Three key words in our vision statement: “eagerly invite everyone.” How do you relate to those words? For me they are words about who we are and who we want to become. 

One of the first things we learn about following Jesus is the importance of telling others. Once you discover him, you tell someone else. For many years in the covenant group in which I am a member there has been a clause that says, “I will seek to speak to others this week about Jesus and my faith.” 

The best story in the Bible on this matter is today’s New Testament reading. Jesus calls Philip to discipleship. Philip goes and finds his friend Nate. (His real name is Nathanael but I’ll call him Nate.) Philip says, “I have found the one we have been waiting for—Jesus of Nazareth.” 

Nate responds, somewhat cynically, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Nazareth was sort of a “nothing town” back in those days. Somewhere close to my first church there were a couple of little communities called Buzzardtown and Straw Pump. They might have been a lot like Nazareth in the first century. Can anything good come out of Buzzardtown? 

Philip simply responds, “Come and see.” 

I see some guidelines for discipleship in this story. We are about forming disciples here. What are the guidelines for that? I use “being” words rather than “doing” words. Jesus calls to “be” a certain way in our faithful following. 

BE IMMEDIATE 

First of all, be immediate. It’s a first priority for us. The first thing Philip did after finding Jesus was to go to Nathanael. In the story just preceding that one, the same thing happened. Jesus called Andrew. Andrew went to his brother Simon. John says, “Andrew brought Simon to Jesus.” Next comes Philip, who says, “Nathanael, come and see.” 

When a story is important, we tell it, and we tell it quickly. President John F. Kennedy was shot in Dallas at 1:30 in the afternoon on November 22, 1963. Within 60 minutes 9 out of 10 people in the United States knew about the assassination. That rate of disseminating information is still unprecedented in this nation’s history—even with fiber optic cables and the Internet. 70% of all Americans knew about it within 30 minutes; 40% knew about it within 15 minutes. 

Jesus is THE event of human history. Andrew and Philip knew that He was the event. We know it. But we don’t always act on it. 

Interestingly, our newest members are often our best evangelists. Søren Kierkegaard once wrote, “It is easier for a non-Christian to become a Christian than it is for a Christian to become a Christian.” What did he mean by that? I think he meant that enthusiasm for the faith is stronger and more growth-oriented among newer members than among those of us who were born believers. There is an urgency born not of duty but of realization. 

BE CONFIDENT 

Secondly, the story calls us to be confident. Philip was confident that Nathanael would be open to him. Philip knew something about Nathanael. Yes, he tended to be skeptical. Yes, he was defensive. Yes, he was not an institutional religion type person. But Nathanael had a God-shaped hole in his heart that needed to be filled. 

Nancy Beach writes, “Getting people to church on Sundays is exceedingly difficult today… and yet there has rarely been a time when the local church has greater potential for spiritual impact… we see a profound spiritual seeking in most places around the world. Many are facing the emptiness of a life without meaning.”[i] 

We need a fresh infusion of confidence. Sometimes we’re afraid we will be rejected, or will be classified as a religious nut, or worse. Yet consider these facts: two times as many people say they are United Methodist in America today than there are members of the United Methodist Church. Following a recent campaign by our Igniting Ministries television spots, a survey indicated that many of the people who were not currently church attenders would attend a United Methodist Church if they were invited. Philip knew Nathanael was receptive. People today are receptive. 

You don’t have to talk theology. You do not have to preach. You do not have to explain. You don’t have to have all the answers. You certainly don’t say to people, “Are you saved?” or “If you die tonight, do you know you would go to heaven?” You don’t have to pray out loud with people. All you have to say is something like this: “I have found something. You might find it also. Come and see.” 

The story of Philip says be confident in issuing the invitation. God instills that kind of confidence in any one who asks. 

BE PERSONAL 

Thirdly, we are enjoined to be personal. This is one-on-one stuff. This is not passive. I saw an article on a piece of equipment for what the writer called “passive exercise.” No exertion was required. You could do it lying down. You could do it while reading a book. Listen to the description: “A no-work workout for those who prefer to take their fitness lying down.” Later the brochure says, “For about half an hour, a mild electrical current will make your muscles twitch and flex.” 

What’s the problem with this piece of equipment? The problem is there’s no heart in it. There’s no cardio-vascular involvement. Telling others about your faith has heart in it. 

Inviting is personal. It’s one-on-one. George Gallup recently reported that 76% of all Christians have never invited anyone to their church. And I have a friend who has said that the average United Methodist invites someone to church once every 14 years. 

We work hard on being an inviting congregation here. Many of you do it well. I would say this congregation is above average. Our youth do it especially well. Our youth do a job of inviting better than any church I know. I can look back 25 years now. I can look back at youth who came to and through the youth ministry of this church. They came because someone invited them. One good word from you brought a lifelong hook on which to hang a life. Something that will endure—even though you may never see it. 

Someone once said, “Persons are brought to Jesus by persons who have been brought to Jesus.” I affirm the youth of this church and others of you who know how important this is. 

Be immediate, be confident, be personal, and… 

BE CREATIVE 

Be creative. Leonard Sweet has written a new book with this curious title: Post-Modern Pilgrims—a First Century Passion for a 21^st Century World. In the book he says to become engaged with today’s culture, and find new ways to show how God is working in a hurting, spiritually hungry world. 

We know today about the financially disadvantaged. How about those who are spiritually disadvantaged? How much bending must the church do to reach the spiritually disadvantaged? 

Old methods of reaching people are fading in value. We can still put ads in the newspapers, but very few people come to church because of those ads. We can put our church’s name in bolder type in the Yellow Pages for a slight extra charge. Only a few people come to church because of the Yellow Pages. We could put sermon titles on the outside bulletin boards, but that doesn’t work much any more, either.  

I think the most conversation I have had in many years around what gets people’s attention is the Thursday email I send out. In addition, our web page is very frequently searched and read. The web page is carefully designed. You might like to know that during the first two weeks of September, the average number of hits per day was 160, with the high being 253. And get this: we had hits from 18 different countries including 2 from Bulgaria, 4 from Hungary, and 10 from the United States Military overseas.  

We find new and engaging ways to invite. What about inviting someone to see the movie, “The March of the Penguins” with you? Then go out for coffee afterwards and talk about the amazing creative wisdom of our God. What about inviting someone to Wednesday night dinner, just to meet other people? What about inviting someone to your CBS group on one weekday or evening, just to listen and be observant of what goes on in the group? 

Whatever it takes, we need to be creative. Remember the movie, “Mr. Holland’s Opus”? Mr. Holland was a high school music teacher. He was under fire for playing rock music in the classroom. The superintendent of schools and the principal of the high school called him into their office. They challenged him as to why he would ever do something like that. He thought for a moment and then turned to them and said, “I will use any means I can to get kids to appreciate music.” 

It reminds me of what Paul said one time to the Corinthian church. He said, “I have become all things to all persons so that I may by all means reach some.” (see I Corinthians 9:22) 

Bishop Tom Bickerton meets with his cabinet (the 10 district superintendents) on a regular basis. He has issued an interesting challenge to the members of the cabinet. He has challenged them to spend one hour each week someplace where they normally would not go—to listen, to talk, to engage, to invite. One of the superintendents has been spending his hour in a bar, and he is reporting very positive results. (No indication of what he might be drinking!) Be creative. Allow us to be creative here. It’s indigenous to 2005 and beyond. 

BE ENTHUSIASTIC 

Finally, I invite you to be enthusiastic. Some of you know that the first name for Methodist was not Methodist but Enthusiast. There is at least some possibility that we might today be the Christ United Enthusiast Church. Early Methodists were enthusiastic. I saw a poster somewhere that said, “Enthusiasm is contagious. Start an epidemic.” Philip says to Nathanael, “Something wonderful is happening, Nate. Come and see!” 

The text today speaks about the abundant life that Jesus brings. Enthusiasm speaks to that abundant life. 

A man was driving around looking for a small rural town in which a friend lived. After an hour without success, he stopped in front of an old store. A group of men were sitting on the porch. He rolled down his window and said to the men, “I want to go to Bennington.” There was a long period of silence. Finally one older gentleman took the pipe out of his month and spoke to the driver. He said, “We have no objection.” 

Is that our response? Someone says to us, “I want to find a deeper spiritual experience in my life,” and we say, “I have no objection.” We are not reporters. We are witnesses. A reporter normally does not have any particular relationship to the facts of the story. A witness is someone who has a personal experience, and has some passion behind it. 

A district superintendent was presiding in a congregational meeting that was being held in a home rather than in a church. People at that meeting spoke of the exciting ministries of that church. One woman rose to speak and said, “In all my life, I have never been a part of such an exciting and challenging church. Our church is a seething hotbed of passion.” 

I’m not sure about her choice of words, but I think she makes an important description. 

William Sloane Coffin published a little book this year called Letters to a Young Doubter. I read the book on a plane coming back from vacation about two weeks ago. To his imaginary doubting nephew, Coffin writes these words: “Actually, if only one tenth of what Christians believe were true, we Christians should be ten times as excited as we are.”[ii] 

Five being words toward a more inviting discipleship: immediate, confident, personal, creative, enthusiastic. 

I began this service today with these words: “The peace of Christ be with you.” I will conclude the service in a very similar vein. 

I hope that you find that here. I hope you find the peace of Christ here. Then, because you find it, I invite you to be in a contagious relationship with another person, or with other persons. 

The peace of Christ be with you. There is no more exciting way to live and to thrive.