This evening the National Football League will crown a new champion as the Pittsburgh Steelers face off against the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII. While the professionals are drawing their season to what I am sure will be a dramatic conclusion worthy of two weeks of hype and 11 hours of pregame coverage this morning, we may remember last month college football also crowned its national champion when the Oklahoma Sooners played the Florida Gators.
Now I didn’t get to see much of that game, but I was able to flip over occasionally to check the score. In the course of doing this I noticed Tim Tebow, the quarterback of the Florida Gators, like most of the other players had the thick black streaks that athletes frequently wear beneath their eyes to cut down on the glare from the stadium lights. Unlike any of the other players Tim Tebow had written in white on those streaks the word “John” under one eye and “3:16” under the other.
Many of us might recognize John chapter three verse 16 as one of the most beloved, most quoted, most frequently cites verses in the entire bible. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, so that whoever believes in him many not perish but have eternal life.” It is one of the few scripture verses I can actually quote from memory.
But an interesting thing happened in the hours following the start of that championship football game. Internet searches for “John 3:16” skyrocketed. In the 24 hours after that football game more people were searching online for the meaning of this cryptic message written beneath the quarterback’s eyes than were searching for gossip on the hottest new television actress, or updates on the newest computer software or information on the best vacation packages. For those of you who don’t use in Internet, imagine that after the game an unprecedented number of people got in their cars, drove to the library, and asked the librarian for a resource that would explain to them what “John 3:16” meant.
At first we might say, “Great! This single act by this single college athlete generated all this interest in this verse that some might say is the cornerstone of Christianity!” But if we step back for a moment and ask why so many people were searching for the meaning of John 3:16, we might be forced to answer that they didn’t know what John 3:16 meant or where to find it. Ultimately, this tells us that the world we live in is one where biblical illiteracy is rampant and growing!
And the reality is this isn’t true just for football viewers on the couch; it’s also true of many worshippers in church on Sunday morning. The Gallup organization which does all these opinion polls – did a study that found that 49 percent of Americans read the Bible at least once a month. That’s less than half. If we are statistically average, that means that either you or the person sitting next to you didn’t read the Bible at all last month. Gallup also found that only 14 percent of Americans are involved in a Bible study in a group or with someone else. I don’t want to be statistically average. I think that God is calling us to be better than average. I think that God is calling us to take the words of Acts 2 seriously.
This morning marks the third week of our series on Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations, and this morning we are focusing on the practice of intentional faith development. To do this we turn to Acts chapter 2. Acts is a really exciting book in the New Testament because is describes what Jesus’ followers and the earliest converts to Christianity were doing in the first days of the church. Our passage this morning comes at one of the critical moments in the Book of Acts; we get to look into one of the first, great growth spurts of the church. At the end of chapter one in the Book of Acts there are only about 120 Christ followers on the face of the earth. But by as we near the end of chapter 2 as we heard in our Scripture reading, there are more than 3,000 new followers of Jesus who as this point had died, been raised from the dead and ascended into heaven.
This is a time of great excitement, great enthusiasm, great energy. It is like when you meet a new boyfriend or a new girlfriend: you want to spend all your time with that person, you cannot stop thinking about that person, everything you do you want to do with that new person! But eventually that energy, excitement and enthusiasm fades, and if we are fortunate we realize that there are things that we have to intentionally attend to continue to develop that relationship: communicating with the other person, spending quality time with the other person, attending to the needs of the other person. I think the apostles – those sent out into the world to share the message of Jesus Christ raised from the dead – knew that this was true not just for our interpersonal relationships but for our relationship with God as well. We can see proof of this in Acts chapter 2.
In that storm of emotion and excitement over thousands upon thousands of people committing themselves to Christ, we get Acts 2:42 which basically says, “In the midst of all this excitement over your new found faith, don’t forget to practice intentional faith development.” These men and women who had just been baptized and initiated into a new way of life as a follower of Jesus Christ “devoted themselves to the apostle’s teachings.” They knew that they were not going to be average, that it wasn’t enough to just hear the message of Jesus Christ, be initiated into the faith and quit. They had to devote themselves to continued learning.
As described in the second chapter of Acts this disciple of intentional faith development – and it does take discipline – has at least two key characteristics. First there is a devotion to the teachings of the faith but there is also the commitment to community that says we are going to get together as often as possible to talk about these things and share with one another. So intentional faith development is both what we do individually on our own in our own private time and what we do together in community. Our individual study or reflection time gives us the opportunity to develop our own thoughts and beliefs and responses to God. Our time in community is a way of saying, “But I can’t learn it all on my own, so I’m going to listen to what others have learned and share what I have learned.” Our time of learning in community holds us accountable – it says, “we expect you to still be learning and growing because we value and need what you understandings and experiences” – but community also shapes us and forms us. It say, “As I listen to you I will be changed and grow closer to God.” Devoting yourself to the apostles teaching – intentional faith development – means being one of those who is reading the Bible regularly and it means being on of those who is part of a study group, a covenant group, a formation group.
Second, this practice of intentional faith development is all encompassing as well. We read in Acts that these new Christians were gathering at the temple – the place of worship – to learn about, talk about and share their faith with one another. But they were also meeting in homes to share in communion and prayers together. This tells us that intentional faith development is something that happens within the walls of the church, but it is not limited to within the church walls! Intentional faith development – classes, small groups, studies – can take place in our homes, in our place of work, on our boat docks, in the coffee shops, in the bars, in the restaurants; growing in faith can take place wherever people gather. So let’s not limit it, and let’s not be average.
Intentional faith development is kind of like a goose that flew south and then north again every year in a great flock. But one year as the goose was flying he looked down and saw a bunch of birds gathered on the ground, and he decided to join them. That goose left the flock and descended into the middle of a barnyard where he found himself surrounded by chickens. The goose made the most exciting discovery! He could eat as much as he wanted, and he didn’t even have to do anything to get the food; it was just given to him. That goose watched as his friends flew on southward and then later the flock passed over going north, but life was good and so the goose stayed put.
The next winter the goose looked up and saw his friends flying south. That goose thought, “You know, maybe this year, I’ll join that flock and go south.” The goose got a running start and began flapping his wings, but the goose couldn’t get off the ground. He was a little over weight and a little out of shape. As the goose watched the flock fly over, he thought, “Maybe I’m not even a goose anymore; maybe I’m just stuck here in the barnyard with these chickens.
How many of us are like that goose? Things are pretty good. We’re just coasting along. We’re not growing in faith. We’re content to be average. Maybe we’ll crack open our Bible once a month. Maybe we’ll go to a Bible study, but probably not. Folks, why cluck with the chickens when you can fly like a goose?
I don’t want to be an average chicken in the barnyard; I want us all to be geese! Today is Feb. 1, Super Bowl Sunday. My challenge for each one of you is to practice intentional faith development by July 4. Before Independence Day I challenge each one of you to be a part of a Sunday school class or a Disciple study group or a covenant group or a Bible study. If you can’t find one you like or that works for you, then let’s start one. If you need help, if you need leadership, let me know and I’ll be there.
In your bulletin this morning you will find a slip of paper with three questions: I already participate in ___________________. I would like to participate in _______________________. I would like to learn more about _________________________.
There are no excuses. Let us all commit to being geese. Let us all commit to practicing intentional faith development in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Sources used:
http://home.snu.edu/~hculbert/literacy.htm
http://blog.christianitytoday.com/outofur/archives/2009/01/biblical_litera.html
http://www.gallup.com/poll/2416/Six-Ten-Americans-Read-Bible-Least-Occasionally.aspx
Five Practices Leader Manual and Media guide. The story about the goose and the chickens is adapted from a sermon contained in this book.
New Interpreter’s Bible
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