A Great Bunch of Mates Who Build Churches
In tough times due to the recession, with record levels of family break-up, suicides, child abuse and homelessness, our community needs new levels of care for people. It not enough for politicians to give economic answers to every social problem.
As the Club of Rome, composed of 100 world famous people (including Wesley Mission’s Dr Keith Suter) said in its Malaysian statement:
“The market economy is now almost universally accepted as the most efficient economic system. Never-the-less, we noted that the market forces alone are insufficient to deal with a number of longer term issues such as those of social policy, science and technology, health education and the environment. Hence corrective mechanisms have to be put into place.”
During a visit to Scotland on long service leave, while Beverley and I were studying at Oxford University, I read some history of Scotland. In the eighteenth and nineteenth century, the land was enclosed for sheep breeding and the tenant farmers driven off in the most heartless way. Tens of thousands perished of exposure and malnutrition while hundreds of thousands were forced to immigrate. This was done in the name of economic rationalism. There was concern for economic prosperity but not for human suffering caused by economic changes. My earliest Australian family in the 1830’s came here, from Scotland, to work as shepherds because of these economic forces that drove the highlanders out. Some ministers stood against the move and with the people. They lost their own homes and employment. These brave ministers fought the Clan Chiefs who leased the land to English sheep-farmers and forced their people into poverty and immigration.
John Prebble, Scottish historian in his book: “The Highland Clearances” said what happened to the poor did not worry the chiefs for long. He quotes Rev Thomas Maclauchlan, who said:
“The Chiefs can ride out of a forenoon with their visitors and point out to them the splendid enclosures, the extensive sheep-walks or the well-stocked deer-forest as they pass along, without once alluding to the amount of human suffering by which the whole was purchased. They want fine fields and fine forests; what care they for people?’” (“The Highland Clearances” John Prebble. Penguin Books, 1963.)
As Australia’s future is dominated by economic rationalists of both political parties, the church must once more stand beside the poor and argue loud and forcefully for governments to have a care for people. That has been to the forefront in our ministry. We teach the scriptures that teach us how to care for people in God’s name.
At the end of Paul’s letter to the Romans, Paul sends greetings from the people beside him.
“21 Timothy, my fellow worker, sends his greetings to you, as do Lucius, Jason and Sosipater, my relatives. 22 I, Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord. 23 Gaius, whose hospitality I and the whole church here enjoy, sends you his greetings. Erastus, who is the city’s director of public works, and our brother Quartus send you their greetings” Romans 16:21-24.
In Romans 16 Paul greets twenty-six people by name, as well as several unnamed; and the churches that were meeting in homes. He closed with greetings from nine believers who were with him in Corinth when he wrote the letter. Paul always accepted his place as leader, but gave honour to those who worked alongside of him. Who were these church builders?
1. THOSE WHO PREACH BUILD CHURCHES. v21
First is Timothy “my fellow worker”. This man, the son of a Jewish mother and a Greek father, travelled with Paul on his missionary journeys. Acts 16:1-3 He became a trusted and highly valued helper, mentioned as being with Paul many times in Acts and in Paul’s letters. Timothy helped in the mission to Macedonia and Achaia Acts 17-18 and handled the problems in the Corinthian church. 1Cor 4:17; 16:10.
How our work is blessed by staff and lay-preachers who share the preaching ministry. We employ staff from many denominations who worship in other congregations, but the oversight, impetus and direction of all of our work lies in the mid-city worshipping congregations. Where missions neglect the worshipping heart their ministry fails. Most of the once great missions in Australia are only a shadow of their former selves, not because the need has lessened or because they could not employ good staff, but because they let their worshipping heart die! Without congregations of strength at the centre of the work, it soon becomes merely a social welfare program and loses direction. Neglect of the preaching spells death.
In Manchester the Central Methodist Mission was founded by Samuel Collier in 1885, a year after W.G.Taylor founded the Central Methodist Mission in Sydney. Despite few helpers, Collier’s services soon attracted crowds. For twenty-one years Collier preached to the biggest Methodist congregation in the world. The Albert Hall, was built in 1910 seating two thousand people. By the time of his death in 1921 Collier was running the largest mission in the world with fourteen centres of work, five thousand members, twelve thousand in the congregations and two thousand volunteers. Today nothing remains! The worshipping heart died, the Albert Hall sold and the social services slowly succumbed into purposeless welfare. Today we give thanks to God for our preaching staff and for those building growing worshipping congregations.
Buildings alone and programs of helpfulness to people can never replace the preaching of the Word of God. First and foremost in the building of churches lies the task of proclaiming the Word. Mobile Missions Maintenance must always keep in central focus, that you are providing the facilities to enable better proclamation of the Word of God.
2. THOSE WHO COMMUNICATE BUILD CHURCHES. v21.
Greetings come also from Lucius, who remains unknown to us. Lucius was merely one involved in communicating the Good News of Jesus to Corinth. That work of communicating the Good News is an essential ingredient to the growth of our work. At WesleyMission Sydney, we thank God for our communications staff and ministry in the print media, the pageants and special services. We worship in the Opera House, Martin Plaza, Hyde Park and Darling Harbour every year; and the ministries on radio, television and internet cover our nation and world.
Our late night 3am replay of “Turn ‘Round Australia” reaches the distressed and lonely. This letter arrived from Blandford.
“Dear Gordon, What a stroke of luck! There was I lying in bed in the early hours, my mind racing with the discontent I feel about myself and my future. In desperate prayer I appealed for guidance, for comfort, but I still felt empty. Finally I got out of bed resigned to the fact that I was in for yet another sleepless night. I turned on the T.V. and your program came on and you spoke about exactly what I needed to hear. Your words were so clear and easy to follow that I look forward to hearing more and feel that my prayer was answered and that this is my first step (and my wife and kids too) into a happier and more caring world. Regards, Graham de Veninne.”
Other churches also help people so why are we growing when they are not? It is because we communicate what we are doing better. Wesley does not serve the needy better than every other caring church or agency, but we let the world know we serve well. One of my members told me after I had mentioned the reasons why Domino Pizza had become one of this nation’s strongest fast-food chains, that they gained over 40% of the total market because they advertised their guarantee of 30 minutes delivery. However a survey found that the competition averaged 27 minutes delivery time! But Domino’s set standards and let them be known. Because they communicated their message, their work grew.
For some years, Mobile Missions Maintenance was the Australian best kept Christian secret. I am glad to see that in recent years there has been an extremely significant improvement in the Mission’s communications skills. That will only lead to growth in the work. We thank God for those who build churches through a communications ministry.
3. THOSE WHO VOLUNTEER BUILD CHURCHES. v21
Jason was the name of Paul’s host at Thessalonica Acts 17:5-9, but we do not know whether this was the same man or not. There is Sosipater, who is said to be one of Paul’s relatives.
They were volunteer helpers in the ministry going wherever there was need. Every great work of God depends upon good volunteers. At Wesley Mission we have 3,500 volunteers who provide enormously of talent and effort. Their direct salary savings exceeds $2 million per annum. But what is more important, is that they do work and pray for areas of our work that would never be served without their volunteer effort. John Wesley in his Twelve Rules of a Helper said: “And go always not only to those who need you; but to those who need you most.” Jesus taught us to help the needs of others in His parable of the Good Samaritan. These kind volunteers do so much to build churches.
MMM volunteers are now known across this nation, New Zealand, Africa, and in other countries. Your volunteering effort brings praise to God and opens the eyes of those about to the depth of Christian commitment of the volunteers.
Fifteen years ago, Beverley and I founded Habitat for Humanity in Australia building houses for poor families through volunteer labour. Every new house I opened, reminded me of the wonderful gift of God through the building and labouring skills of our volunteers, and of the fact that another family was helped up out of poverty into home ownership. Mobile Mission Maintenance has not only helped build dozens of houses, but churches, halls, meeting areas, and even upgrade the MV Doulos.
4. THOSE WHO ADMINISTER BUILD CHURCHES. v22
“I, Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord.” Tertius was the secretary who wrote the letter as Paul dictated it. It was Paul’s habit to use an amanuensis, though he did write a little himself towards the end. Growing churches need administrators, secretaries, managers, and controllers. This is the one occasion on which we hear from the scribe, for Paul lets him convey his own greetings to the Roman church. The fact that his name is Latin may mean that he had some kinship with this church. Managers, directors, secretaries, writers, accountants and administrators all help build the church, and we give thanks for them all. Many missions fail because they do not build a support base of people who know how to administer the work well. I started in ministry as a sole, part time worker. Gradually I added staff as the work began to grow. In four locations I worked hard to put in behind those of us who worked on the front line, good administrative staff. In the earliest days they were always volunteers. Gradually I built to six and ten then fifteen, then four hundred, then a thousand and currently two and a half thousand full-time workers.
In the last twelve months we have raised funds and developed work that required an additional building every week, an additional car every four days, and additional computer every two days, and two additional full-time staff every single day. All that growth requires good administrators. Although Paul was an itinerant evangelist and church planter, and a pastor with the care of all the churches from a prison cell, as he described it, he was dependent upon his pastoral care, spiritual direction and discipline being carried out by good administrators.
5. THOSE WHO PROVIDE HOSPITALITY BUILD CHURCHES. v23.
23 “Gaius, whose hospitality I and the whole church here enjoy, sends you his greetings.” Gaius was the man in whose home Paul was residing at Corinth. Paul had baptised him when he founded the church in Corinth. 1 Cor 12:14 Apparently there was an assembly of believers meeting in his house, for Paul speaks of Gaius as host to the whole church as well as to himself. He was better off than most of the early Christians and he used his position to provide hospitality to others. The very fact that Paul made an exception in his case by personally baptizing him suggests that his conversion was a notable event due to his prominence.
Churches grow when people are shown hospitality. Years ago I planned a 100 seat Wesley Restaurant. The mistake I made was that it is too small. It is constantly full, 6 days a week. On Sundays it becomes the fellowship centre of the church, the one place where members from all of our congregations can meet each other. People who make people feel at home help a church grow.
Thank God for them. MMM volunteers are blessed by those who show hospitality. Those of you who have worked on projects where you have encountered hospitality know that fellowship is the thing that keeps you going.
6. THOSE WHO SERVE THE COMMUNITY BUILD CHURCHES. v23.
“Erastus, who is the city’s director of public works, and our brother Quartus send you their greetings.” Erastus held a high office in the city, probably the treasurer. The Gospel reached into high places in Corinth as well as into low places 1 Cor. 1:26-31; 6:9-11.
He was clearly an important person, “the city’s director of public works”. The word used of his office seems rather to indicate something like “treasurer”. But the aedile (or director of public works) held office for a year only, and he normally had held other offices previously. There seems no reason why we should not think that our Erastus was the city treasurer at the time Paul wrote and that he later was honoured with the office of aedile. Whatever way, he was a significant Christian community public servant. I have walked the street to the theatre in Corinth where in 1954 archaeologists found a stone tablet similar to ones erected when a new freeway or bridge is opened in Sydney. It reads: “Erastus, by virtue of his aedileship, had this paved at his own expense.” Like Paul we have in our team people who hold important public office, and who use their office and money generously to help our church grow.
Any one who has worked on a Mobile Mission Maintenance program knows how much we depend upon agreeable people in Council offices, upon building inspectors and officials. Christian public servants can do much to advance the Kingdom of God.
7. THOSE WHO BECOME FAMILY BUILD CHURCHES. v23
“... and our brother Quartus send you their greetings.” “Brother” meaning “Christian brother”, although it is possible to think he could be the physical brother of Tertius, whose name means “third” and Quartus whose name means “fourth”. However, every growing church needs brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers to those who need a family. Among our staff we have plenty of aunties and uncles, workers in child and family care, foster parents, personal care assistants for the frail, social educators for the disabled, teachers for those with learning disabilities and the like who become as family members to hundreds who have no-one.
Mobile Mission Maintenance members enjoy the fellowship of Christians from every country. It is wonderful to meet Christian brothers and sisters and to support them in their work. What you do is one of the most admired aspects of Christian mission that I know.
“Paul was a churchman. It is a lesson in wise, dedicated, human, and pragmatic churchmanship to see him at work with his people. Paul worked with more than ordinary patience with his people, trying to keep their eyes on the great things, the ultimate goals, and aware of the warm presence of the Holy Spirit in their common life. His success in launching and nourishing churches depended upon his ability to do just this. He knew that the real bedrock of a church is the vital personal faith of the builders.” (“Men Who Build Churches” – Harold A. Bosley. Abingdon Press 1972 introduction.)
I like to look at the people who build churches, in the worshipping congregation and among the staff and volunteers of my own ministry. But it warms my heart to meet with you in Mobile Mission Maintenance and thank you on behalf of all those whom you have served over twenty-five years. Your voluntary service and encouragement has helped build the church in many areas of this nation, New Zealand and in countries overseas. We give thanks to God for all who are making a difference through their vital personal faith in the lives of so many people as you put care for the people among all the hard economic policies of our Governments. It’s a great bunch of mates who build churches.
