of asphalt-covered former farmland. But American Christianity now has plenty of those churches, thank you very much. Some of those churches are great, but none of those characteristics have anything to do with being a great church.

What makes for a great church, an unusually great church, is warmth. It’s openness of heart and mind. It’s kindness. It’s thoughtfulness. It’s graciousness. It’s a community in which people are accepting of difference, and where they show Christ’s love in everything they do. You guys have that here at John Calvin. I knew it the whole time I interned here. But do you realize it? Sometimes it didn’t seem that you saw that in yourselves.

Second, and this is where that little snippet of a quote from the Apostle Paul comes in, do you realize you have to actually TELL other people that this is a great church? By that, I don’t mean that you have to go on a monomaniacal prosthelytising spree, in which you whip out your prescripted Jesus sales pitch every time you see one of your neighbors. That’s not very you.

No, what each of you needs to do is be aware of the ways you manifest Christ’s grace here. Be aware of all of the good things that happen at John Calvin. Be aware of the music. Be aware of the outreach to ACCA. Be aware of the love and care that goes in to teaching the kids here. Most importantly, be aware that out there is a world full of people looking for a place where they can be accepted, a place where they can find meaning and support, a place where they can put the gifts that God’s given them to use, a place just like this. But how are they going to hear unless you tell them?

As you and Lisa move forward together, as you listen to one another and learn from one another, she’s going to have a big part to play in telling the world about everything JCPC is and will become as you share your journey. Let hope and openness to the new things God is working here guide you. But always remember that God’s calling isn’t just about one person. It’s about a whole church.

So don’t be shy. Be called.

The feet that will bring the good news of John Calvin Presbyterian Church to the world belong to all of you. AMEN