© 2012
I.
Last fall when I
began to journey with you, I explained that my approach to preaching would be
to listen together for the voice of God in the Scripture selections suggested
by the Lectionary. What did you hear from God as you listened to the story of
David bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem? I’m not going to read it
again, but you may want to open a Bible to 2 Samuel 6 so you can look at it
this morning.
A.
After the death
of King Saul, David became King of Judah but the other tribes continued to
follow some of Saul’s family and military leaders. (2 Samuel 2-4) After Saul’s
dynasty collapsed, the rest of Israel came to David and asked him to be their
king as well. For 7 years Hebron was David’s capital. David captured Jerusalem
from the Jebusites, then in a shrewd political move, he moved his capital
there. Since Jerusalem had not belonged to either Judah or Israel, it became
the ideal place from which to reign over all Israel.
B.
By bringing the
Ark to Jerusalem, as we read today, David made Jerusalem the worship center of
Israel. This solidified his royal power and demonstrated his priority on having
God at the center of his kingdom.
C.
In this past week
1st Christian Church, Duncanville called David Bondurant to be your
next pastor, and I accepted a call to become the interim pastor for 1st
Christian Church of Midwest City, OK. This is a pivotal week. Our paths have
taken definitive turns into God’s new future. As I have read about David
bringing the Ark to Jerusalem, I believe I have heard God saying to you and to
me, “Dance with all your might to celebrate the new ministry God is opening ahead
of you.”
II.
Mark 6:14-29
tells the colorful story of another dance and another king who is a macabre
contrast with David dancing before the Lord. In this story, I hear God’s
cautionary voice for leaders in times of transition. What do you hear God
saying? Jesus had sent his 12 disciples out to preach and heal.
King
Herod heard of it, for Jesus’ name had become known. Some were saying, “John
the baptizer has been raised from the dead; and for this reason these powers
are at work in him.” 15But others said, “It is Elijah.”
And others said, “It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” 16But
when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.”
17For
Herod himself had sent men who arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison
on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because Herod had married
her. 18For John had been telling Herod, “It is not lawful for you to
have your brother’s wife.” 19And
Herodias had a grudge against him, and wanted to kill him. But she could not, 20for
Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he
protected him. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked to
listen to him. 21But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a
banquet for his courtiers and officers and for the leaders of Galilee. 22When Herodias’
daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests; and the king
said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it.” 23And he
solemnly swore to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my
kingdom.” 24She went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?”
She replied, “The head of John the baptizer.” 25Immediately
she rushed back to the king and requested, “I want you to give me at once the
head of John the Baptist on a platter.” 26The
king was deeply grieved; yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he
did not want to refuse her. 27Immediately
the king sent a soldier of the guard with orders to bring John’s head. He went
and beheaded him in the prison, 28brought
his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her
mother. 29When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body,
and laid it in a tomb.
A.
David’s dance was
an expression of humble joy. Herod Antipas personified arrogant anxiety. He was
not actually a king, but he wanted to be. By referring to him as a king, Mark
may be sarcastically making fun of Herod Antipas’ ambition. He wanted to be the
hot-shot ruler, but when he regrets his rash, precipitous vow, his pride won’t
let him back down. By being afraid his guest would think he was weak, he
surrendered the strength of character required to admit his poor judgment and
refuse Herodias’ request.
B.
Since at least
Watergate, we have heard that regardless of the severity of the original crime,
the cover-up is what gets leaders in trouble. We’re seeing that played out in
the Penn State scandal this week. In an apparently fearful desire to protect
their prestigious football program, the university’s leaders have shattered the
whole school’s reputation and sullied their own character.
C.
As these past two
weeks have unfolded with this church calling David Bondurant to be your next
pastor and the church in Oklahoma calling me as their interim pastor, this
story has prompted me to think a lot about the ministry of John the Baptizer. He
was like an interim pastor between the Hebrew prophets and Jesus. His job was
to point people to the coming Messiah. In John 3:26 some people apparently
wanted to make John jealous and told him about all the people flocking to
Jesus. In verse 30 he responds, “He must increase but I must decrease.” We have
come to a turn in the road. In the four weeks ahead of us, my job is to
encourage you to release me and embrace David. Pastor David must increase, and
Norm must decrease. I, too, must release you to David so I can embrace the
people in Oklahoma.
III. As he brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem,
King David continues to teach us how to navigate the twists and turns of our
journeys. Dance with all your might to celebrate the new ministry God is
opening ahead of you.
A.
Just because
bringing the Ark to Jerusalem was a shrewd political move for David, we should
not cynically discount David’s spiritual sincerity. The Ark had been neglected
and moved around some after Joshua brought Israel into the Promised Land.
Though Shiloh was the worship center during the time of Samuel, the Ark does
not seem to have been brought there. By bringing it to Jerusalem David
symbolically united Israel under God and made God the center of political unity
as well. King David wanted God to be at the center of his reign. As Psalm 127:1
says, “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.” A
church does not move into a new future with publicity, programming or
personalities. They may bring institutional success, but unless the Lord builds
the future, everything else is hollow.
B.
Did you notice in
verses 1-5 the Ark was carried on a new cart and in verses 12-19 is was carried
on poles? David knew the Ark was holy. They didn’t load it on an old hay wagon.
They made a new cart for this one time use only. What we didn’t read in verses
6-11 was that Uzzah died when he reached out to steady the Ark. The usual
understanding of this incident is that the instructions God gave Moses for the
Ark warned that it was not to be touched and was to be carried on poles by
priests. Whether they were ignorant of these instructions or chose to ignore
them, they got it right for the second part of the Ark’s journey to Jerusalem. While
other lessons may be drawn from this, one that I think is important in a time
of transition is not to let even serious blunders prevent us from pursuing
God’s call to ministry.
C.
Verses 5 and 14
report that David danced with all his might on both stages of the Ark’s journey
to Jerusalem. He did not let the intervening tragedy inhibit his exuberance.
Both David and the people were putting the same energy into celebrating the new
era of a united Israel that they had put into bringing it about. You can’t
coast through a transition from one era of ministry to another. Turning the
corner takes exertion, energy, enthusiasm. And it can’t be just the new
pastor’s labor. King David danced with a huge crowd who also danced with all
their might. Everybody has to work.
D.
Especially if we
compare what we read today with the more detailed account in 1 Chronicles 15 we
see that David’s dance was a dramatic demonstration of humility. No royal
robes, only the most basic tunic. No regal dignity, only vulnerable emotion. No
pretense of power, only childlike delight. Perhaps you’ve heard an expression
to the effect that there is no limit to what can be accomplished if no one
cares who gets the credit. Humility is the path to spiritual maturity and the
path to effective ministry together.
IV. The contrast between King David and would-be-king
Herod Antipas should not limit our thinking to the qualities of spiritual
leadership but also point us to the kind of spiritual followership needed for
the transition between eras of ministry. Dance with all your might to celebrate
the new ministry opening before you. If you were not already convinced, I hope
that the events of the last two weeks have confirmed that God has called David
Bondurant to be the next pastor of 1st Christian Church,
Duncanville. Nevertheless, I can tell you he is not magic; no pastor is. He is
totally incapable of bringing this church into a new era of fruitful ministry
by himself. All of you must follow with faithful prayer and diligent work. I
did not make any effort to find out what happened in the Search and Call
Committee, and they were very careful to respect confidentially, though that is
not easy. But I did pick up a hint of something I think is important. Usually a
committee will ask candidates why they think they are right for the church. At
some point, David asked the committee why they thought he was right for this
church. The answer boiled down to, “We believe we can follow you.” Spiritual
leadership and spiritual followership are a matched set. Both are needed
together.
A.
As you follow
Pastor David, remember you are following him to Jesus. Listen for the voice of
God as he preaches and teaches. Pray for him and his family. Pray for all the
leaders that together they may discern the leading of the Holy Spirit.
B.
I know Pastor
David is going to suggest new things for worship, new things for evangelism and
outreach, new things for ministry with children and youth, new ways to grow
spiritually. Just because you want to be following the lead of the Holy Spirit
does not exempt you from blunders. Amazing as it sounds, the Holy Spirit works
through our broken humanity and through the varieties of sometimes conflicting
opinions in the congregation. Not everything is going to work. Don’t give up.
Be persistent and give new ideas enough time to have a chance to work. Don’t
give up. Be ready to make adjustments as you go. Don’t give up. When something
crashes, catch your breath and try something different. Don’t give up. If
someone gets tired and burns out, invite someone new to give it a try.
C.
Tackle the
challenges and opportunities of your new era of ministry with all your might. Nothing
is automatic. Everything takes effort. All the publicity in the world will not
make the church grow. It may make people aware of the church, but you still
have to invite your friends, neighbors, co-workers and relatives. A new pastor
and new programs give you the opportunity to do that. You can say, “Our church
just got a new pastor, and I am enjoying his sermons. I’d like to invite you to
come with me to hear him.” But people will not come just because David preaches
dynamite sermons or because of a new outreach program. You have to invite them.
Nothing can substitute for word of mouth!
D.
When I was in
graduate school forty years ago (can it really be that long?) I took a course
called youth culture. Each of us was assigned one high school young person to
get to know and follow around for a semester. We went to their homes and ate
with their families. We went to their schools and met their friends and
teachers. We attended church and youth group with them. The young man assigned
to me lived in the extremely upscale community of Oak Brook, IL and attended a
large church with a high energy, high quality youth group led by a fully
professional staff. Others were paired with urban kids with single parents who
had minimum wage jobs and attended small storefront churches and everything in
between. In our class seminars we compared notes about what was similar and
what was different in the lives of our students. One think that stuck out was
that the most successful youth groups were not necessarily those with the
highest quality of programming or even the best qualified leaders. The most
successful youth groups were the ones the kids were most excited and
enthusiastic about. Some were done with excellence, but others seemed poorly
done but the kids loved the group, their friends and leaders. I think the same
is true of congregations. Enthusiastic commitment is the essential ingredient
for ministry effectiveness and for growth.
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