The late founder of the Apple Incorporated, Steve Jobs, was probably one of the most influential people in the world over the past 40 years. From the introduction of Apple’s first computer in 1977, to the latest iPhones and MacBooks, Apple under Jobs has led the way. The beautifully designed Macintosh in 1984 with a thing called “a mouse” and its graphical user interface sat on a corner of the work desk rather than take up the whole thing. Without Jobs in the mid-80s and 90s Apple almost collapsed, while Jobs went on to have some success with NeXt Computers, and a whole lot of success transforming a small animation studio, Pixar, into a multi-billion dollar industry. His return to Apple in the late 1990s gave the impetus for it to become the largest company in the world.
Each year, Apple would host the World Wide Development Conference and year after year, they have given the world innovation after innovation. In the process, they’ve changed our lives. It became a thing within these conferences for Steve Jobs to set out most of what Apple had been working on. The latest crown jewels would be out on display, everyone would be happy, Jobs would give a big farewell wave to the audience … and then a twitch, a glint in his eye, a smile; Steve Jobs would turn back to the crowd and say, “And one more thing…” It was always met with glee and applause for his “one more thing” was always something special. With the words, “And one more thing …” the world was introduced us to the metal, unibody, Macbooks with multi-touch track pads in 2008. In 2006, it was the ability to download movies from iTunes; it revolutionized how people purchased movies. In 2005, it was the iPod Shuffle; in 2012 it was FaceTime, the ability to call someone on a mobile phone and see them at the same time.
“And one more thing,” I don’t know if it’s true or not but somewhere in my research I read that the smart phones we hold in our hands these days have more powerful computing capabilities than the computers that were used by NASA to land the lunar module in 1969. If that’s true, it’s unbelievable, and Steve Jobs had something to do with the progress and what goes into these devices.
“And one more thing …” Over three Sundays, we have been looking at the Letter of Jude, a very short letter, tucked away in our New Testaments just before the book of Revelation. As one reads through Jude we learn about the early Christians in Judaea, we learn that there were individuals in the early Christian communities who held to false gospels and they were leading Christians astray. Some of these individuals were against the law; they deemed that they could live any way they felt like living, just believe in Jesus and everything would be okay, God would always be gracious. Some were against Christ; they questioned Jesus’ role as messiah and Lord and encouraged others to do the same. Jude asks Christians to stand up for the true gospel; stand up for the holy faith that you’ve received from the apostles of our Lord. He gives them advice for living and says, “While waiting for God, build yourselves up in this most holy faith, pray in the holy Spirit, and keep in the love of God by following his ways.” … and then, like Steve Jobs, it’s as if Jude gives that theatrical, farewell wave but turns back and says, “And one more thing…” “And one more thing,” while waiting for God, “Convince some who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; on yet others have mercy with fear, hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.” Just as Steve Jobs saved some of his best announcements for last, Jude saves perhaps his most challenging words for last. They are super-challenging for us today in a postmodern environment because at their core, they reveal a mindset so sure of the good news they had heard from the apostles, so sure of a coming judgement, and so sure of eternal life in Christ Jesus that they encourage Christians to do as much as they can to ensure that others would have eternal life too. When Jude turns and says, “And one more thing…” he is encouraging Christians to love others & think about what we might call mission, evangelism, and making disciples.
It is interesting that this comes to us at this point in United Church history. Just last week, United Church moderator, Gary Paterson, wrote a blog entitled, “Reclaiming Loaded Words: ‘Come and See’ Evangelism.” In it he wrote of the history of the United Church and its founding denominations and he said that we used to have a rich tradition of evangelism. For years, he notes, we had a major department at General Council called “Evangelism and Social Service.” We used to think that acting upon the gospel and speaking about good news were inextricably linked. But then, they were separated, he wrote; "and then evangelism was muted.”
Since, perhaps, the 1970s the word “evangelism” has taken on all sorts of stereotypes and been viewed quite negatively by many in main line churches. It was associated with colonialism, the promulgation of European cultural values. Changing views of what it means to be “tolerant” have undercut the very possibility of evangelism. Years ago, “tolerance” meant that a person was basically respectful of others and their differences. In more recent times, “tolerance” has come to mean an acceptance of other views as equal. It has come to mean that we shouldn’t impose, or even share our views with others because theirs are every bit as good as ours and if we share, it means we think ours are better. The presupposition that none was better than another meant that very idea of evangelism has been frowned upon.
Yet, when we think about it, not all ideas are equal; not all ideas are good. The idea that two plus two makes five is not a good idea. And not all religious ideas are good. The idea of using marijuana or other drugs to invoke a supposed spiritual high is not a good idea. The new-age religious thought that would take us back to animism and ancient polytheism, while they appeal to some, lack validity. They’re not good religious ideas. Postmoderns may not like the idea that some ideas are better than others, but it’s a fact neither they nor we can get away from. Some religions are better than others. Christianity, for instance, is not based on religious ideas, but on accounts of God acting in history. And when these accounts are witnessed by many, many people, then they take on levels of credibility. What we know about Jesus comes from many witnesses and deserves our attention.
Jude had a terrific gospel that had been handed down to him by those who were around Jesus, the first apostles. They were the primary eyewitnesses to his life, his teaching, his death, his resurrection. What they had seen with Jesus had been so amazing that they could do nothing but tell others about it. The apostles were not after personal gain with this message, in some cases they had to make sacrifices to get it out there. They had seen something that knocked their socks off and it was this that gave birth to the Church. It was this that gave the Church its raison d’etre. The message had credible witnesses and was, and is, so important to human beings that it needs to continue to be told.
New Testament scholar William Barclay said that when the Church stops telling others, it ceases to be the Church. Finally, after many years, a United Church moderator has come out and asked us to reclaim words like evangelism, mission, and discipleship. In terms of evangelism, he basically invites us to invite others, not by shoving a message down their throats but by simply inviting them “to come and see;” come and see what this faith is all about. Gary Patterson suggests a low key, welcoming, invitational outreach that others may hear good news. He’s saying that we need to become more missional in our outlook.
If we are really to regain this word, evangelism, we need a few things. The first is passion, we need to get a whole lot more passionate about this faith that we say is ours. Dr. Stirling and I bought tickets for Wednesday night’s Toronto F.C. game against British Premier League team, Sunderland A.F.C. It was a wonderful summer evening, bright sunshine, a temperature that was just right, and we were able to watch some of the top players in the game move the ball around. We were both struck, however, by the enthusiasm of the Sunderland spectators at the north end of the park. Many were decked out in their red and white striped Sunderland shirts, they were waving flags, singing and cheering, encouraging their team on. I spoke to some of the spectators during half time. Some hadn’t seen their Sunderland team play in decades because they now lived here. To say they were excited would be an understatement. The enthusiasm, they had, the passion that goes back to their youth was still there when their team walked out onto the field.
Many of us can be filled with passion for a soccer team, for a hockey team, for a favourite musician, or a pop group. When they come on stage, out on the field or the ice, we get animated, excited, and happy. We need to find some of that when it comes to our faith. Jesus came to give us eternal life, to show us a better way, to help us. While here, he gave sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, made lame people walk. To cap it all, when he was killed, he revealed that there is more to life than this by rising. If the Leafs ever win the Stanley Cup, we will all cheer in Toronto, but winning the Stanley Cup, if you think about it, is nothing compared to what Jesus did. I’m not sure how Christianity became so staid, but it doesn’t have to be; we could use a bit more passion and enthusiasm about what God has done and is doing in our world.
Also, if we are to regain the word “evangelism,” we need to get out there. It may come as a surprise to some but most young people today don’t sit around on Saturday evening discussing where to go to Church the next morning. No 20- or 30-something in Toronto sat in a coffee shop or bar this week with a friend and asked, “Are you going to Timothy Eaton this Sunday?” They’re not talking about us and they’re not coming, so we need to get out there.
A while ago, I heard Jamie Haith of Holy Trinity Brompton, a Church of England parish, talk about how they didn’t expect anyone to come to them, so they rented space in a seedy bar in Soho, in London, and started a Student Alpha course. It was amazing, he said, how people, even young people would sit around with a pint of beer and discuss Christianity. Some became Christians through this ministry, and others wanted to know more and came to check out the Church. Now, I’m not sure what we could do in Toronto but we should start to think about the words of Jesus. At the end of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus parting words were not, “If you build it they will come;” Jesus words were “Go into all the world and tell others about the good news.”
So, we need passion for the gospel and we need to get out there. Thirdly, if we’re going to do this with good effect we need to avoid the stereotypes and be real, normal and authentic and have a good sense of what it is we believe. These days, people can smell a phony a mile away we need to be normal people who just happen to have faith and be appropriate in our sharing of it. That Holy Trinity Church in London has become quite large. So much, in fact that even prime ministers have gone to check it out. One of the priests there tells a story about former Prime minister, Tony Blair. One day, he came by for tea with the vicars to see what was going on. The Prime Minister got talking to one of the priests and asked him, “So what’s your story?” The priest said, “Well, when I first came to London, I went to work in Harrods. I worked in children’s shoes. I had very cramped toes.” And Tony Blair shook his head for a moment and then smiled. The priest went on and they laughed together. Finally, Blair turned to Nicky Gumbel, the top dog there now, and said, “How do you get these people?” The younger priest thought, “Oh, oh! What’s he thinking?” But Tony Blair went on, “How do you get these people, they’re all so normal.” … And then the young priest thought to himself, “What was he expecting? People with green heads or something?” Unfortunately, there are stereotypes out there about how Christians are … but being normal un-does all of that. It takes people by surprise. It sets people at ease, helps them be more open to thoughts and ideas and even the gospel.
So let’s get out there. Let’s think again about the great gift that Jesus gives us and get some passion about it. And let’s be normal people who just happen to have found a great treasure that we want to share with others.
In closing, I heard a story the other day of a dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks often occur. On that coast, apparently there was once a little life-saving station. The building was primitive, and there was just one boat, but the members of the life-saving station were committed and kept a constant watch over the sea. When a ship went down, they unselfishly went out day or night to save the lost. Because so many lives were saved by that station, it became quite famous and consequently, many people wanted to be associated with the station to give their time, talent, and money to support its important work. A new boat was bought, new crews were recruited, a formal training session was offered. As the membership in the life-saving station grew, some of the members became unhappy that the building was so primitive and that the equipment was so outdated. They wanted a better place to welcome the survivors pulled from the sea. So they replaced the emergency cots with beds and put better furniture in the enlarged and newly decorated building.
Now the life-saving station became a popular gathering place for its members. They met regularly and when they did, it was apparent how they loved one another. They greeted each other, hugged each other, and shared with one another the events that had been going on in their lives. But fewer members were now interested in going to sea on life-saving missions; so they hired lifeboat crews to do this for them. About this time, a large ship was wrecked off of the coast, and the hired crews brought into the life-saving station boatloads of cold, wet, dirty, and half-drowned people. Some were first-class cabin passengers of the ship, and some were the deck hands. The beautiful meeting place became a place of chaos. The plush carpets got dirty. Some of the exquisite furniture got scratched. So the property committee immediately had a shower built outside the house where the victims of shipwreck could be cleaned up before coming inside.
At the next meeting there was rift in the membership. Most of the members wanted to stop the club's life-saving activities, for they were unpleasant and a hindrance to the normal activities of the members. Other members insisted that life-saving was their primary purpose and pointed out that they were still called a life-saving station. But they were finally voted down and told that if they wanted to save the lives of all those various kinds of people who would be shipwrecked, they could begin their own life-saving station down the coast. And do you know what? That is what they did.
As the years passed, the new station experienced the same changes that had occurred in the old. It evolved into a place to meet regularly for fellowship, for committee meetings, and for special training sessions about their mission, but few went out to the drowning people. The drowning people were no longer welcomed in that new life-saving station. So another life-saving station was founded further down the coast. History continued to repeat itself. And if you visit that seacoast today, you will find a number of adequate meeting places with ample parking and plush carpeting. Shipwrecks are still frequent in those waters, but most of the people drown.
The story reminds us to think about what we are here for. Jude reminds us what we’re here for. Let us remember what we’re here for!