Good morning! I am Tim Roberts, the pastor here at Sunrise
and I want to thank each of you for being here this morning. I know that there
were many other things and activities that were beckoning you to skip coming to
church, but you made a conscious effort to be here today and I pray that you
receive a blessing from God for being here. Join with me in a moment of prayer.
[Prayer]
Before we get started, I also want to thank Leigh Anne Shore,
our leader of Spiritual Formation for bringing us the update on some of the
exciting directions in which God is leading us as we continue to experience
growth. Over the course of the next several weeks, you will hear about some
other changes and different ways that we'll be experiencing here at Sunrise.
Now, let me take just a moment to assure you that none of
these changes or new plans are spur-of-the-moment ideas that a few of us
thought, "Hey, why don't we try this?" No, I can attest that they
have been prayed over, agonizingly thought through and have been scrutinized
through our
renewed focus on our Mission, Vision, and Values, of which
Valerie Glass gave a quick overview last week. These statements also are now
posted out in the Commons Area for you to see and as a reminder to all of us
who Sunrise is and will be.
You know, it would seem that since we have a more focused
understanding of our direction that it would be easier to do ministry and
mission. It would seem that way, but you know friends, things aren't always
like they should seem.
Just last Sunday afternoon, I and the whole Church Leadership
Council was starkly reminded of this fact as we began to discuss some important
and radical plans for the church. Before
the meeting, I thought that we were prepared to move on some plans that I
believe to be God inspired, but I neglected to remember one critical truth:
Change creates stress. It matters not if the change is for
bad or even for good, all change creates some measure of stress, because we
have to adapt to it.
How about helping me clarify this point. What are some
examples of bad changes?
[Allow responses]
Now what about examples of good changes?
[Allow responses]
With each of these examples, you probably can see how
adaptations have to be made, and we have to change from what we have
interpreted to be the norm and that cause some level of stress.
Sometimes, we can quickly adapt to the change without much
thought, but at other times, we are thrown into a state of turmoil. When that
happens, we have to find some way to relieve the tension.
What are some of your ways to "de-stress"?
[Allow responses]
One of the more used ways to de-stress and gain clarity on a
situation is simply to talk it out. But more specifically, with those people we
trust, our friends.
I find it amazing that God has ordained this concept of
friendship. We know from the onset of humanity, God has said that it is not
good for people to be alone.
The 17th century English metaphysical poet and priest, John
Donne, also capitalized on this concept with the opening lines of his
well-known poem:
No man is an island,
Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
So, it is without question, people need people. But
sometimes, we need to be careful with those we choose to be around.
Over the course of my life, I have surrounded myself with
many sets of friends. Early on, some of these groups only seemed to bring out
the worst in me and I, in turn, tended to bring out the worst in them. We were
like crabs in a bucket and had that mentality.
Have you ever heard of "Crab Mentality"? This is a
Filipino expression based on the observation that crabs in a bucket behave in a
predictable pattern. If one crab begins to escape from the bucket, other crabs
will latch on to it and pull it back down rather than allow it escape.
That sounds a lot like some of the groups that I know exist
out there. People in the group would rather all to wallow in collective misery
than allow anyone to escape. But friends, it does not have to be that way.
Today, we are looking at the third discipline, or what we are
calling a holy habit that many people
have used over the last few thousand years to help them to grow closer to God
and live out better lives. This habit we are looking at today is
accountability.
If you are engaged in the daily exercises that go along with
these habits, you will note that accountability comprises a couple of other
smaller disciplines - community and confession. It is my belief that these two
cannot be separated but in fact are indelibly linked with each other and form
this greater discipline of accountability.
Now, I must admit, that word, accountability, does not strike
many of us as the most pleasant concept, does it? When you first hear it, it
almost causes a brief twang of dread. Accountability - makes us think of laying out all our failures
and what's not so good. It conjures up thoughts of having to explain why we
have done some things and haven't done others. It doesn't allow for much
pleasantry, does it?
But what if accountability was a positive experience? What if
instead of eliciting faults, it enticed growth? Instead of focusing on
failures, it promoted success? Wouldn't it then be a more worthwhile endeavor?
This concept should be what fuels small group ministry. Most
all of us have one or more circle of friends, but how many of those circles
exist to help us grow spiritually and live fully into our God-given potential?
Needless to say, my circle of friends has changed over the
course of my life and for the better. But in recent months, I have rediscovered
the immeasurable value in surrounding myself with people who hold each other
accountable. "Accountable to what?" you may ask. Well, here is the
neat thing about my current group; each of us chooses to what we want to be
held accountable. For me, I seek improvement in five areas in life: Body, Mind,
Spirit, Family, and Profession. When we meet, these are the areas into which I
have given permission to ask and probe.
For instance, remember a few minutes ago, I told about the
stress and tension the Church Leadership Council experienced last week? I
called a couple of my confidants about it to which they quickly responded,
"Tim! How did you do in following through with your leadership
goals?" In other words, they were not chastising me, but were reminding me
of the very basis I wanted them to hold me accountable.
You see, most of us know the areas that we need to work on,
but alone, we often fail at meeting our self-imposed standards. But when we
surround ourselves with others whom we trust and have each other's best
interest at heart, we find that it is possible to grow and be transformed.
The writer of Hebrews seemed to understand this concept well
as he wrote:
Hebrews 3.12-13
12
See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that
turns away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called
Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.
I love that phrase there, "But encourage one another
daily, as long as it is called Today..." In other words, let's not dwell
on the faults of yesterday, let's work on the matters of today together. What a
concept! By fully being with each other, in the present, we shape our tomorrow.
Here at Sunrise, we have some small groups that do that and
we have some that could use reminding of that. Yet, as we did some
self-examination in our God Into Focus
campaign, we discovered a certain segment of our population that deserves some
attention in helping to foster this type of community - men.
As we talked about this, we started asking ourselves,
"What could bring men together?" Without almost any pause, two of our
female participants said - Beer!
Hence, this afternoon, Sunrise is hosting a Beer Exchange.
Now, I will be honest with you, I had a bit of hesitancy with this concept
until I thought through it and realized a couple of important elements to it:
1. Beer is not the emphasis. The emphasis is creating an authentic
community for authentic men. We are not asking anyone to be anything different
than yourself. If you drink beer, you know you're welcome. If you don't, then
you can join me eating some chicken wings.
2. The purpose is not just fellowship, but to be an entry point
for beginning small groups where men can freely share their struggles and
encourage each other to live the lives that God has created for us.
Think about it this way, what if around a bar table a group
of men began to hold each other accountable to being the husbands and fathers
that God created us to be?
Friends, that's what I believe God is inspiring us to do and
be here at Sunrise Church. I believe God is calling us to grow deeper as a
community of Christ followers who have found smaller groups of fellow believers
in which we can share in each others sorrows and joys, always encouraging each
other to grow deeper in our love for God and for one another.
But it will require change and as with any change, it will
bring about a level of stress. We will have to learn to see accountability not
as a liability, but as a means of grace. That is a significant change in
perception. But it is only from change, that our lives are transformed.
Take a few moments to talk about what you've heard today.
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