The Four Fifty Team

The Rev. Whitworth Ferguson III
Manassas Presbyterian Church
Manassas, Virginia
February 4, 2007
Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Four Fifty Team
Luke 5:1-11
Isaiah 6:1-8

I was talking with Sue Simmons the other day
about our Evangelism & Assimilation Ministry team.
That’s the ministry team that reaches out to visitors
who worship with us each Sunday.
Sue is the Elder who leads the team
along with Elder Madeline Snyder.
We were talking about the upcoming new member classes
that we will begin next month for those called to membership
here at Manassas Presbyterian Church.
We will start the class on March 4
and we will receive new members during worship on March 25.
That’s a very appropriate time of year for us to receive new members: right before Easter.

In the early years of the church,
Easter was the only time new members were received.
The Lenten season was a time for those called to membership
to prepare themselves:
to learn about the church, its history, its tenets, its faith statements,
all in preparation for two things:
receiving the Sacrament of Baptism,
and then making a public profession of faith.
Those two acts were tied together;
you could not make a public profession of faith
without being baptized,
and in the first few hundred years of the church
you could not receive the Sacrament of Baptism
until you were ready and able
to profess your faith in Jesus Christ.

Things are easier now for those who feel
called to explore membership.
We have four classes during the Sunday School hour
in which we share information about this church,
and about the Presbyterian Church (USA).
We also want to answer questions folks invariably have.
These days most folks who join our church are more likely
to have come from another denomination;
are more likely not to have had any previous experience
with the Presbyterian Church.
That means we are likely to have lots of questions
about even the basics:
What is the Session?
What is an Elder?
Who is in charge?
Is there a higher ecclesiastical authority we answer to?
How do we articulate and confess our faith?
Do we have a Presbyterian Bible?
And of course, if everyone else says either “trespasses” or “debts”
in the Lord’s Prayer, why do we say “sins”?

We are always eager to have new members join us in our ministry.
Many churches spend a lot of time, energy, and money
trying to attract new members.
That’s what we think of when we hear the word “evangelize”,
the “E” in our “E&A” Ministry Team.
In most Presbyterian churches, though,
the mere mention of the “E” word sends chills up the spine
of even the most outgoing person.
Most studies have shown, though
that the most effective way to add new members to a congregation
is for every person simply to invite a neighbor, or friend,
to come to church.
You don’t need to “evangelize”,
you simply need to invite.

Just as important, though, as reaching out
and inviting others to come worship with us
is how we treat folks who walk in the door for the very first time.
Are we welcoming, caring,
warm, friendly?
We want to think we are, of course,
but the only way we will be
is for each of us,
every one of us,
to be welcoming, caring, warm friendly.
If a visitor doesn’t feel that warmth, that welcome,
on the very first visit,
then it is not likely we will see that person again.

Whether you think of yourself as outgoing or shy,
gregarious or quiet,
each one of us is called to be a successor to Peter
and those Jesus called to be “catchers of people”.
Did you notice the different word in Luke’s gospel?
You were probably expecting the phrase we find in
Matthew and Mark’s gospel:
“Follow me and I will make you fish for people.”

Two thousand years ago fishing wasn’t how we think of fishing:
casting a lure out in the water to try to hook a fish:
the very idea sounds rather unseemly for church folks,
as though we are supposed to land new members
like so many rainbow trout.
But, Peter, Andrew, James, and John
lowered nets over the side of the boat
and then pulled up all the fish
that happened to be there at the time.
A good fisherman knew where the fish were,
and knew where to lower his net.
But in our gospel lesson,
did you hear how the fish found their way into Peter’s net?
Was it because of Peter’s skill as a fisherman?
No: it was Christ who filled the nets;
Christ who led the fish to the nets.
Peter and his partners just pulled them into the boat.

Now, it may not be the best metaphor,
but it does remind us that we are call called to “catch”
those whom Christ sends us through the Spirit.
It is Jesus, by the power of the Spirit, who calls us to church.
But we, each of us, have to be attentive catchers
for those Jesus sends our way.
Or perhaps, because it is Super Bowl Sunday,
it might be more fitting to say that
each of us has to be a good receiver
for those whom Christ sends us.

That receiving, that welcoming,
is a task that belongs to every one of us.
There isn’t a one among who should hold back from that;
every one of the four hundred fifty of us should
reach out to those faces that don’t look familiar,
go up and introduce ourselves
whenever we see someone we don’t know.
Yes, you might well be introducing yourself
to someone who has been a member of this church
for the past 30 years, but what’s wrong with that?
You will have met someone you didn’t know.

But even more important, if it is a visitor,
it is your opportunity to welcome that person,
to receive him or her into this community of faith.
You don’t have to evangelize.
You simply have to welcome:
invite the person to have coffee with you;
Introduce them to me;
ask them about themselves,
what brings them here;
Give them a newsletter, or an annual report;
Show them around the building;
tell them about Sunday School.
Make them feel welcome,
just as you would a person in your own home.

One of my favorite images comes from a sermon
preached by the great Scotsman Peter Marshall,
who served so famously not far from here
at the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church
in downtown Washington in the 1930s and 40s.
He spoke of Jesus standing at the door of his church,
of every church,
with his “big carpenter hands” open wide in welcome,
welcome to all, welcome to all.
We are those “big carpenter hands”, we;
every one of us, all four hundred fifty of us.
The E&A Team should be a team of four hundred fifty,
reaching out to welcome all, to receive all.

As we share in the Lord’s Supper in a few minutes,
I will encourage you to take a look around the Sanctuary
while you are waiting for everyone to be served,
and see you if you spot a face that is unfamiliar to you,
a face that you are not sure you know.
I am going to challenge you to do something
that may make you feel uncomfortable:
I am going to challenge you to go up to that person after worship
and introduce yourself.
Yes you might meet a long-time member.
A long-time “Marywood-sider” might meet
a long-time “parking lot sider”.
But perhaps you will meet a visitor
someone who has never come here before.
Be Christ’s big carpenter hands in welcome
welcome the person with the same warmth,
the same openness
you received when you first walked in.

Don’t be afraid.
Do you remember: that’s just what our Lord said to Peter,
that strapping, swarthy, salty man of the sea,
a man probably not given to the social graces.
Don’t be afraid.
For each time you go up to a person
you go with Christ, our Lord right with you in Spirit.

Let’s see if we can do that: become a team,
a team of four hundred fifty,
a team focused not on fishing,
not even on catching,
but simply on welcoming,
welcoming all,
welcoming all in the name of the one who calls us here:
our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen