Congregational Care
Stories
Lectionary Tales For The Pulpit
Series IV, Cycle B
Congregational Care
Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. (vv. 14-16a)
A few years back, I preached a sermon on James 5:13-20 titled "Congregational Care." The focus of the message was the biblical principle that the members of the church are called to care for one another. James urges the members to summon the church elders when they needed prayer for healing and forgiveness of sins. From my perspective, it was a strong and well-presented sermon that expressed the Reformation belief of the priesthood of all believers. At one point I said, "In a day where we believe the minister is paid to do it all, James reminds us that pastoral care lies with the people."
Before I even had a chance to leave the sanctuary, a woman in the congregation trapped me near a stained-glass window depicting the Holy Bible. She immediately said, "Mrs. S______ hasn't been to church lately, and I was wondering if you would go check on her?"
Lately? Mrs. S______ was an inactive member of the church. She hadn't been in church for years, not even for a funeral. Since I had never met the woman, I didn't figure she wanted me showing up at her house trying to woo her back to church. All kinds of research shows that church dropouts are angry with somebody in the church, either the pastor or another member. They are the hardest people to reach.
How did I respond to the request? Well, I fumbled and stumbled. I think I said something like, "I'll see what I can do." The truth of the matter was that it really didn't matter who I was asked to go see. Since I had just preached a sermon outlining the call for the church members to take care of each other, I was flabbergasted at the request.
I don't expect people to remember exactly what I preached six months ago. I'm usually shocked when they do. However, I do have expectations that they will retain the message at least six minutes after the worship service concludes. I was left with two conclusions: Either she disagreed with what James had to say in the Holy Scriptures or she fell asleep during the sermon. Since my preaching has never caused anyone over the age of ten to slumber, I have to believe she disagreed with the sermon and sought a direct challenge.
In the earliest times of the church, there weren't set aside ministers. The people were the church. This is what James is saying; and in the early days of Methodism, the circuit-riding preachers rode horseback as they served several churches. They showed up to hatch, match, and dispatch. (For the less informed, that's baptisms, weddings, and funerals.) When the circuit rider wasn't around, the people were the church. They were the ones to visit the sick, teach Sunday school, and invite their neighbors. The church counted on the circuit rider to show up from time to time to bring a little revival. The rest of the time, the congregation lived out the faith without him.
The ordained minister is not a hired gun that is paid to live out the faith on behalf of the congregation. The regular Christians are called to be in faith with each other.
Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. (vv. 14-16a)
A few years back, I preached a sermon on James 5:13-20 titled "Congregational Care." The focus of the message was the biblical principle that the members of the church are called to care for one another. James urges the members to summon the church elders when they needed prayer for healing and forgiveness of sins. From my perspective, it was a strong and well-presented sermon that expressed the Reformation belief of the priesthood of all believers. At one point I said, "In a day where we believe the minister is paid to do it all, James reminds us that pastoral care lies with the people."
Before I even had a chance to leave the sanctuary, a woman in the congregation trapped me near a stained-glass window depicting the Holy Bible. She immediately said, "Mrs. S______ hasn't been to church lately, and I was wondering if you would go check on her?"
Lately? Mrs. S______ was an inactive member of the church. She hadn't been in church for years, not even for a funeral. Since I had never met the woman, I didn't figure she wanted me showing up at her house trying to woo her back to church. All kinds of research shows that church dropouts are angry with somebody in the church, either the pastor or another member. They are the hardest people to reach.
How did I respond to the request? Well, I fumbled and stumbled. I think I said something like, "I'll see what I can do." The truth of the matter was that it really didn't matter who I was asked to go see. Since I had just preached a sermon outlining the call for the church members to take care of each other, I was flabbergasted at the request.
I don't expect people to remember exactly what I preached six months ago. I'm usually shocked when they do. However, I do have expectations that they will retain the message at least six minutes after the worship service concludes. I was left with two conclusions: Either she disagreed with what James had to say in the Holy Scriptures or she fell asleep during the sermon. Since my preaching has never caused anyone over the age of ten to slumber, I have to believe she disagreed with the sermon and sought a direct challenge.
In the earliest times of the church, there weren't set aside ministers. The people were the church. This is what James is saying; and in the early days of Methodism, the circuit-riding preachers rode horseback as they served several churches. They showed up to hatch, match, and dispatch. (For the less informed, that's baptisms, weddings, and funerals.) When the circuit rider wasn't around, the people were the church. They were the ones to visit the sick, teach Sunday school, and invite their neighbors. The church counted on the circuit rider to show up from time to time to bring a little revival. The rest of the time, the congregation lived out the faith without him.
The ordained minister is not a hired gun that is paid to live out the faith on behalf of the congregation. The regular Christians are called to be in faith with each other.
