GREYFRIARS' POTENTIAL

In his first sermon at Greyfriars Rob Yule spoke of its unique identity and heritage. In this his second message, given on 9 February 2003, Rob turns to the future potential of Greyfriars, sharing his personal vision about what he considers the church's greatest prospects for growth, ministry and creative outreach to be. He explains why he believes relying on God's Holy Spirit is crucial to achieving this future.

Heritage and Hope

Christianity is a religion of heritage. We celebrate the great acts of God in the past and recount these stories to future generations. We proclaim a living God who acts in history to redeem his people. As I said last week, Greyfriars' identity is in being a conservative, dependable, trustworthy church that is widely-known for upholding and disseminating the faith once for all entrusted to the saints. This is our heritage.

But Christianity is also a religion of hope. The Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard said, 'Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards. 'Christians are not captives of tradition, stuck in the past. We are what one of the prophets calls 'prisoners of hope' (Zechariah 9: 12). We are gripped by the pull of the future, reaching out after the fulfilment of God's promises. As St. Paul put it, 'Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus' (Philippians 3: 13-14, NRSV).

Our Creative Potential

God is not only God of our past but God of our future. The same God who created our identity at the moment of conception, has a unique calling and special purpose for every individual, and for every church.

When we turn from God we become self-centred and self-absorbed. Wrapped in our own selfish world, we frustrate our true potential. But when we become a Christian, Christ transforms our motivation; we are put in touch with a higher purpose than living for ourselves. We reconnect with the living God who made us, surrender to his unique calling and purpose for our lives.

Paul puts this profoundly: 'We are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do' (Ephesians 2: 9-10, NIV). The God who knows you intimately as your Creator has prepared a life of creativity and constructive achievements for you to accomplish. He knows this from when he made you, before you were even aware of it yourself.

This is why it is so important to yield your life to God, to turn from a life of selfishness and ask Jesus Christ to forgive and change you. As you are converted, as you open your life to the leading of the Holy Spirit, you are put in touch with those deepest urges and motivations that God placed in your heart when he made you. As you obey these promptings you will discover that they will become the source of the greatest things you will ever achieve in your life.

The phrase translated 'God's handiwork' doesn't really indicate your God-given potential. The Greek word is poyema - from which we get our English word 'poem'. Paul is saying that you and I are 'God's poem'. We are God's 'work of art', God's 'creative project', God's 'unfinished masterpiece'. God has a unique creative purpose for each of your lives. But you need to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit to discover this purpose.

Our Greatest Joy

Obeying God's leading will not only become the source of your greatest achievements. It will also become the source of your greatest joys. To discover God's will is not hardship, but happiness ; not drudgery, but delight ; not lassitude, but liberty. This is one of the great paradoxes of Christianity. God's service is perfect freedom. Obeying God is our greatest joy.

In the seventeenth century a German Pietist school teacher and poet named Joachim Neander wrote the well-known hymn 'Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation'. The second verse puts this truth in the form of a question:

' Hast thou not seen,

how thy heart's wishes have been

granted in what he ordaineth ? '

Catherine Winkworth, the nineteenth century translator, actually wrote 'heart's desires' - which even better captures the author's meaning, and the biblical insight it contains. When you look back on your life, you see that God purpose has fulfilled the deepest longings and desires of your heart.

On the morning of my induction to Greyfriars, still reeling from the enormity of the shift from to Auckland after more than fifteen years in Palmerston North, wondering if I'd done the right thing, feeling nervous about what was ahead of me, I read Psalm 37. These words leapt off the page:

' Trust in the Lord and do good ;

dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

Delight yourself in the Lord

and he will give you the desires of your heart.'

(Psalm 37: 3-4, NIV)

Greyfriars' Potential

What is true for an individual Christian can be true also of a local church. Just as each church has a unique identity, so each church has a unique calling, and will find joy, blessing and fulfilment in pursuing that calling. Here's where I see Greyfriars' greatest potential:

1. A classical heritage

Greyfriars' existing morning service is rather special and surprising. Many charismatic and evangelical churches have gone exclusively contemporary in their worship style. Greyfriars retains a sense of living tradition. What appears initially to be a little dated and stodgy, turns out, on closer involvement, to be very warm and vital, with a no-nonsense, get-on-with-it, matter-of-factness that is quite refreshing in contrast to the endless repetition and mindless clichés that have become the norm in many contemporary churches.

Strengthening this conservative heritage, I believe Greyfriars has the opportunity to develop what I would call a 'classical service', using classical instruments and perhaps a choir, and quarrying the Christian heritage which is in danger of being lost by purely contemporary churches. I think we could do this well.

2. A contemporary outreach

Our greatest growth potential would come from starting a completely new morning congregation alongside that classical service stream, aimed at the generation of parents with young families. It would be freer and less formal than our present service, use contemporary music and songs, and be more family friendly. It could perhaps meet in the Memorial Hall.

I believe this congregation is already out there in the wings - waiting to be invited in. I refer to the crowds of children, parents and care-givers coming to the Wednesday and Friday morning Play Group, and to the outreach potential, too, of following up on weddings of local residents. Such a service would future-proof our church, ensuring we attracted the next generation.

3. A caring community

Greyfriars has an outstanding reputation for the quality of its caring ministries. The Care Team, the counselling service, the Alpha outreach, are all highly-credible ministries that are well thought of in the wider community. Fundamentally we don't need to change these - just strengthen them, make sure they are well-resourced and don't fall over through overwork and burn-out of the helpers, and build on their successes.

We need to ensure that these caring ministries all have the objective of introducing people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ. Keeping these bridges of love open into the community will ensure a steady flow of people coming to know the Lord and becoming members of Christ's church.

4. A creative leadership

Greyfriars has outstanding creative people in leadership. Matthew Raymond's Easter musical 'Surely He was the Son' will be the main focus of Greyfriars outreach this term. It provides an opportunity for all of us to invite friends and family to a credible presentation of the Christian message.

Our evening service is attracting students at top schools and at university, who have the potential to be tomorrow's leaders in society and the church. Greyfriars also has many professional and business leaders, who are carrying important cutting-edge responsibilities in their fields of expertise and endeavour.

Programmes to support students in their school or campus witness, and support professionals and business leaders in workplace Christianity, would have long-term strategic potential.

These four areas represent Greyfriars' unique potential. I believe it will be very fulfilling for us if we invest in these areas. We needn't strive to be something that we're not. God hasn't called us to be a Scottish cathedral church like St. Giles, Edinburgh, or an American megachurch like WillowCreek, Chicago. God has called us to be Greyfriars - a unique church, with a unique purpose, in a unique location right in the middle of the Auckland isthmus. Let's pursue this calling, and together develop our potential.

Rob Yule, 9 February 2003

© 2003, Greyfriars Presbyterian Church