SERMON ~ Fall Meeting of the Susquehanna Association ~ “A Plethora of Pachyderms?”

Fall Meeting of the Susquehanna Association ~ Luke 10:1-11 [ILV]

A Plethora of Pachyderms?

“...Jesus appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead in pairs to every town and place the Rabbi intended to visit...” — Luke 10:1.

You may have noticed the title of my comments today: A Plethora of Pachyderms.  To unpack that just a smidge, when we don’t talk about something it’s said, “There’s an elephant in the room.”  If there are at least several elephants, perhaps it’s a plethora of pachyderms.

So, let me name one elephant, probably often mentioned in church parking lots but not too often mentioned inside the walls of our meeting houses.  (Slight pause.)  Have you heard?  The church is dying.

Well, here’s what I have to say about that: poppycock!  The church is not dying.  Not even close.  If the Dark Ages couldn’t kill the church, it is the height of egocentricity to think we can!

But let me offer some explanation concerning numbers.  If you told someone who worked on Madison Avenue in advertising ‘the church is dying’ and then named any church in upstate New York as a larger proof the church is dying, the response you would get out of that person who works in advertising would be... laughter.

Why?  People who work in adverting know demographics.  Upstate New York, like many other rural areas, is losing population.  So, when it comes to numbers, one church, a specific church, your church, my church, is not the issue.  Indeed, church growth can often be seen in city areas and in areas called exurbs, areas just outside of suburbs.

And while this is a generality, it’s broadly true: census data tells us rural areas and suburbs are losing population.  Exurbs and cities are gaining.  Further— and we don’t often pay attention to this— a majority of Main Line churches are in rural areas.

In short, it’s mathematically inaccurate if not mathematically incompetent too, to separate church population from where churches are located.  Indeed, on what locations do leaders tend to concentrate when planting churches today?  Cities and exurbs.

But let’s set that aside and talk about New Testament times.  Why?  The New Testament can address another pachyderm who roams around the church.  And this long-snouted beast also deals with demographics— New Testament demographics.

This is a given: in antiquity ninety percent of the population of the Mediterranean basin lived in what you and I would call slavery.  And less than five percent of the population was literate.

Now, Jews and Christians are called “people of the book” both in ancient times and today.  Also there is some clear Scriptural evidence Jesus could both read and write.

Hence and by definition, two statements can be made.  Those who were literate, that group of less than five percent, offered leadership and were the ones deeply involved in Judaism and Christianity.  Jesus was among those in that less five percent group.

To be clear, I am not coming close to saying anything like ‘all those in that era who could not read and write were banned from being people of the book.’  I am quite sure they were included.  I am inviting us to focus on the reality of the demographics of ancient times and how they worked and to think about that.

One more item rarely discussed in the church today about New Testament times is the economic system active then.  Biblical scholar John Dominic Crossan uses this label for the economic system found in that era: “Domination.”  It was a system of Domination.

So ten percent lived off the work and the sweat of ninety percent.  Once we label the economic system in those times as domination, I think it becomes easier to envision and comprehend a population of ninety percent enslaved and ninety-five percent illiterate.

There is another pachyderm from antiquity that needs to be addressed.  Once again, this has to do with demographics.

Paul wrote letters to different locations in the Mediterranean Basin— a Letter to the Church in Thessalonika, a Letter to the Church in Rome, etc., etc., etc.  What did these churches look like?  How large were they?

It’s unlikely any of them had more than fifty people.  Why do I say that?  We believe those churches met in people’s houses.  Even among the elite, very few had a house large enough to hold a meeting of more than fifty.  These churches were very small.

Further, scholars tell us that by the year 100 of the Common Era— 70 years after the Resurrection event— the number of Christians in the entire Mediterranean basin was less than 10,000.  Christianity was not exactly spreading like wild fire.  (Slight pause.)

Well, Walt Disney told us elephants could fly... but I’m not so sure.  You see, there’s another long snouted mammal, a Dumbo, flying around these days: when the American Revolution happened this was a Christian country; most people were Christians.

Well, that depends on definitions.  If by Christian we mean church members, it would be hard to prove most people were Christians.  You see, in 1776 the percentage of the population who were members of a church, any church, was seventeen percent.

Indeed, this church, a Congregational Church, and the Baptist Church across the park from us were both founded in 1814 and celebrate our 200th year in 2014.  This church started with 14 members.  The Baptists started with a similar number.  So, it’s quite safe to say together the total number of church members, even after a year or two, was less than 50.

Our church historian, Patricia Evans, is also the Chenango County Historian.  Pat tells me in the 1810 census— four years before these churches were founded— in the 1810 census the total population of Norwich was 2,550.  And it probably went up in those four years between that point and when the churches were founded.

Well, this math is easy.  If we go with 50 or less as membership and if we go with 2,550 in the area, less than two percent of the population here in Norwich were church members in 1814.

All this brings me back to the passage from Luke.  (Quote:) “...Jesus appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead in pairs to every town and place the Rabbi intended to visit...”  (Slight pause.)

I want to point out two things: first, when these disciples headed down the road into these towns, what did that world look like?  What did their world look like?  Would they have been discouraged?  Would they have said their church is dying?  (Slight pause.)

The next, I want to point out is the so called First Great Awakening was a religious revival in America.  It happened between the 1730s and the 1750s.  One preacher who gained notoriety at that point was George Whitefield.  Large crowds often gathered to hear Whitefield preach.

But given the numbers I mentioned earlier, a minority of the population were church members, a fairly small minority.  So how was it Whitefiled got crowds?  This preacher had a secret.

The secret was to follow the example of Jesus.  As much as a year before Whitefield was scheduled to preach in a town, disciples would go to that town.  Flyers would be printed up and distributed.

The people who did this advanced work would do their best to gather groups and encourage interest.  Jesus did the same.  Jesus sent people to prepare the way.

That raises up another pachyderm.  We tend to believe this maxim: “If you build it, they will come.”

The director of a non-profit in Norwich recently said to me that may have been true once (although he doubted it).  But this, he said, is true: you need to go out, you need to be there, you need to be with the people you want to reach.

Some will come back; some won’t.  But it’s not about you.  It’s about the place at which people you meet are in their lives.  If they listen, that also is about the place at which they are in their lives.  If they don’t listen, that also is about the place at which they are in their lives.

This brings me to the last elephant.  Work in the vineyard is hard.  Work in the vineyard involves decades of effort, sometimes with little reward.  Which is to say we who are involved in church work need to name that.  This is hard work.

Why would I say that?  When the seventy two were commissioned this is what was said: “Be on your way.  And remember, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.  Do not carry a walking stick or knapsack; wear no sandals;...”  Amen.

ENDPIECE: Biblical scholar said Nicholas Thomas Wright says this: New Testament times are just like today.  Everybody believed in God.  Few people took it seriously.

BENEDICTION: Redeemer Who sustains us, visit Your people; pour out Your courage upon us, that we may hurry to make welcome all people not only in our concern for others, but by serving them generously and faithfully in Your name.