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Hoosier United Methodist News Archives
| Hoosier United Methodist News |
April 2001 |
Mini Homily:
Setting the Church back 2,000 years is a good thing
By Rev. Daniel Eckart
During the "Cold War" between the United States and the former Soviet Union, while Bresznev was in power, the evangelist Rev. Billy Graham visited Moscow. After returning from the highly publicized trip to the Communist Russian capital, Billy Graham was criticized for having gone into a country that not only discredited religion but also persecuted Christians and continued its efforts to destroy the Church.
One critic in particular accosted Graham and made this charge: "Dr. Graham, you have set the Church back 50 years."
It was reported that Billy Graham lowered his head and humbly replied, "I am deeply ashamed. I have been trying very hard to set the Church back 2,000 years."
Isn't that exactly what God wants us to do? Not that we are to negate the accomplishment of the Church over the last two millennia, but that the Church needs to understand the way that the early Church understood its mission. The Church needs to have the same priorities as the early Church. We need to be as fervent as the early Church in spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ. Our number one passion ought to be serving our Savior and Lord.
It is easy to become distracted with so many programs and so many activities that we forget that the do-mission that Jesus gave us was to "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." (Matt. 28:19-20) Our single purpose is to teach the Word and make disciples everywhere we go.
Of course, programs and Church activities and ministries are not all bad, and not all of them distract us from our mission. In fact, many help us accomplish our mission.
We ought also to be reminded that the Church is comprised of the faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. So, what the Church does will be evidenced in what we, as Christians, do and how we act and with what activities we fill our lives.
How great it would be if we all decided to set the Church back 2,000 years so we would be the pure instrument of God's grace in the world.
Consider how your life would be different if you made it a priority to "set the Church back 2,000 years."
The Rev. Daniel Eckart is pastor of Webb Chapel UMC in the Kokomo District.
This piece first appeared in the Pharos Tribune in Loagansport. Used by permission.
Last updated January 14, 2004