Is it Lakeside's 50th anniversary, or not?
This is kind of embarrassing. A lady just slipped me a note that says that today isn't really Lakeside's 50th anniversary. We got the date wrong. It's supposed to be next month! April Fools! Come on, you know I had to!
Kidding aside, it really is Lakeside's 50th anniversary! When I first came to Lakeside about 12 years ago, I read through all her newsletters, annual reports, and historical documents. You don't realize what a vast number of people it takes to plant a church, let alone grow a church like Lakeside.
Sometimes when a team wins it's all about a coach or a star player taking the credit. Don't be fooled! From the beginning, the Church has always been a team effort. God has easily raised hundreds upon hundreds, even thousands of folks, to help this ministry thrive. Only God knows the number.
This morning is a celebration of God's faithfulness. He is the Lord of his church. He is the great shepherd, the King of kings and Lord of lords. We have every confidence that God will remain faithful. See 2 Timothy 2:13. His faithfulness spans generations and lasts for all eternity. As Paul says in 1 Timothy 1:17 (NIV), "Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen."
The Church in Ephesus had serious problems.
There's nothing insignificant about a church serving Christ for one year, let alone 50 years. Since January, we've been studying
1 Timothy. Timothy was at the church of Ephesus-- a church that had serious issues-- as every church does. It was so bad that Timothy wanted to the leave! But Paul urged Timothy in
1 Timothy 1:3 (NIV),
"...stay there in Ephesus." Paul strikes same tone at the end of
1 Timothy where he says,
"Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care..." See
1 Timothy 6:20 (NIV).
These are powerful statements.
"...stay there in Ephesus. Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care..."
Long before the Church at Ephesus reached her 50th anniversary, she was having major challenges. Four books in the New Testament were specifically written to address problems in Ephesus. Paul writes
1 Timothy, the letter of
Ephesians (while he was imprisoned), then
2 Timothy. Then Christ himself takes on Ephesus in the book of
Revelation! Ephesus was the first of seven churches that Christ confronted in
Revelation 2-Revelation 3!
Christ commended the Ephesians for their good deeds, hard work, and perseverance. Despite all the hardships they endured, they never grew weary. Others did, but the Ephesians did not. In Revelation 2:4-5 (NIV) Christ says, "Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first." Another word for repentance is "change." Christ asks the Church at Ephesus to change and do the things they did at first.
Through the years, many things have changed at Lakeside.
You know, a lot of things have changed at Lakeside in the past 50 years. Our facilities have changed. Let's remember. We first met in a school, then built a sanctuary on Rita Road. We then built a Christian Education wing. In 1999, we met in an old car dealership we affectionately called the Crystal Cathedral. Then we built here on Toronto Road. Now we're renovating and expanding. Our building is being remodeled to create space for groups of people to hang out, drink coffee, and build relationships. It will probably be renovated again one day. Growing churches have changing facilities.
Technology sure changes. We first used hymnals, then overhead transparencies, then slide projectors, then video projectors, and then computers. We first used chalkboards, puppets, and felt cutouts. But now we're using televisions, laptops, tablets, the internet, smart phones, and dumb phones.
Some people get offended when they see someone playing with his phone during church. But many people prefer to read their Bibles on a handheld device. I have my entire library, literally thousands of reference books, digitized on a tablet that weighs a few pounds. I have millions of additional resources available through Google and Amazon. I can do more study in one hour than I could do in days just years ago. Growing churches leverage technology.
Programming changes. The way people relate and prefer to learn has changed. We have moved from classrooms to groups and cafes; from buildings to campuses; from auditory and lecture to hands-on, activity-centered learning. What people wear has changed. Hairdos have changed. Go look at the photos in the lobby. No, don't! Twelve years ago I had a full head of hair! 50 years from now maybe there won't be any bald people. Who knows? Furniture changes. Few ministers preach behind a giant wood pulpit anymore. It's OK. It's furniture.
Music changes. Music styles change. Instrumentation changes. The songs we sing today aren't the songs we sang fifty years ago. The songs we sang fifty years ago aren't the songs we sang 100 years ago, or 200 years ago. Each generation has to find its own voice. I don't know of a single church reaching the next generation that hasn't changed its music. We all sing different music than our parents did. It's OK, so long as our doctrine is sound! The most annoying thing in heaven will be hearing the new song sung by the four living creatures and twenty-four elders. See Revelation 5:9.
There are some things that should never change.
Facilities, technology, programming, music styles... these things will always be changing. Yet, there are some things that should never change.
Paul tells Timothy,
"...stay there in Ephesus. Timothy, guard what's been entrusted to your care." Christ tells the Church at Ephesus,
"Repent (change)
and do the things you at first." What did they do at first? I can assure you that Christ wasn't talking about temporal things like facilities, technology, programming, or music styles. He was talking about things the first Lakesiders were doing fifty years ago!
The first Lakesiders were believing on Jesus for eternal life. They were clinging to God's word as the very words of life. They were preaching, teaching, meditating, memorizing, and reflecting. Look at the pile of trophies in the lobby that Bible bowlers earned by mastering scripture! The first Lakesiders were worshipping Jesus as their first love. They chose music, sang lyrics, played instruments, and expressed themselves through art and drama. They used every conceivable manner to express the joy of salvation flooding deep within them. Our first love will always be Jesus. That can never change, right? Not in fifty years, not in 100 years, not ever!
The first Lakesiders were becoming fully like Jesus from the inside-out, through the power and presence of God's Holy Spirit. It wasn't enough for them to be forgiven and granted eternal life. They wanted to be set free from the power of sin forever. And not just in the life to come, but in this life! This church began with people praying and fasting, falling under conviction of sin, and confessing hidden sin. Do we agree that this ambition to be changed, to become like Christ, to live holy and reverent lives inwardly and outwardly, can never change? Not in fifty years, not in 100 years, not ever!
The first Lakesiders truly belonged to one another. They weren't consumers or church shoppers. No, they were church builders. They saw themselves first as servants of the living Christ., then as brothers and sisters. They fought for unity, loved one another deeply, gave generously, spoke boldly, forgave unconditionally, built Christ-centered marriages and families, and raised God-fearing children. Does this not matter more than facilities, technology, programming, and music styles? We have to be a family. The mature must always sacrifice the temporal for the eternal, or risk losing the next generation.
The first Lakesiders saw themselves as being sent of God. Lakeside was a church plant. Fifty years ago, the vision was to partner with area churches to reach all of Springfield for Christ. I remember when I got hired someone said, "Wouldn't it be amazing if 300 people attended Lakeside one day? Done. Now what? There are over 250,000 people in the Springfield area who may not know Christ. Not even a third of them go to church.
We must always strive to please God, our Savior.
We have to grasp
1 Timothy 2:3-6 (NIV) which speaks of pleasing,
"...God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men."
Jesus says,
"...do the things you did at first..." He's talking about the things that matter for eternity. Think about that. What we do here matters for eternity. Believing on Jesus for eternal life. Becoming fully like him. Truly belonging to one another. Being sent to rescue all men.
By God's grace, these things can never change. May we continue to do the things we did at first.