Keep It Simple Saints: Time for a Garage Sale

by John Daugherty

I’ve had the privilege recently to share three sermons with Remnants Church where I worship and participate. The series was about keeping it simple. The first sermon was about keeping the overall understanding of the message of the Bible simple which was influenced by a sweet young friend and daughter of a pastor who one night read her Bible to her daddy (she was three and couldn’t really read). As she opened her Bible she turned to a page and said, “God made everything;” turned a page, “God loves everybody;” another page, “Jesus is my friend,” after which she closed the Bible…enough said. From the mouths of babes.

The next sermon had to do with the simplicity of Jesus’ message and expectations. He gave a new command to love one another. He reiterated time and again that his students would be known for their love. And he declared his criteria for judgment by describing what his love looks like: if they’re hungry, feed them; if they’re thirsty, give them drink; if they are laid bare and exposed, cover them; if they’re strangers, welcome them; if they’re sick and imprisoned attend to them. And who is “them?” The least of these his brethren; those we tend to overlook and leave out.

The third focused on the church. And it seems most appropriate when we find ourselves attempting to be church, to be the body of Christ in time of turmoil, of viruses, of unrest and distrust. There is something the church has lost over the centuries, especially when the last prayer Jesus prayed prior to his arrest was for us, his followers to come after, to be united.

The early church was not building-bound, nor devoted to organizational structure, programs and paid leadership. Rather it was a communal body sharing from the teachings of the apostles, enjoying the fellowship of one another, sharing all they had with one another with their neighbors; making sure no one went without in a time far harsher and dangerous than our own times.

Over time faithfulness, doing church, even salvation became transactional rather than relational. Churches adopted business models of organization, structure, leadership and marketing focused on attracting and meeting the desires of people.

The major transitional direction for the church has been unfolding for at least two or three decades, but given the challenges presented by the global pandemic, in addition to other societal unrest, the transition has been forced into hyper-speed. Churches have had to adapt and are struggling with the reality that the old models and metrics of success no longer work. It’s time to go through all the old stuff and decide what’s worth keeping what needs to be set aside.

Phyllis Tickle in her book, The Great Emergence, quoting Anglican Bishop Mark Dyer, suggests that about every 500 years or so the church experiences and undergoes a significant time of change, which she refers to as “rummage sales.” Other times of these holy garage sales were the Great Reformation (c. 1517), the Great Schism of the Roman and the Orthodox churches (c. 1054), and the leadership and influence of Gregory the Great following the fall of Rome (c. 540-550).

The church finds itself in another great time of change, and if one looks at the time spans, it’s about due. I would encourage churches to look closely and try to determine what is worth keeping from the past and put the rest in the “garage sale.” What have we discovered in the last year and a half that is working and needs to become a major part of our ministry? What are we missing, what are we discovering, and what might work better? How can we simplify and become more effective in being the body of Christ among our neighbors? How are we enhancing fellowship, expanding ministry impact, being more frugal with physical assets and personnel?

Might we keep it simple. Love one another, make sure they know that God loves them and that Jesus is our friend and guide. Share our assets, not hold onto them and protect them. Encourage being a scattered people as well as a gathered people. Re-shape, reform, become, grow, adopt the shifts that have had to be made. Be the church!