Bible Text:

“[You] have set my feet in a broad place.”                   (Psalm 31:8)

One of my personal liabilities—and I’m sure I have many—is the fact that I am fairly provincial. I have lived most of my life in the southwestern corner of Pennsylvania. I actually subscribe to a limited circulation magazine called “Westylvania,” which is geared for people who grew up in this part of the country.

I grew up in a suburban United Methodist church. Throughout my ministry I have served three suburban United Methodist churches. I have never really lived anywhere else, and I’ve traveled only in a limited fashion. 

I like to compare myself with the youth from our senior high youth group who go on a Mission of Peace every year. They go to places like India, South America, Central America, and the Far East. I tell them that when I was in high school I got to go by myself one time to Finleyville! 

I’m not complaining or lamenting. I have been blessed in uncounted ways. But the fact is I am fairly provincial. 

2003 is the 300^th anniversary of the birth of John Wesley. Wesley was born on June 17, 1703 in Epworth, England. Wesley was not provincial. He traveled all over England. During his 53-year ministry he rode over 250,000 miles on horseback. He changed the face of 18^th century England. Wesley also came to the United States several times. At one point he said to his hearers, “I look upon the world as my parish.” Wesley was definitely not provincial. 

Jesus charged his disciples not to be provincial. His final words to them are found in the Book of Acts, where he says, “You shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) In other words, Jesus said, “You will be my witnesses here at home, in this region, and around the world.” He painted a picture of an ever-expanding parish. To be a disciple of Jesus is to be non-provincial. 

The vision of an expanding parish seems to be unfolding here in new ways at Christ Church. A new time is emerging for us in ministry. 

For 54 years we have worked at reaching people from this site. We have equipped this space well—perhaps even extraordinarily well. We have sent work teams from here in increasing numbers to places where lives have been damaged or are hurting. We have given partial financial support to missionaries in four places around the globe. We are well positioned to reach people at 44 Highland Road. 

But I sense that we are called now to expand our parish, to be less provincial. The Psalm text for today says, “You have set my feet in a broad place.” What might the Spirit be saying to us in these words? 

ZIMBABWE 

The first way is through the mission to Zimbabwe, which is a part of your A to Z commitment this morning. In this South African nation there is a United Methodist mission site. On that site is a hospital facility. The facility is sound, but there is no physician. We hope to put a physician there in 2 months. We hope to provide full support, not just partial support. His work there will be an extension of this church. Our intent is to be in regular dialogue with him. There will probably be occasional trips for support and encouragement between here and Zimbabwe. 

The Council of Bishops of the United Methodist Church made an announcement at a recent meeting. They said they want to make Africa a mission priority for the quadrennium from 2004-2008. The words they used were interesting. They want to eliminate weapons of mass destruction. Those weapons include HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, as well as poverty and lack of education. 

How good it is to know that we at Christ Church are making a kind of pre-emptive strike against the weapons of mass destruction. We will be working to “heal” some of those weapons of mass destruction during the next few years starting in 2003. 

Bishop Felton May said recently about this project, “Weapons of mass destruction can be dismantled, and shalom can come forth if we stay the course.” I believe we are being called to stay the course. We will know an expanding parish in the next few years. God has set our feet in a broader place. 

CLOSER TO HOME 

The other part of the expanded parish is closer to home. Jesus said to his disciples, “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in Judea.” Judea refers to the wider region. We are expanding the breadth of our reach. 

John Wesley was very much a man ahead of his time. In his day all of the so-called “good people” worshiped in the established churches. Wesley found that many people were put off by those churches. They felt awkward or uncomfortable. They felt unsure or out of place. So he started preaching in other places. Wesley started preaching in the fields. He would preach at the entrances to coal mines. He would preach on the streets outside of taverns. Wesley set up preaching points wherever the people were, and he did so at times when they could be most easily reached. 

Wesley preached in a day of significant distrust toward the established church. He preached in some fairly “un-churchy” settings. 

Some of us here on staff have been discussing a new word recently. The word is “postmodern.” It refers to new ways of thinking and doing. Maybe Wesley was a postmodern ahead of his time. 

We will be trying something new (and very Wesleyan) in the next few years. There are many who are outside this or any other community of believers. They are alienated by negative church experiences from childhood. They refer to themselves as being spiritual without being religious. They have little or no knowledge of how to think Christian. They are ashamed that they know so little about Jesus and about the Bible. 

Let me try out an image on you. It’s the image of a threshold over a doorway. We don’t have many of those here in this church, but you know that to which I refer. It’s a piece of wood or metal that you must step over to get from the outside to the inside. Symbolically at least, often the threshold of the church is very high. It’s a big step to get in. If you have been coming to church for years, you don’t even notice it. But it’s there. 

It’s not so much about getting into the building, although that’s also true for some. Mostly it’s about coming into the sanctuary. The threshold seems so high here. It’s foreboding to some. We don’t understand it, but it’s real. 

So we are going to begin to set up some off-site worship. Some of it might be elsewhere in this building. Some of it might be completely off-site. We will find a space that is less foreboding and totally non-threatening. We will find a space easy to locate and one that is accessible for all. 

Then we will invite people who are spiritual but not religious. We will invite people who are beginners in faith formation. We will invite people who are unsure, but open. Some good models are in place around the country. There are some good United Methodist models—not many, but some. 

I think we may be called here or are being called here to do this. I’m not exactly sure what it means, nor am I exactly sure what it will look like. I’m not sure where it will be located. It may only be a preaching and worship point. But I think God is nudging us in this direction, and I think it is true to the best in our United Methodist tradition.

A professor of United Methodist history at one of our seminaries has recently written an article about the ways in which John Wesley was misquoted or misunderstood. One of those places according to this teacher is the quotation I used in the sidebar in your worship guide this morning, where Wesley says, “I look upon the world as my parish.” The professor points out how this might be a mission statement for the church, and many churches have taken it up in this fashion. However, he said it is more likely that Wesley was saying, “I will preach wherever I darn well please.” 

Maybe that is what we are saying here.  

Brian McLaren has written about this issue. Here is what he says: “We can learn from nature. Nature teaches us two lessons, diversity and interdependence. Both will characterize the future church. Life evolved to thrive in many different niches. We need in the church incredible diversity to fill many niches.” 

The name we give to all of this is “Satellite Worship, or “Satellite Church.” It’s happening beautifully in some places around the country. It’s happening through the vision of a few United Methodist churches. Chris Whitehead will tell you more about it in his message next Sunday. 

But as for now, consider the vision of an expanding parish—one that reaches out to the medical needs of Zimbabwe, and one that reaches out to expand the faith needs in this region. These are two worthy goals ahead, one of which we set in motion today. 

John Wesley said, “I look upon the whole world as my parish.” Jesus said, “You shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” The Psalmist says, “You have set my feet in a broad place.” 

I think Wesley would approve of this vision. I think he would give a resounding “yes.” More importantly, however, I think God will be honored.