‘Unity’ by Rev Allister Lane - 29 May 2022

‘Unity’ by Rev Allister Lane

29th May 2022

John 17:20-26

The scholar N.T. Wright says

“Imagine some great figure of the past. Shakespeare, perhaps. George Washington, possibly. Socrates. Think of someone you respect and admire.

Now imagine that the historians have just found, among old manuscripts, a letter from the great historical figure.

And imagine that it was talking about…. you.

How would you feel?

That is how you should feel as you read verse 20 (in today’s reading).

Jesus is talking about you.

And me.

“…those who will believe in me through their word…” (v20) [That is, through the word of his followers.]

His followers announced the message around the world. Those who heard them passed it on. And on, and on, and on.”[1]

So, in today’s reading, Jesus is talking about you and me!

Jesus is talking about the Church.

What for…?

Jesus is praying “that they may all be one.” (v21)

…that we will experience unity in the Church.

How are we doing…?

In recent weeks there has been significant media coverage about Megachurch culture.

(I shared with a few people what I felt led to explore today in this sermon, and they responded: “Aye yi yi”)

But I did not want to avoid talking about something that

·      a lot of people are aware of, and

·      how it affects the perception of the whole Church.

We really need to be honest about this and

·      understand how people have been affected,

·      and how we can all learn from this.

A spotlight has been shone on Megachurches in NZ (in particular, Arise) exposing the troubling personal experiences of many.

A young woman who was associated with the Arise Church for 18 years, and on the staff,

has talked about some of the features of the church culture, which she now recognises is toxic.[2]

Honour Your Leader … honouring the Pastor to the extent that it is insisted he can do no wrong.

The church becomes centred on one man.

Church Governance  …“A common theme across a lot of these megachurches is the total lack of accountability.”

One Way to Think …“What is really meant by “unity” is uniformity: Don’t ask questions. Don’t step out of line. Fit the cookie-cutter mould.”

“People have been indoctrinated with toxic positivity… So when it comes to bringing critique, talking about wounds and toxicity within the culture, there is no space to be heard.”

A Growth Game …“Numerical growth is everything. The growth of Arise is sold as the most important mission, and people will do whatever it takes to see this happen. They will drive themselves to burnout.

University students will drop out of their degree half way to do an internship…

And people will be misused and mistreated.

I know of leaders who were reprimanded for spending their time with the wrong people, and told to go for “eagles” instead of “turkeys”. 

This is where people are treated as commodities, sucked in and spat back out. 

This is where so much wounding takes place.”

There are many stories that have come forward.

And the most concerning are those from people experiencing manipulation and exploitation.

In recognition of these concerns, Arise launched two reviews into allegations its interns had been “overworked, overwhelmed, and taken advantage of”.[3]

The latest update is that John Cameron (the main pastor of Arise) has resigned:

“We wish to apologise to all those who have been hurt, either by our actions or the actions of others, both past and present.”[4]

How do you respond to all these revelations…?

1) I’ve seen some respond defensively;

alleging the secular media are reporting unfairly.

·      The allegations of people’s experiences are overstated; or

·      these experiences need to be balanced by all the good these churches are doing.

2) Another way to respond is accusingly;

·      smugly pointing out that there has always been something a bit weird about these churches,

·      and now ‘the chickens have come home to roost’.

Let me suggest that, as followers of Jesus, we might want to check our levels of humility about now.

When I was a young guy in youth group, there was a man in our congregation – Rodney Gallen.

He was a quiet man.

He didn’t have an active leadership role in the church, but he was a regular at worship.

He was, in fact, The Honourable Rodney Gallen;

he was a High Court judge.

And he shared with me a saying that guided his whole life; who he was and how he lived.

He had many accused people appear before him in his court.

Many had done terrible things.

And, recognising many had terrible backgrounds of mistreatment and neglect, The Honourable Rodney Gallen would say to himself each time:

“There but for the grace of God go I.”

It seems to me this is helpful as we think about how we respond to these Megachurch scandals.

Let me also offer reassurance about how our church actively seeks to maintain a healthy culture that is safe for all people.

There are three important features I hope you are aware of:

1) Our church has a Code of Ethics

Including “an acknowledgement that
it is unacceptable to subject people to exploitation, harassment, or abuse, whether financial, sexual, physical, psychological, spiritual, cultural or otherwise in any discriminatory way…”

2) in our congregation we have a Minister and elders - identifiable leaders who hold responsibilities to the congregation, and are accountable.

You are able to raise any concern you have with these leaders, and be assured it will be handled carefully and respectfully.

3) Our church has a formal complaints process, with advertised independent contacts.

So, if you don’t feel the leaders in the congregation can be approached (or they are the problem!)

there is an alternative way to address the concerns.

See PCANZ website: https://www.presbyterian.org.nz/for-parishes/complaints-process

And the names of the contact people, and how to get hold of them, are posted around the church buildings.

We need enough policies and rules to provide protect for everyone, but even better is when we all live in authentic community – over institutionalism.

·      Even with the best protocols in place, can we still have the humility to recognise

“There but for the grace of God go I”?

·      Can we recognise that, together with these other churches, we are the Body of Christ?

·      Can we recognise that Jesus prays “that they may all be one.” (v21) …that this is for unity of all Christians.

·      Can we recognise that the unity Jesus prays for,

is the same as that he has with God the Father

(that means it is genuine unity)

Jesus’ prayer (we hear in today’s reading) affirms

the Communion of Saints – the ‘togetherness’ of all those who stand in the river of faith (past, present and future).

Jesus’ prayer reminds us that the Church is bigger than just the current generation,

and helps us get perspective on current problems.

These Megachurch scandals are not the end of the church; this community of St John’s in the City has a long history (169 years), and Vision for the future.

Best of all…Jesus is praying for us!

If we feel disheartened by these scandals

(and I certainly have)

we should remember Jesus does not give up on us. Jesus is committed to the Church – as His Body on earth.

The unity for which Jesus prays has a purpose for God’s Mission:

“As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us,

so that

the world may believe that you have sent me.” (v21) 

This purpose is very similar to the new commandment Jesus gives

(we explored this a few weeks ago)

“Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.

By this

everyone will know you are my disciples…”

Next Sunday is Pentecost.  It is the ‘Birthday’ of the Church – celebrated around the world.

And expressing the unity Jesus wants for us, we host a combined service with our neighbouring congregations: St Mary of the Angels and St Peters.

Obviously this is not enough.

We still are known by our petty differences and jealousies (and we clergy are probably the worst!)

Full unity remains elusive for us – Jesus’ prayer isn’t fully answered

(for one thing, that makes me feel a lot better about some of my own prayers that go unanswered!)

Our humanness gets in the way,

and we in the church fail in different ways.

I’ve already suggested checking our levels of humility is part of being a follower of Jesus.

When I say that the church isn’t perfect,

please don’t feel this is a ‘negative’ sermon.

I don’t want anyone to feel hopeless by reflecting on the current situation of the church.

The only reason we should feel hopeless is if we assume we have to be ‘good enough’;

that the church must be ‘successful’.

Let us not be deluded by attempts of excellence and perfection.

This is not why the Church exists.

We have a different purpose that shapes our life together; a different message to proclaim:

     we live not by works, but grace.

Rather than feel hopeless, an honest acknowledgement of the church’s shortcomings

(our own shortcomings) reminds us of our need for the Gospel –

the Good News that, in Jesus, God meets us in our neediness.

And those of us who want to serve God first (as the Head of the Body) continue to need Jesus’ grace, forgiveness and prayer.

Amen.

[1] John for Everyone Part 2, p98.

[2] https://www.webworm.co/p/messiah?s=r Accessed 25th May 2022

[3] https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/128787159/we-wish-to-apologise-arise-church-lead-pastors-resign-from-board-in-wake-of-scandal Accessed 28th May 2022

[4] Ibid.