Today, we have what is probably thee most clear-cut invitation in all of the Bible. It’s where Jesus calls on some fisherman to “follow me.” And guess what? We are told that these two fishermen did, right there on the spot! Matthew tells us that they left their nets and followed Jesus.
Wow, maybe I have overcomplicated our process for people to become members of the church. When we have a new member class, we go over our church’s mission and discipleship strategy. Then we talk about who United Methodists are, the history of our denomination, and we also cover the history of this church. And then we talk about the many ministries and programs of our church, how to get involved, and what the expectations are for membership.
We go over all of these things for two hours, and here Jesus simply tells these fishermen, “Follow me!” C’mon, Jesus. No powerpoint presentation? No handouts? You don’t even provide a lunch?
Instead of a two hour new member session, maybe I should cut it down to just two minutes where we simply invite people to follow Jesus.
But here’s the thing, what does it mean for us to follow Jesus today? And herein lies the difference. When we have new member classes, it would be great if Jesus would show up physically at these meetings that we hold in our 1st floor lounge and simply say to those persons interested in joining the church, “Follow me” and then off they go.
But we aren’t living then. We are living today when Jesus is still present with us, maybe not physically, but he is present with us through the power of the Holy Spirit. And Jesus has created this wonderful community called the church where we can help each grow in what it means to respond to Jesus’ invitation to follow him.
That’s the difference. This is why we still need powerpoint presentations, a time to ask questions about the church, and sharing the many different ministries and programs in the church that can help grow in being followers of Jesus.
This is also why our 6th to 9th graders just began their several confirmation classes. They are preparing themselves to follow Jesus and become members of the church later this year.
In one of the churches I was serving as pastor, a person who was new to the church heard about our membership classes and he asked me a really important question, probably one of the best questions anyone has ever asked me. “If I’m already a follower of Jesus, why would I need to join a church?”
And my response to him was, “That’s a great question! You don’t need to join a church to be a follower of Jesus, BUT, I believe the best way to be followers of Jesus is by living out our faith through a local church community. Yes, we are followers of Jesus, but it’s through our commitment and participation in a church family that we can best grow in what it means to be followers of Jesus.”
So, here at Athens First, we are always encouraging people to grow in becoming Jesus’ followers by having a Loving Faith, a Learning Faith, and Living Faith. We offer ministries that include each of those important areas that will help us to be followers of Jesus.
Loving Faith ministries help us to love God and each other with our hearts.
Learning Faith ministries help us to learn more about Jesus with our minds.
And Living Faith ministries help us to serve others with our hands. We respond to Jesus’ invitation to come and follow him by growing in our faith with our hearts, minds, and hands.
Sometimes, we get those out of balance where we only focus on Loving Faith ministries like attending Sunday worship but then neglecting to learn more about our faith through bible studies and Sunday School as well as serving others through our many volunteer opportunities. We can also find ourselves focusing so much on serving others and volunteering, that we forget about the importance of weekly worship, caring for each other, and learning about our faith.
All three of these; a Loving Faith, a Learning Faith, and a Living Faith are vitally important in what it means to be followers of Jesus.
So sure, when Jesus invited those fishermen to follow him, that’s all that he really needed to do because he was physically there with them. And for us, he is still present with us through the power of the Holy Spirit and through the gathered community of faith as we help one another to follow him. It’s a wonderful thing to see all of the ways that we are helping one another to follow Jesus. That’s really the mission of the church, to help each other follow Jesus.
A pastor who serves as church in our district was telling me about his journey in becoming a follower of Jesus. He said that he grew up here in Ohio and his family attended church off and on but they never really got involved in the church.
He said that in his adult life, he and his wife moved down to El Paso, Texas and while they were down there, his wife died suddenly. They were only in their mid 40’s when she died. It upended his life.
He said that he was in the waiting room of the hospital following his wife’s death when a man came up to him. He worked at the same bank as his wife. He offered to help in any way he could, since they didn’t have a lot of connections there in Texas and her passing was so unexpected.
He said that this man attended a United Methodist Church and the people in that congregation ended up providing meals for him. He started attending worship there and someone then invited him to join a bible study. He said that he only had a King James Version which was difficult for him to read, so they helped him to get a more modern and easier to read bible translation like the ones we have in our church pews.
He started reading his bible and participating in the life of that church. Someone then invited him to attend a weekend spiritual retreat and he said that’s when he had a “God Moment” where he felt God’s presence in a very real way.
He then got transferred back to Ohio where he met some other United Methodists and that’s when he started sensing a call to become a pastor. And now, in his 70s he is serving two small rural United Methodist Churches here in our Foothills District.
He said that his main focus as a pastor of these churches is to encourage the people to just love Jesus. Love Jesus.
I’ve often wondered how those fishermen in our Gospel reading just dropped what they were doing and followed Jesus, but maybe like this pastor’s story, Jesus caught them at the right time. They were open and ready to begin this new journey of faith.
[David Pendleton Oakerhater]
Maybe you have heard the story of David Pendleton Oakerhater who also dropped what he was doing and started following Jesus. During the late 1800s, David was an warrior and leader of the Cheyenne Indians of Oklahoma.
He led a corps of fighters against the United States government in a dispute over Indian land rights. In 1875, he and 27 other military leaders were taken prisoner by the US Army and sent to a military post in Florida.
There, thanks to the efforts of a concerned Army captain, they learned English, were encouraged to earn money by giving art and archery lessons, and they also encountered the Christian faith.
David and three others were moved to become followers of Jesus and then ended up going north to study for the ministry. David was baptized in Syracuse, New York and in 1878, he was ordained.
He returned to Oklahoma and there, founded schools and missions and continued to work among his people until his death in 1931.
When he first returned to Oklahoma in 1881, here is what he told his people:
“You all know me. You remember when I led you out to war that I went first, and what I told you was true. Now I have been away to the East and I have learned about another captain, the Lord Jesus Christ, and he is my leader. He goes first, and all He tells me is true. I come back to my people to tell you to go with me now in this new road, a war that makes for peace.”
In a church that I served, a young man started attending Sunday worship every week. I would have brief conversations with him following worship but never really got to know him.
One Sunday after worship, I made a point to get to know him a little bit more. And so, I asked him what drew him to our church.
He said that he only lives a couple blocks from our church and it was his routine to sit out on his screened porch, have some coffee, and read the Sunday morning newspaper. And he said that he would always hear our church bells start ringing around 9:30 in the morning.
He said, “one Sunday morning, as he was listening to those church bells, he wondered if maybe that was God way of calling him to start attending our church. So that Sunday morning, I got dressed, came to church, and I really liked it.”
He said how several of the people welcomed him and invited him to some of the other ministries of the church as well. “I’m single, live alone, and I really am glad to call this my church family.”
Maybe we do overcomplicate this simple invitation where Jesus says to each one of us, “follow me.”
We hear those words. We listen to those same old church bells. Someone says to us out of the blue, “Why don’t you come with me to our bible study?” We put down the Sunday paper, lay down our fishing nets, and before we know it, we are following Jesus.
Called to Follow!
Merciful God, as we seek to follow you, we allow the fear of the unknown to keep us from responding to your call in our lives. Forgive us when we hesitate to allow you to lead us. Forgive us when we place our personal agendas over your calling in our lives. Forgive us for not taking that next step in having a Loving Faith, a Learning Faith, and a Living Faith. Open our hearts, our minds, and our hands and lead us to be the disciples of Jesus you call us to be. Amen.
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