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So I’ve changed the words. I’ve changed the the names a little bit of this story so it’s like half true and half not so that it fits into the story. But at least I told y’all.  But there’s a family in this church where there are five children and this family is soccer crazy. I mean they love soccer. They love soccer like I like football and they have been playing soccer. All the four oldest children were playing soccer since the age of four. They’ve watched all the games. They’ve cheered for Spain. They’ve cheered for Madrid. They’ve even cheered for Manchester United. I mean, it’s it’s soccer is in their blood.

Except for the youngest daughter, Sophia. Sophia was like, “Yeah, that’s y’all thing. I’m not even a part of this.” Sophia was like, “I’m going to forge my own path. She’s she’s she’s a vibrant 12-year-old who has her own way of getting things done. She wasn’t trying to be just like her siblings. And so after her siblings have been playing soccer, watching soccer, being a part of this world since they were four, Sophia decides at the age of 12, I’m going to play soccer.

I don’t know if you can imagine how this was working, but soccer is not a game you just pick up quickly. There are foot skills, hand eye coordination skills, positioning on the on the field skills. and she was getting all of this information from her coaches, her parents, her siblings, and her fellow teammates all at once of all the things she’s supposed to do. See, they had learned these skills since they were young. And now at 12, she’s feeling frustrated. She’s feeling like, I’m overwhelmed. She’s feeling like, I don’t know if I really want to do this. So, she quit.

And as I heard this parent share the story about how she could console and how she could encourage her daughter, what I also picked up is there are some people who come to the church who’ve been here at St. Stephen’s and they’ve been part working and they’re they’re like hearing so many things they can do and should do but nobody’s ever said here are the skills necessary. Here are the people to contact. Here’s the path to become a member. And see, all of this is is real because as we’re talking about stewardship with time, talent, and treasures, we’re we’re asking people, “Where does God want you to serve?” And some people say, “I don’t know where to serve.” There are people who are saying, “I thought about joining the church, but nobody asked me.” There are people who come who are hurting. They come and God fills their spirit and you all love on them and they say, “I like the people, but why should I join?” All legitimate questions from people who did not grow up as Methodists.

Those of us who grew up Methodist, we were nurtured since kids. We were nurtured into the faith because we went through the the children’s church. We went through VA vacation Bible school. We went through confirmation. We went through all these things that help us grow and understand what it means to be Methodists and how to get engaged and we’ve been so focused on ourselves.

We sometimes forget that we need to help people who are unchurched. We need to help people who are de-churched. And I’m learning there are a lot of people around here who’ve been hurt by church. We are supposed to be the body of Christ. We are supposed to be ones who show love in a supernatural way. We are supposed to be the ones who do things just a little bit differently than the world. And yet we have to understand that we live in Northern Virginia. We are a special group of people. Take it as you will.

We are some of the busiest people in the world. I talked to one mother this week who said that 2:30 2:45 rolls around and she becomes the family taxi and she does that until six o’clock at dinner and then she’s helping with homework to get them in bed by 8. That’s her daily routine. I talked to another member of our congregation who says I commute four hours a day, two hours into DC and two hours back. When do I have time to come to a evening Bible study? Pastor, I’ve talked to people who some of my senior saints who say, “You need to get on my calendar before I schedule all of my appointments.”

See, the reality is we live in Northern Virginia and times have changed. When this church was started in 1963, I was told that Braddock Road was still a dirt road and gravel road. I was shared with me that the church was the center of all society especially in this community because we were on the edge of what was called the city. And as the city has grown out, as the community has grown out, this church never engaged in what we call evangelism because the community came because of the love of Christ that was already here. And yet we still haven’t fulfilled all of the gifts that God has given us.

And so we begin to look at our biblical text and ask the question, what does this text really mean? I would like to just suggest these couple things that I see. Are we helping people to become active and engaged participants in the mission of Jesus Christ? Are we asking them to join the church? Are we telling people that Jesus called you even before you equipped? And at this church, we’re patient enough for you to get equipped. You see, if you’re historically Methodist, it’s like join and then you get all the benefits. But here at this church, it’s come and be loved, come and be, be a part of God’s family. and then we’ll get to membership eventually.

I’m asking the question because when I look at our biblical text, I began asking questions about what was the model that Jesus set up for people to become actively engaged as disciples. And I believe this story, we know the story about how he fed 5,000. But we read the scripture and skip over this first part. If we go back to the scripture on the screen, it says this. But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” Can you imagine Jesus speaking to you? You He just said, “People are hungry. They’ve come from miles around.” And they said, “Well, we don’t have it.” And Jesus’s response was, “You give them something to eat.” He was saying, “I’m not going to accept your excuses. I want you to do the work.

St. Stephen’s, God is calling us to be those people who are doing the work. Now, just like Kate said, did Jesus really need the disciples? Maybe not. But this was also a way of them being engaged together in ministry because some things you only are able to engage and learn if you get in the game. Number two, it says, “Then he said to them, are you are we to go and buy 200 dinari worth of bread and give it out to them to eat?” 200 dinari is like two years of salary for them. And instead of saying, “We’ll figure this out,” they said, “Jesus, you figure out yourself.” How many of you all are bold enough to tell your boss to go back and figure out himself? That’s what I see in the text. He’s actually they’re actually saying, “Yo, this is not a a sustainable deal.” And yet on the next slide, we see Jesus’s response.

There we go. But he um ah I didn’t put it up there, did I? Jesus’s response was a lesson in in adaptive leadership. He said, “Go get everything that’s available.” He sent them back out. He didn’t let them get off the hook. And then when they came back, when they came back, they had two loaves and two fish. And what did Jesus do after that? Jesus blessed it. Jesus then said, “These are the tools that we’ll use.” And once he blessed it, then he began breaking it. And what we know about the end of the story is that there was more than enough food for everybody to have something to eat.

But the lesson I want us to see is Jesus engaged the disciples even before they were ready to do the work before he was to leave them. And one of the things that I I hear often is, “Pastor Cheney, I was asked to do this ministry, but I’ve never done it before.” The disciples said that, too. Pastor Cheney, aren’t there other people who are more qualified to serve on this committee? Jesus had the same disciples following him. I know you got two loaves of bread and two fish to multiply, but I’m not sure I can do this. Basically saying that, I could do it, but I’m going to just wait for you, Jesus.

How many of us have been called to a ministry that God has blessed us with the gifts, the talents, the time, and even sometimes the treasures to be a part of, and we’ve had more excuses than we’ve had willingness to say yes? The question becomes, why does this matter to us? Because God is calling some of us to ministry right now that we’ve never done before. We’ve just shifted in our leadership structure. Not because it was a great shift to do it. We’re doing it so that more people can be available for ministry. We have shifted and we’re going into this model where we’re coaching people into new positions. I mean, one one of the challenges that I’ve I I have that this church has, there are some gifted people all over this congregation and sometimes they like to hide. They see me coming into the welcome center and they get into deep conversation that they weren’t in before I got there because they know I’m about to ask them something. I’m asking that you all look at how Jesus handled the disciples and then the disciples response and finally the answer.

This thing of belonging and joining is important because every member is needed. The scripture in Corinthians talks about the body of Christ and all the members of the body being present to engage. We need each and every member to be engaged. Not in everything, but in the things where you’re gifted. Not in everything. You heard me say that. But in the areas that you’re gifted because when we start talking about team Jesus, the team is everybody who’s in this room right now. Wow. Are we willing to actually tell the ultimate coach, Jesus Christ, our savior, you catch up with me later? I hope not, because now is the time that we can engage the ministries that God has given us. Pastor Cheney, um, I know that, but this church has been doing so well and I haven’t had to get that involved. I praise God for your past, but I’m praying for a different future. I’m praying for a future where God is then using all of us in our areas of giftedness.

There’s one member of our congregation, I won’t reveal their name, who their gift is finding these chocolates to keep dropping in my office. Y’all are laughing. I’ve gained pounds from the chocolate. But that’s their gift. There’s someone else who just comes and they bless the staff every once in a while with hugs and a flower. There’s someone else who comes in. I’m trying not to call her name, but she is faithful. Two to three times a week of coming in and making sure that there’s food pantry available for people who come in off the streets. Every day almost I get greeted by this extra staff member who’s not a member of staff. so that this church can be the hands and feet of Jesus.

We all don’t have to do everything, but we’re all called to do the at least the one thing that we’ve been blessed with. So, when we revisit this story of Sophia joining the soccer team, here’s what I could believe could have happened. What could have happened is that before she joined the team, her siblings could have helped her develop some skills. Before she joined the team, her dad could have said, “Here’s some things to watch out for.” When she did join the team, the coach could have been more nurturing. When she did join the team, her teammates could have said, “I know you didn’t start when we did, but here’s what we can do to help you.” I can believe Sophia would have then had a different outcome. Instead of being overwhelmed, instead of being so frustrated with all this new information, Sophia could have said, “I’ve learned enough to be an active, engaged participant on this team. I have learned enough and been nurtured into this skill. I am praying that that lesson of being nurtured, being coached, being loved into this team is the message that we take as a congregation because as people come in hurting, as people come in frustrated that we show them the love of Christ, not just so they join the church, but that they know the love of Christ and they want to be a part of this process called discipleship and learning and growing as the body of Christ.

Because, as I’ve said already before, because everybody is needed in order for this church to be the great church that God has called us to be. This is the word of God for the people of God. Amen.

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