Gospel and Church

February 14, 2010
Josh BrowardThe Gospel and The Church
Gospel Series: Week 4
Isaiah 2:1-5; 1 Peter 2:9-12; Matthew 5:1-16

This week, we are finishing our series on the Gospel. Maybe this is a good time for a little review. First, we need to read the Bible forwards, not backwards. And when we do read the Bible forward, understanding each new step in the context of the building story, an amazing picture emerges. The Gospel is that God is on a mission to heal the whole world, and God is starting by healing us - even though we don’t deserve it. Amazingly, God wants us to help! We can become farmers of the Gospel. Through service to the poor, loving friendships, planting seeds of truth, waiting, and watering, we can help the Gospel grow and take root in our world.
This week we are exploring what it means for us as the Church to live the Gospel. To help us understand this, I need to describe two other communities first.

We usually spend time with Sarah’s family in Iowa every summer. A few years ago, we visited the Iowa Living History Farm. Through volunteers and paid staff, they re-enact what life was like on farms in Iowa throughout history. It’s pretty cool.
We were overwhelmed with sensory experiences. We could see with our eyes what a village street was like. We could hear the sound of our own feet on the village board walk. We could go in and out of different stores: the drug store, the doctor’s office, the post office, the general mercantile, the lawyer’s office, and town hall.
We smelled the cookies baking in the oven. (But they wouldn’t let us have any cookies because then their 18th century kitchen would have to meet 21st century health code standards. That was torture!)
We could smell hay in the barn and touch the hot sweaty side of a horse after he plowed a field. We could stand in the hay and feel it poking at our ankles.
We could taste old fashioned root beer and rock candy.
We could go into the black smith’s work shop and hear the pounding of his hammer on the metal. We could feel the heat of his fires on our skin. Just standing in his workshop made us sweat!
We were also able to get even more personal through explorative action. We discovered that back in the day, one of Iowa’s biggest crops was broom corn. We actually got to use some of their 200 year old machines to practice making brooms. (It was fun, but I think I’ll stick to preaching.)
Speaking of preaching, we visited the village church. I stood behind the pulpit and tried to imagine what it would be like to preach to a farming community 200 years ago. [10] Emma even decided to get in on the preaching action.
Emma also discovered that milk doesn’t really come from boxes at Lotte Mart. It actually comes from cows, and she was able to milk a cow. That’s a whole new level of involvement. It gives morning cereal a whole new meaning!
Under a shade tree, we saw a volunteer and his grandson splitting wood for fence posts. Sarah’s dad and Emma and I all took turns with the axe or wedge to split some wood. I was very happy it was only a 10 minute stop and not a 10 hour work day! My next stop was to dunk my head under the water at the hand pumped well. And let me just tell you: well water is COLD!
Something really interesting happened as we walked through this community from a different time. Seeing and touching all of those old things, experimenting with hand tools and farm work - all of that led to stimulated education. It peeked our curiosity. It got us interested and wanting to learn more.
I have never had the desire to study the ancient art of black smithery. However, standing in front of a man hammering out a horse shoe, made me ask questions I had never imagined.
Who sits at home and says, “I think I’ll pick up a book about furniture in the early 1800’s” ? If you’re not a history major, you’re probably not going to tell your friends, “ I’d really like to learn more about household appliances on prairie farms in the last few centuries.” But standing inside a replica of a 200 year old house, we stopped to read the plaques on the walls describing the furniture and implements in each room.
Very few people would actually be interested in these things in a normal world setting, but the proximity and intensity of the Living History Farm inspires our interest. The experience stimulates our desire to learn more. We want to understand the why’s and how’s of what we are seeing and touching.
Iowa’s Living History Farms’ mission is to tell “the story of the changes in Midwestern agriculture and rural life.” They believe that “by showing authentic models of historical and modern farming, Living History Farms enables visitors to observe and participate in these processes and relate them to their lives.”1 The point of the Living History Farm is to help people understand through experience what life was like in another time and culture.

Many of us have done something similar here in Korea. Many of us have visited the Korean Folk Village (HanGook MinSokChon) in Suwon. If you haven’t been yet, I highly recommend it. It’s a great way to learn about Korean history and culture.
The Korean Folk Village also has lots of sensory experiences. Twice a day, there is a SaMul Nori music and dance performance with the traditional dancers with the twirly hats. I’m always amazed at how they can do that with out getting dizzy!
Right after the music, the acrobats are up, and I mean UP! Those girls can JUMP! I think I might look down and just crumple into a ball and that would be the end of the trick - SPLAT!
If you’re willing to pay the price, you can sit in a traditional Korean Tea House and experience Korean tea served the same way it has been served for hundreds of years.
Emma really liked the chicken house. She wanted to put her fingers through the cage and pet them. There was a little too much sensory experience for me - lots of clucking and lots of lovely chicken poop!

You can also do some explorative action at the Korean Folk Village. Emma’s favorite part was riding a horse. She wanted to keep going round and round. When the ride was over and we got off, she begged and begged to go again. We said, “We’re sorry honey, but it costs money.” She said, “I have 3 beg won coins. Is that enough?” She couldn’t understand why she couldn’t just keep riding all day.
Here are some middle school girls exploring the history of corporal punishment. I think she’s imagining her teacher down there: “More homework? Take this! Quit sleeping in class?! Well, take that!! Next, time let us watch a movie!”
I bought a Yut Nori Game at the folk village, and we took it on our mission trip to Tanzania in 2008. This is Evie Gardner, one of the missionaries. Notice how she just kind of drops the yut (sticks). John was a master of the good luck rub: “Come on ... Come on ...” And even though, I’m not Korean, I know you how to have the proper intensity for a Yut Nori throw! We were having so much fun screaming and shouting with every throw of the Yut! Our neighbors came over to tell us to be quiet - not once but twice! You might not believe me, but I think Kim SuJa was the loudest one of all of us.
Do you recognize these people? That’s Josh Whiteside and Lee EunJin. They actually decided to get married (for real) at the Korean Folk Village. That’s what you call making a personal connection with history!
Just like the Living History Farm, the Korean Folk Village also stimulates education. The experiences make us interested to see more and to learn more.
I like reading books about Korea. I’ve probably read 5 or 10 different books on Korean culture and history, but I have never been very interested in the history of Korean herbs. However, when I was standing there in the herb house, looking at the herbs hanging along the walls, and confronted by the aroma of 50 different aromas drying herbs, I was more than happy to read the plaque explaining the life of a Korean herb merchant in the late Joseon Dynasty.
When you are riding the bus or subway, you probably aren’t thinking about what inspired 17th century Korean architects to build wealthy homes with a large courtyard. However, when you are standing IN the courtyard of an exact replica of one of those homes, you just might look down at that brochure in your hand and find out more about these courtyards and why the different components are situated as they are. The experience inspires our education. Exploration propels us into learning.
The Korean Folk Village wants to give people the chance to experience Korea, to feel ancient Korea with their own hands. The community of staff and volunteers want to convey the wisdom and memory of Korean history to people living today.2 The point is to help people understand through experience what life was like in another time and culture, and the Korean Folk Village beautifully accomplishes that goal.

The Church is a Gospel Living Future Farm or a Gospel Futuristic Village. The point of the Church is to help people understand through experience what life is like in the Kingdom of God. The Church is a living demonstration of God’s future reality. Instead of helping people understand a time long dead in the past, we are helping people understand a time that is still being born. We are living a way of life from the future. We are helping people step into a futuristic way of life for a moment in time, so that they may be enticed into this future. Our mission is to help people make God’s future our present reality.
So, we love in God’s ways. We serve in God’s ways. We forgive and ask forgiveness in God’s ways. We give and receive in God’s ways. We are living the future redemption of the world into this present broken world. How? We offer the same three opportunities that the Living History Farm and the Korean Folk Village give.
First, we offer sensory experiences. We sing because we need more than words. We need to feel the music in our bodies. Music touches something deep within us. Music goes places in our hearts that words alone can never touch.
For many of the same reasons, we - as the Church - need to do art and embrace beauty. God is the author of beauty. God is the first artist. When we do art, we are inviting people to get in touch with something deep inside them - a place that draws us to the heart of God. As much as possible, in as many ways as we can think of, we need to give our artists the freedom to call us toward this other world that God is creating.
We also touch. We hug. We shake hands. We sit together. We tickle and cuddle and tease the little kids. The Gospel gets physical through our loving arms. I once read about a church that says that part of their vision is to be “fleshy.” They don’t want to just talk about the Gospel. They want to put flesh to the Gospel. They want their bodies to be living demonstrations of the gospel.
One of the best ways to put flesh to the gospel is to serve. I’ll never forget the trip I took into the mountains of Guatemala. I was tagging along with a medical missions trip. A group of Nazarenes from New Mexico bought an old school bus, and then they remodeled it as a rolling hospital and dental clinic. Then, they drove it all the way through Mexico to Guatemala. I was with them on their first day seeing patients. On that first day, the dental clinic saw about 75 patients and pulled more than 100 teeth. One man walked for three days to see the doctor about a snake bite on his foot. The day after we left, several families from the village went to the pastor and said, “If that’s what Christians are like, then we want to be Christians.”

The Church also provides people with the chance for some explorative action. You don’t have to be a Christian to come to church. That surprises some people. You also don’t have to be a Christian to sing worship songs or to pray or to read the Bible. Just being here is a form of explorative action for many people. People go to a worship service to test Christianity like they would test drive a new car or try on a new dress: “How do I like the feel of this? Could I see myself doing this for the rest of my life? Is there anything to all of this hype?” That’s OK. Experimenting is more than OK. It’s good - very good.
Our potlucks and celebration are explorative actions. We are inviting people into the life of our community. We give people the chance to experience the joy and friendship that is natural among people of the Kingdom. Don’t miss out on our Fat Tuesday Pancake Supper this Tuesday at 6:30 pm. It’s on the 7th floor of the Chang Hakwon Building just up the KNU road on the right hand side. Invite your friends! This is a great way to help them experiment with Christianity.
As we live and serve, we in the Church need to make space for others to live and to serve with us. I told you a while back about Trinity Family Church in Kansas. They have a ministry to strip clubs, and they have done a series of joint service projects. Church people and strippers and bouncers paint and garden and mop together. Service is a key activity where God’s Spirit is especially present. As a church (and as the Church), we need to learn more ways to let non-Christians and seekers experiment with the way of Christ by joining us in service opportunities. This is a key way that people learn that loving our neighbors is a great way to live!
During Lent, our church is going to be fasting in several different ways. We’re limiting our snack time to green tea - only green tea. Instead of spending that money on coffee and snacks, we’re going to give it to our Village for Widows and Orphans in B. Also, we’re inviting every person in our church community to do a “B. Fast” at least one meal a week. Instead of having your regular meal, just eat rice - one bowl of gonggibap. Don’t have rice and 17 side dishes. Just rice ... and prayer. Pray for B. Pray for our church. And save the money and give it on Easter Sunday as we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection by giving new hope to widows and orphans in B. I’m really proud of our youth group. They decided to fast their regular food and snacks on youth group nights so they can do a “B. Fast” every time they meet together. Way to go guys! All of this fasting is a great way to experience in our own lives what Jesus said: “If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it” (Mark 8:35).
If we are really being faithful as the church, giving people lots of sensory experience and opportunities to experiment, then we will have one more task: explaining all of this. After seeing and touching and tasting and trying on the gospel, people are ready for some real teaching about the who, what, when, why, how of the gospel. Just like the Living History Farm and the Korean Folk Village, personal experience leads to stimulated education. After experiencing this new world we are bringing to life, they are interested in learning more.
Why do you do church like this?
How does Christian community work exactly?
Why do you take mission trips instead of fancy vacations?
What is the story behind this action? What is the story behind that story?
Ah, so you enjoy serving at the Single Mom’s New Hope House? Do you know why it’s called New Hope? Let me tell you how God has giving me new hope.
That song sticks in my head, and I find myself singing it during the week. So I went online and looked up the lyrics, and I watched the video on YouTube. Then I just went from one worship song to another.
What does it mean to be a Christian anyway?

In our new Wednesday night worship services, starting in March, we’ll be studying the book of 1 Peter. One of my favorite verses from 1 Peter is: “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” (3:15). Peter assumes that people are going to ask us questions. Peter assumes that our lives will be noticeably different, so different that we stimulate a hunger to understand more about this gospel that reshapes and redirects our lives. We have to live in a way that causes people to ask questions about our hope. Then, we can start explaining this new world that is being born through God’s activity in the world. Then, we can explain the gospel to an interested audience. Once we have engaged learners, we can plant seeds that will grow and flourish, we can tell them the why’s, how’s, and what’s of the gospel.

The point of the Iowa Living History Farm is to help people understand through experience what life was like in another time and culture.
The point of the Korean Folk Village is to help people understand through experience what life was like in another time and culture.
The point of the Church is to help people understand through experience what life was like in another time and culture. We are God’s Living Future Farm. We are Heaven’s Folk Village. We live the ways of the Kingdom of God and invite people to experience the future in the present. We invite people to taste, to see, to touch, to experiment, to learn, to help, and to be transformed just as we ourselves are being transformed. We are the womb of God’s Future waiting to be born!
This is the Church. This is the Gospel. God is healing the world by healing us. May God make us faithful representatives of his Kingdom Way. May people among us and around us truly experience God’s future here in our present. May his Kingdom come. May his will be done on earth as it is in heaven.