Mark's Remarks 9/19

This is our church family reunion. We’re together for the first time in almost two years. Why is it that as one gets older, one appreciates reunions more? Do you remember how much we hated the reunions our family had as teenagers? Teenagers still do. Standing around and making small talk with strangers who share nothing in common with you except a last name. Having older persons pat you patronizingly and marvel at how much you've grown. Then they discuss whose nose you have, whose eyes you have, and even whose ears you have. Being pressured by Aunt Mary to try her special bean recipe. Most teenagers would rather do anything than attend a family reunion.

But as years go by, we appreciate reunions more. We feel a need to draw strength from the larger family, to receive help in our grieving for grandparents and parents, to remember the rock from which we are hewn.

As our founder John Wesley affirmed, "Christianity is essentially a social religion, and to turn it into a solitary religion is indeed to destroy it."

Just look around and consider what a diverse and wonderful family of God we are. Though our racial makeup is predominantly white, we are racially inclusive. Obviously, we need to increase our African-American and Hispanic constituency. Politically, we cover the spectrum from liberal to conservative. We have some folks so liberal that the mere mention of Rush Limbaugh causes them to break out in the hives. Others are as conservative as a l00-year-old man I heard about. On his birthday he was interviewed for a news story. The reporter said, "Sir, in your lifetime you've seen lots of changes, haven't you?" "Yep," said the old man, "and I've been agin' all of ’ em."

In our church are some of the wealthiest people in Liberty; but we have others who literally do not know how their meals will be financed next week. We have folks in our church whose accents betray the fact that they come from the South. Then there are others of us who are normal Missourians (perhaps an oxymoron), we don't have an accent. Within our fellowship are sports fans who yell for Tigers, Jayhawks, Cornhuskers, even a few Wildcats. My goodness, we are diverse! And isn't it wonderful?!

We live in a fractured, polarized society. Everybody out there is choosing up sides against everybody else. But just imagine if we, the church of Jesus Christ, can demonstrate for a skeptical secular world that diverse persons and groups can unite around the name of Jesus. What a witness that would be!

Unity in Christ. That's what today is about.