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WHY I AM A CHRISTIAN
(A sermon preached July 2, 2006 at University UMC, East Lansing, by John Ross
Thompson)
Scripture text - John 20:24-31
I have chosen to begin my preaching here at UUMC with two somewhat unusual
sermons. They are not typical of my usual style. I thought it might be helpful
to preach today on “Why I Am A Christian” and next week to preach on “Why I Am A
United Methodist”. The goal is to help you know me and begin our conversation
and life together. They also will help me to summarize who I am and where I am
at this point in my life and faith.
I am aware of some reasons why people today choose not to be a Christian:
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It’s not fashionable. Unlike the 50’s and 60’s, when
people were looked down upon for NOT being Christian, today it is much more acceptable to say we are not
Christian.
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Some persons who have questions about faith,
doubting teachings of the church, feel they are not Christian. This
Thomas syndrome is based on the Gospel of John story of the disciple who needed proof
to believe.
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I know some person avoid the church because of the
way some Christians act, with judgment, exclusiveness, and
hypocrisy. Fred Phelps, the vitriolic Kansas pastor who demonstrates at military
funerals and is passionately anti-gay, is a good example of why some people say, “If that
is a Christian, I want nothing to do with Christianity.”
However, there are some good reasons why I am a Christian:
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I was born into a Christian home, nurtured by loving
parents, other relatives and church leaders.
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I was influenced by people who shared with me their
faith and invited me to accept it.
a. I remember well those who
mentored me in faith.
b. I have the privilege of
remembering the specific times I accepted Christ
into my life and
accepted a call to ministry. It’s not necessary for all of us
to remember such times
in order to be a Christian, though.
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I found in Christ and in the church a window to the
world.
a. The Christian faith taught
me openness to others
b. I learn to love all God’s
people in my life, not reject them because they
believed differently. I recently found a statement of Christology (what I
believe about
Christ) written
by me at age 19. I discovered that my views
on this subject have not changed.
c. Christian leaders taught me
about social justice, helping to create a better
life for all
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I found in Christ peace and joy, as well as a
deep-seated assurance of God’s love and acceptance for me.
a. The gift of faith, as
promised in the New Testament, was given to me.
b. Two different styles for the
church are evidenced in two ways of farming.
One style is to
build a fence and keep livestock inside the fence. The
other style, best suited
for wide
open ranges like those in Australia, is
to dig a well and provide water, and the
livestock will not stray far.
I prefer the second style for the church.
c. I recently was intrigued by
the Thomas Mass, a type of worship becoming
popular in
Scandinavia. It is geared toward all of these: people who want
silence and
music, charismatics who emphasize prayer/intercession
and work with sick people,
liberals who
want honesty and room for
questions and doubt, conservatives who want to praise
the living God,
and others. Our church can be like that.
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As I have become aware of other institutions,
faiths, and places where people invest their passion, the church
always looks better. Anytime I get discouraged with the church, I look elsewhere and I
always come back to Christianity.
As one of your new pastors, I invite us all to:
-- Christian faith, with ongoing conversation on its
meaning and how we live it.
-- Holy Communion, a gift from God, a celebration, and a
healing balm, that we will
celebrate today and every month.
I like the way Ephesians 4:14-16 reads in The Message, a paraphrase by
Eugene Peterson:
“No prolonged infancies among us, please. We’ll
not tolerate babes in the woods, small children who are an easy mark for
impostors. God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in
love—like Christ in everything. We take our lead from Christ, who is the
source of everything we do. He keeps us in step with each other; His very
breath and blood flow through us, nourishing us so that we will grow up
healthy in God, robust in love.’
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