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Author and pastor Eugene Peterson observes, “When Christian believers gather in churches, everything that can go wrong sooner or later does.” Yet Paul has the audacity to address the disciples at Ephesus – none of whom has walked with Christ for as long as 10 years – as “saints.” Do those worshipping near you today appear to be saintly? What in the world does the Bible mean when it declares followers of Jesus to be faithful and holy?

 

Expedition Ephesians
In the Company of Saints
April 10-11, 2010
Glenn McDonald

Ephesians 1:1, 2 

Let’s begin by doing something together that we will do every weekend for the next eight months: Let’s open our Bibles to the book of Ephesians. This letter from the apostle Paul has just a half dozen short chapters. But a case can be made that when we’re looking at the book of the Ephesians, we are face to face with the most influential document, “pound for pound,” in human history. Now it’s fairly clear that the gospel of John, and the Psalms, and Isaiah, and Paul’s letter to the Romans are the big fish in the biblical pond. But the book of Ephesians, in just 155 verses, packs a theological wallop that is like no other.

What we’re going to discover between now and Thanksgiving is that Ephesians happens to be the home address for the most important statement about our identity in Christ in all of Scripture; the most important verses about our being saved by grace; the most extraordinary prayer concerning God’s love and God’s power; the most sharply focused statement anywhere in the Bible on the ministry of lay people; the most significant word concerning the filling of the Holy Spirit; the most practical paragraph in all of God’s Word concerning marriage; the most important statement concerning parenting; and the Bible’s most vivid and memorable description of spiritual warfare.

We’ve chosen to call this series Expedition Ephesians because you don’t watch a real expedition from a distance on closed circuit TV. You put on your hiking boots, you fill your canteen, and you participate personally in every step of the journey. That is the challenge that we are presenting to you today. The mission of our church is to be disciples, or lifelong learners of Jesus Christ, who by God’s grace also become instrumental in making more disciples. Can the vision of being disciples who make disciples really come about? As a church we have three things to say about that:

God can do it.

You can join him.

We can help.

Our goal is that we might help each other get on the path and stay on the path of becoming just like Jesus in every area of life. So what can we do to get started? The first thing I’d like to do is to ask you to bring your own Bible to church every weekend. Feel free to take out a pen or a pencil and underline words; make notes in the margin; move past that impulse that whispers that this is a holy book and that if you put marks in it God might give you one of those looks like you just wrote with crayons on one of the walls of heaven. In truth this is our workbook. God will work on us through these pages (if we will let him), and we can be free to record our questions, our thoughts, and even the exact dates and times that the Holy Spirit gives us those ah-has that suddenly change everything. Let’s work this book together.

We also want to learn how to live these words together. Each week in the bulletin we will provide questions and opportunities for reflection and application as we look out one week ahead. But the surest way really to live the words of Ephesians is to let the words of Ephesians live inside you. Memorize them. I know, I know. You’re thinking, “That’s why I’ve got this iphone with all these awesome Bible study apps. All I have to do is touch the screen and I’ve got every word of Scripture at my fingertips.”

Praise God for technological Bible helps. But how many of us have actually managed to get the Bible out of our Blackberries and into our hearts and then more profoundly into our thoughts, our conversations, our hopes, and our imaginations? That’s the true measure as to whether God’s Word is actually renewing our minds.

Now before you dismiss this endeavor out of hand – and knowing that some of you are still in therapy for what those kids said to you when you tried to recite that poem from memory back in third grade – this is not a race or a competition. You will never be embarrassed here. God provides maximum grace. But that doesn’t mean we should shrink from a maximum spiritual challenge.

We’ve provided today an insert that goes into some detail about the value and the practical how-to’s of committing Scripture to memory. And in the weeks ahead we will explore this practice from a number of angles. For now it’s enough to begin with a modest goal – for instance, memorizing Ephesians 1:3-14, which is one of the most significant texts in all of Scripture, between now and the week after Mother’s Day, which is May 16. You see, as a congregation we’re going to go through Ephesians slowly, wrestling with just a few verses every week.

The record for going at a slow pace is probably held by Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones, the famous British preacher of the last century. Lloyd-Jones took six years to preach through the six chapters of Ephesians. When he got to chapter six, verse 10, which reads, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power” – he presented six consecutive sermons just on the word “finally.” We’re going to go a little more quickly than that. We begin today with the first two verses of Ephesians, chapter one. Let’s stand together and read them aloud:

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Without question, the hardest word for modern ears to hear in this text is “saints.” To whom exactly is Paul addressing this letter? The word “saint” has had a bit of a convoluted history. In the early centuries of the Christian era it came to represent a woman or a man of exceptional spiritual maturity. Then, in the Catholic tradition, “saint” became the word to designate a deceased Christian of such purity and virtue that he or she could actually intercede for struggling Christians here on earth.

It seems clear that the apostle Paul has something else in mind altogether. The saints in Ephesus were ordinary followers of Jesus. They were rank and file disciples. The literal translation of the original Greek for this word is “holy one.” On the pages of the Bible, holiness is closely connected with the idea of separation. Someone who follows Jesus is therefore one who is separate, or set apart, from the world with regard to priorities, thinking, and behavior.

So look around: You are in the company of saints. If you have received Christ as Savior and Lord then you are one of God’s set-apart ones. But of course this begs a question: Do you really think the people who are sitting in your row right now are saintly? Has it seemed to you in recent months that not everyone at ZPC has successfully lived out the priorities, thinking, and behavior of Jesus himself? How could God possibly trust the success of his kingdom enterprise to us?

Author and theologian Eugene Peterson writes, “Anyone who joins a church expecting to be part of a happy and harmonious gathering of put-together people sooner or later is in for serious disappointment.” That is a colossal understatement. In the Bible, all saints are sinners. Nothing has changed in 2,000 years. When Peterson was a pastor he said he often preferred the company of people outside the church, but that Jesus makes it clear that we cannot walk away from the strange crowd that the Lord has gathered here and in every other congregation

Remembering his days in the pulpit, Peterson writes, “One woman gave me hope – she brought a stenographic notebook with her every Sunday and wrote down in shorthand everything I said. At least one person was paying attention. Then I learned that she was getting ready to leave her husband and was using the hour of worship to practice her shorthand so she could get a self-supporting job.”

Why can’t I walk away from the sinners that surround me wherever I go in church? It’s because the Bible tells me that I Am Not Myself by Myself. We know that is true with regard to a relationship with God. But it is also true that I need horizontal relationships in order to be whole. I need you. You need me. It pleases God to accomplish my spiritual transformation by means of other broken people – through their partnership, their prayers, and even their most grievous failures. I used to think that ZPC was the Teflon church. Major problems and controversies never seemed to stick to us. But that was before the events of the last two years.  

Here we need to divert a bit. This sermon will be unlike any other in our journey through Ephesians. Because there has recently been an extraordinary amount of turbulence in our church, and because this is the first time I’ve opened the Word with you since last July, I’d like to spend an extended amount of time speaking personally about the last eight months. My words today may strike some of you as painful, because it may sound as if I’m not sufficiently endorsing your understanding of the Way Things Really Are. It’s a certainty that I will over-simplify. This story has many layers, and even if all of us spoke this morning we may not learn everything there is to know.

 Now some of you have no idea what I am talking about, and I am so happy for you. Others of you have stayed well back from the fray and are simply praying that those who seem to have so much anger and anxiety will eventually work things out. Today I’d like to talk with you openly. You need to know whether or not your pastor can be trusted. You will need to decide, before the Lord, whether this is a flock in which you and your family will be able to find the safe pasture and spiritual feeding that you need.

Last summer, at the recommendation of two consultants who spent a year working with our church, I began a six-month leave of absence from my role as senior pastor. That time away included six weeks at a therapeutic center in Seattle. The stated aim of this intensive was to let a team of counselors take a thorough inventory of my life – spiritually, emotionally, and relationally.

You prayed for me throughout that time. And God answered those prayers in extraordinary ways. Ever since I was little there had been this bundle of irrational fears at the core of my life. I tended to cover up those fears by relying on my gifts. I’ll do this and things will go well for me. I’ll say that and people will accept me. It was during my time away that God supernaturally reached into my heart and extracted those fears and declared, “I am the Lord your God. All you need to be is my child. Don’t be afraid any longer.”

I am standing before you today unafraid to tell you the truth. I am not afraid to preach the whole counsel of God. I don’t fear the day when no one stands in line after a service to say, “Wow, that was a good sermon.” I do not fear how you will react when you’ll find yourselves beyond your spiritual comfort zone in the days ahead. What I do fear is God – in a healthy way, that is. And I can tell you that my whole heart is set on nothing less than teaching and leading here at ZPC in such a way that God will be deeply pleased, and the whole flock by God’s grace will be deeply blessed.

However, even as I experienced this life-changing shift in my walk with the Lord, the consultants and my team at the Center came to the conclusion that the gaps in my life – my work addiction and my tendencies to try to control outcomes, among other things – were of such concern that it would be best that I resign from ministry. Their recommendation was that I step away for at least four to five years. As you can imagine, I was unprepared to hear that. I was shocked. But I trusted those voices in my life. When I returned to Zionsville I submitted my resignation as an act of obedience to the process, trusting that God was at work in ways Mary Sue and I could not see or understand.

Let me say this part clearly: No one forced me to resign – not the session, not the consultants, and not my accountability team. It’s true that I did feel compelled to leave ZPC. That conviction – that I realistically had no other option – was based on my trust in the observations that had been shared with me. Last October, it seemed that stepping down would be the only way to honor God.

Almost immediately there were conspiracy theories. Under stress, a good many of us tend to see things in simple, black and white terms. “These are the good guys, so those must be the bad guys. Here are the servants of God, so those must be Satan’s helpers.” When such thinking actually starts rolling out of our own mouths, the body of Christ can be deeply wounded and immensely compromised. The devil has a field day.

My favorite conspiracy theory is that Kroger was determined to put a new grocery store on this corner. The best way to do that was to dismantle ZPC’s leadership and force the congregation to sell. I heard another theory that I have an eating disorder that I have been masking with Diet Mountain Dew. There was a rumor just before Christmas that I had had a heart attack.

Here’s what we do know: There has never been a conspiracy to remove me as senior pastor of this church. As far as we can discern, every player in this drama honestly intended to do what they perceived to be God’s will. That includes the session, my accountability team, the consultants, and those of you who have spoken out as members of the congregation. We are here today in the presence of fellow sinful saints. But we are not enemies. We all have been seeking God’s best.

I am deeply grieved therefore at the vilification of our elders and other members of the pastoral staff. I am also grieved at the vilification of those who have stood up from time to time simply to ask questions and to raise honest concerns. Families have left our church in sorrow, friendships have been ruined, and words have been spoken at meetings in this very sanctuary that have surely broken the heart of God. How can the Bible possibly address us as holy ones?

Early in November my West coast counselors put me into the hands of a clinical psychologist here in Indianapolis who regularly works with pastors. I have now met with him 20 times. He sees the same things in my life that they saw. But instead of pathology he sees developmental areas that are typical for the average pastor. In addition, I have been blessed for many years to be in three accountability groups with other pastors; some live nearby while others live in other states. To a person these 16 men, who know me well from the inside out, have stated that they believe that God desires that I continue in active ministry.

By December 1, I had sufficient doubt about the recommendations from the West coast that I openly asked you to vote against my resignation so that our presbytery’s Committee on Ministry could make an honest determination as to what would be best for ZPC and for the McDonald family. Looking back, I sincerely regret two things that I did not say that night. I had the chance to bless my fellow leaders and to short-circuit many of the regrettable things that were being said about them. I am so sorry for my silence. I also wish I had said, when some people at that meeting stood up and applauded me, “Please sit down. This is about Christ. This isn’t about me or any other human leader.” Sometimes what we fail to say can be as grievous as what we do say.

As part of my intensive in Seattle I made some confessions to one of my counselors. I revealed all the sins and behaviors I could think of that might have come between me and God. That was deeply cleansing. I received anew God’s gift of forgiveness, and went forward with fresh resolve to serve and honor him in everything. I trusted that that was an entirely safe and confidential environment. Unfortunately, what I shared was included in a written report that was sent back here to Zionsville. Multiple eyes were given access to that report without my knowledge or consent.

I share this with you because there remains a suspicion in some quarters, perhaps a wondering, that there might be some kind of dynamite in that report. I want you to know that I feel grieved about all of my sins and failures – but not one of them, past or present, has ever been disqualifying of active ministry.

These days when celebrities, politicians, and athletes find themselves in trouble, they might make a statement at a carefully scripted press conference, then air things out with Oprah. After that they put up a hand and say, “No more questions. I’ve already talked about that. It’s time to move forward.” You can decide for yourself whether it’s important to be able to trust a celebrity, a politician, or an athlete. But you must be able to know whether you can trust your pastor. Therefore, if you feel so prompted, come and sit down with me. I am the sole source, ultimately, of everything in that report. So come to the source. I will gladly address any and all concerns. And my door will remain open indefinitely.

What about the statements I made concerning my own brokenness on the weekend that I resigned? I reaffirm them all. I will be in some form of recovery in every one of those areas for as long as I live. I am today, and will always be, Glenn the sinner – a child of God whose failures are forgiven and whose brokenness is most certainly not beyond repair. And with all my heart I publicly extend forgiveness and grace to every leader and to every member here at ZPC.

As we turn back to the opening verses of the book of Ephesians, what can we know for sure? Christians have been given the seemingly ludicrous label of “saint,” but that’s not yet how any one of us is able to live. God tells us and he tells the world that we are his holy ones, but stunningly often our behavior is unholy. Look around and take a deep breath. This is it. This is God’s strategy to change the world. We are the saints entrusted with getting it done.

All great revivals in church history – all genuine movements of the Spirit – have a few things in common: a deep conviction of sin, heartfelt repentance, and mourning over what has been superficial and foolish and a betrayal of the Gospel which we represent. I hear people say, “We need to get back to what ZPC used to be.” But that part of ZPC’s story has come to an end. God blessed us during those years. But we can never again be what we used to be. Is that good news or is that bad news? I think that is simply reality.

What really is wonderful news is that we serve a Savior who is in the resurrection business. Our church can be reborn. But we cannot be reborn in God’s way unless our hearts are broken and, in many ways, our very lives are broken. God has been doing this very thing amongst us. If we find ourselves asking, “What has all this sadness and pain been for – what has it accomplished?” may we be ready to say that God has been shaping us in order to do a new thing in us and through us – and that he believes the pain of getting us there has been entirely worth it.

In the movie Gladiator, Maximus stands in the arena surrounded by a small group of frightened men with drawn swords. He says to them, “Whatever comes through those gates, if we stay together, we can survive.” That is God’s call for his saints. It’s time for us to stand together and to stay together. I am Not Myself by Myself. It’s time for us to acknowledge that if this is indeed our church, we will attend worship no matter who the preacher of the day is; we will not withhold our money in order to make a point; we will refuse to leverage our prayers, our blessings, and our words of encouragement in order to advance the interests of what we call “our side.”

The only side worth being on is the Lord’s Side. Two weeks from today, on April 25 at 4:30 p.m., you’re invited to a special service of healing and reconciliation. We’re going to seek the heart of God…together. God surely won’t be finished with us just because it turns April 25. There’s still so much healing that needs to happen. But this will be a step.

Geologists have learned that when snow falls on the side of a mountain and begins to form a dense snowpack, there is a tipping point when that snow and ice begin to move. At exactly 64 feet thick a snowpack becomes a glacier. And once a glacier starts moving, it stops for nothing. Are we at the tipping point here at ZPC? Have we reached the place where the promptings of the Holy Spirit and our willingness to obey, no matter what, have finally come together? May God give us the grace to be his saints in his kingdom – a kingdom that cannot be stopped in this world or the next.