220th Annual Conference Des Moines, Iowa July 1-5, 2006

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Dennis Webb, pastor of Naperville (Ill.) Church of the Brethren. - photo by Regina Roberts

“Walking by Faith ... Again”
1 Timothy 4:6-8 and 11-16, Philemon 1:4-7
by Dennis Webb

Introd:
Walking by faith in delicate and uncomfortable and intricate situations. This very personal letter to Philemon, a personal friend and fellow laborer of Paul, was a letter written out of a very intricate situation

Facts:
Paul and his companions were in jail. A runaway slave names Onesimus had somehow found him in jail and became of great help to Paul. In those days, it was a very dangerous thing for a slave to run away because he was the sole property of his master, and would be severely punished or even killed for running away. Anyone who encouraged or harbored a slave would also be severely punished. The slave’s name was Onesimus. This runaway slave eventually became a Christian, most likely because of Paul’s influence. Also, after his runaway, the letter does suggest that he had committed some criminal act, for which he had confesses and repented.

Now while sharing ministry with this run-away, now converted, slave, Paul found out something very interesting, and potentially troublesome about this run-away slave... he belonged to one of Paul’s very close friends and fellow worker : Bro. Philemon. So Paul was now in a sort of dilemma:

A runaway slave, who was now one of his closest aids, was actually the property of one of his close fellow servant Philemon.

Options:
If he encouraged Onesimus to remain with him, he would be aiding and abetting a ...criminal and risked the displeasure of the slaves owner.

But if he sent this young man back to his master, the was the possibility of severe punishment even death.

It seemed like a no-win situation. This is probably what is meant by being caught between the devil and the deep blue sea.

Just like some of the situations in our congregations, just like some of the situations in out districts, just like some of the situations in our denominations. Because of how the situations developed, there seem to be no way out, now way forward, now way to break the deadlock. No way to emerge from a moribund situation. No light at the end of the tunnel.

Yes, there could be in this worship here today persons and churches, and districts who seem to find themselves in no-win situation: And I am not just talking about declining membership in some congregations that threaten their continued existence,

Not just internal struggles and divisions in congregations

Not just the absence of young people in so many congregations

Not just the unwillingness for some congregations to seen that taking place and adapting to, these changes:

I am referring to situations where, for whatever reason, some people are convinced that there is no hope for my congregation! There is not much hope for my district! There is not much hope for my denomination. Let have the funeral soon.

Today I bring you a word of hope about the non-option situations, deadlock situations, situations where there seems to be no reasonable alternative. Paul, in facing this very delicate situations chose to do what he always did, showing us all what we all need to do:

Paul chose to walk by faith....again. (he had written elsewhere to another congregation, telling that that ‘we walk by faith and not by sight) He sent the slave back, but he sent a very loving letter to his master. In the letter, Paul urged his master Bro Philemon, who was also a Christian, to receive him back not as a slave, but as a brother. To receive him back, not as property, but as a person.

It did seem crazy, given that fact that a slave was never seen as a person. To believe that suddenly, this salve would now receive person-hood from his master. But Paul chose to believe, that a converted master, could literally not only receive back a converted without malice aforethought, but would be able to ELIVATED his slave the to position of a BROTHER.

Paul chose to believe that what has never been, could come to be..
Paul chose to believe that what was inconceivable, could become a reality
Paul chose to believe that what had never been witnesses could be witnessed
Paul chose to believe that there is a way even when there seems to be no way.
This is faith: the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

So Paul said to Phil. “..I hear about your faith...” I hear that you are walking by faith. I encourage you to walk by faith and receive your Onesimous not as a slave by as a brother.

Implication:
When you are in a no-win situation, faith is your only option: to trust God to take you through. When you seem to be caught between the devil and the deep blue sea, faith is your only option. When your back seems to be up against the wall, faith seems to be your only option.

Faith and Foolishness: Sometimes faith looks exactly like absolute and unequivocal foolishness! Faith moves to go where no one has ever gone before. To try again ever after we have failed. To keep on walking, where there seem to be no clear end in sight.

To keep on praying when there seem to be no credible reason to pray.

This is what Paul reminds in 1 Cor 1:27 ...God uses the foolish things if this world to confound the wise.....Something as foolish as a cross: symbol of capital punishment and cruel suffering in the days of Jesus, But which Jesus turned into a symbol of hope, restoration, resuscitation. Two pieces of wood at right angles to each other. Tow pieces of wood that have become the symbol of redemption for the world.

So if faith looks like foolishness, why would be offended if some one calls us a fool: a fool to still believe

- that peace is possible in the whole world
- that what your church has not done in 100 years can be done in three months after you return from this Annual conference!

Often said that it is not what happened to you, but what you do, how you respond to what happens to you.

Not sure how to say this, but it seems as if God set up things this way, God so made the church look so foolish in the world, that the world very often cannot help to take it for granted. BUT what God did not intend, does not intend and will never intend is for the church to take itself for granted:

We are the salt of the earth
We are the lift of the world.
We are the eklesia...those who have bee called out of darkness into Gods marvelous light.

Called to walk by faith again!

So we are permitted to accept the world taking us for granted, But what we are not permitted to do is to take our worship, our property, our young people, our seniors, our deacons, our pastors, our we are not permitted to take any of these for granted because they do not belong to us they all belong to God who expect us to walk by faith and not by sight.

Faith the Old Fashioned way

Gone are the old days when:

Medicine: children have to take bad tasting medicine, now everything is flavored, and you can choose the flavor you like.

Airline Ticket: you had to go find an agent to purchase an airline ticket: now you do it yourself on-line.

TV Channels: you only had just a few television channels to choose from: now you have hundreds to choose from.

Babies: Gone are the days when they had to use live babies in movies that require a baby, now they make some fake babies for the film and you cannot tell the difference if it is real or not.

High School: I hope this does not disturb you too much, but for some high school students, gone are the days when they had to actually write term and assignment papers: they are all now available on the internet for a small fee: Thank God our Brethren high school youth still do it the old fashioned way.

Mail: When the Brethren began to move west of the Ohio river, it used to take 6 month for mail to be delivered, but that was the days before FedEx, that was the day before e-mails.: Gone are those day of 6 month mail delivery.

Hand / foot: gone are the days when if you lost a hand or a foot, you could nor run again, or climb mount Everest again! It is even said that the new foot they make for you work much better than the old one: but be careful to put our an insurance policy on it just in case.

BUT: when it comes to faith: There seem to be

- no improvement that can be made to faith. There seem to be
- no way to make faith more modern, or consumer friendly
- no way of make appealing to young people:
- no way to make faith more efficient

Faith cannot be made to run faster, to be down loaded faster, to appear more quickly o the scene. Faith cannot be even turned into a jog.

The only was to live in faith is to walk by faith again and again.

Faith seem to come only in one style : Old fashion! But it is one size that fits all!

Say after me: “We walk by faith and not by sight”

Faith changes things, faith changes situations, faith changes people because faith never changes: It is no secret what God can do, what God has done for others, he will do for you.

The act of faith is still as old fashioned as it was: you still have to walk by faith and not by sight.

The same rough and tumble faith that:
Abraham had, we need to have as well
Joshua had, we need to have as well
Job had, we need to have as well
Jeremiah had, we need to have as well
Amos had, we need to have as well
Peter had, we need to have as well
Paul had, we need to have as well
Jesus had, we need to have as well

I urge
- Every struggling congregation to walk by faith ....again
- Every struggling district to walk by faith again
- Our beloved denomination to walk by faith again

Amen

--Dennis Webb is pastor of Naperville (Ill.) Church of the Brethren.

Members of the 2006 Annual Conference news team, a ministry of the Church of the Brethren General Board, contributed to the Annual Conference web pages: Jake Blouch, Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford, Kathleen Campanella, Eddie Edmonds, Karen Garrett, Clara Glover, Amy Heckert, Keith Hollenberg, Jill Kline, Sarah Kovacs, Frank Ramirez, Jesse Reid, Regina Roberts, Frances Townsend, and Becky Ullom.