For Such A Time as This – June 30, 2021 – Bobbi Dykema

To the Good Folk of the Palmyra Church of the Brethren,

Joys and Concerns

If you have a joy or concern you would like us to share and pray about, please call, text, or email it to me.  If you would like it included in our Sunday Worship sharing and prayer time, please share it with Pastor Bill that week by Thursday evening. 

The Church of the Brethren Annual Conference begins with worship this evening, continues with morning and afternoon business sessions and evening worship services on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and concludes with worship on Sunday morning.  This conference is virtual.  All of these events and more are available through the Church of the Brethren and Church of the Brethren Annual Conference websites.  Our delegates, participating in the conference from their homes and/or offices are John Grace, Cheryl Guerrisi and me.  The primary actionable business item is the discussion and vote on the Compelling Vision statement.  Please hold our conference, its leadership and delegates, and our delegates in thought and prayer.

See this Saturday’s “Weekly Update” email for any new prayer concerns.

Thank You:

To all who call others to check in on them and to share our emails and devotions.

Today’s Devotion:

“Compelling Vision” is our denomination's effort to identify a shared vision that can foster unity in the midst of great diversity and dividing differences.  A thirteen session Bible Study has been developed to undergird this statement.  We are using pieces of the Bible Study in our weekly devotion email.

Today’s reflection was written by Bobbi Dykema, who holds a master’s degree from United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities and a PhD in Art and Religion from the Graduate Theological Union. She pastors First Church of the Brethren in Springfield, Illinois, and serves on the pastoral team of the Living Stream online church.

Shalom, Dennis

Compelling Visions Statement
Together, as the Church of the Brethren, we will passionately live and share the radical transformation and holistic peace of Jesus Christ through relationship-based neighborhood engagement. To move us forward, we will develop a culture of calling and equipping disciples who are innovative, adaptable, and fearless.
 
Session 12 – Calling and Equipping Disciples

What does it mean to call and equip disciples for the strengthening of the body of Christ?

Scriptures - Ephesians 4:1-16

Reflection – Bobbi Dykema

Let’s begin with three stories. Sarah Righter Major, not yet twenty, felt an intense call to preach. Supported by her father in following this call and finding mentors, Sarah received invitations to preach at several congregations in her region. Annual Conference delegates were sent out to ask Sarah to cease and desist, following denominational polity and the scripture “I do not permit a woman to teach” (I Timothy 2:12). These men listened to Sarah preach before imparting their message and found that “I could not silence the voice of one who could out-preach me.”

My grandmother had ten younger siblings. When she finished the eighth grade, her parents insisted she end her schooling, stay home, and help with the babies. Many years later, she confessed what I had long suspected, that she had always felt called to set-apart ministry, but her community was unwilling to support women in such a call. Grandma ministered all the same, as a prayer warrior, Bible study leader, and so on, but was never able to live out her calling fully.

I met a young woman at National Youth Conference in 2018, a rising junior in high school and somewhat shy and retiring. Over the meal we shared, I asked what extracurricular activities she enjoyed. She said, with great enthusiasm, that she loved drumming. I responded, “You need to keep doing that. Because you light up when you talk about it–and the world needs people who are lit up.”

Looking at Ephesians 4:1-16, it is clear that calling and equipping disciples is the work of the Christian community. The letter as a whole sets forth what it means to be “in Christ,” and describes the overarching dynamic of the Christian community as egalitarian unity, in which the gifts of each member are recognized, called forth, supported, and celebrated.

In the many call stories found in scripture, one commonality exists: the person called does not feel equipped to do the work. Moses objected that he had a stutter; Gideon, that he was the least man of the least clan of his tribe; Jeremiah, that he was too young; and Isaiah, that he was a man of unclean lips. Mary wondered how her call was even possible given her unmarried, virgin status. It’s as though God seeks out the very folks who feel least qualified, thinking, “I see some humility there—I can work with that!”

What do the call stories in scripture and those of Sarah Righter Major, and my grandmother, have to teach us about what it means to call and equip disciples?

First, faith communities need to listen deeply for signs of what might be a calling. What activities within or outside the church make each person light up like my young friend? What burning desires are present, perhaps needing an invitation to be spoken?

Second, we need to expect to be surprised—both by our own callings and the callings of others. The very person who seems least qualified might have the humility God needs to equip her for the task. Who have we overlooked because they did not fit our preconceived notions of who or what a called person looks like, is, or does?

Finally, our congregations need to provide support for each person as they respond to and live out their calling. The difference between Sarah Righter Major and my grandmother is that Sarah had support.

Let us listen deeply for the deep gladness that makes each member of our communities come alive, expecting to be surprised and ready to provide support so that none of God’s abundantly given gifts and talents are wasted.

Sending

God who calls us into the work and blessing of community, strengthen our hearing so that we might listen ever more deeply for our own callings and those of our church family. Stretch our imaginations that we might better expect surprises regarding who you are calling and what you would have us do. Open our hearts that we might surround with loving support each calling as it is lived into and lived out. Amen.