If this be heresy...

I was scared to death. Teaching a Sunday School class in a small southern town, I was scared. I hadn't slept well the night before. I knew what I had to say, and I was scared. And one member made me most nervous: Dave, a wonderful Christian man, conservative without being a fire-eater, gentle, humbly hard-working, the church lay leader, and the very man you want for your church lay leader.

Little churches start little and they stay little; and they stay little for a reason. How do you offer the love of Jesus to your community and never bring in at least one new member? How can you share Jesus' love without anyone, ANYONE responding?

They all think they are friendly, loving churches. And they are, friendly, and loving, to each other. Now, strangers on the other hand....

But this was a large church, a church with more than 1,000 members. Lately its community has undergone the transition from almost totally white to several ethnic groups. The "white flight" of the 60's continues. The big white churches shrink. It's getting harder to make budget, harder to pay for staff. The children's choirs are tiny, the youth choir is nearly extinct. The youth group, for that matter, is nearly extinct. The parents of the youth are becoming hostile and vicious, as if it were the church staff's fault. But still, a large church, large enough for diverse opinions, liberals and conservatives. And this is a great class, unafraid of controversy, unafraid of new ideas.

We started this class. We named it "Cheers", after the bar in the sitcom. We call it "the class where everybody knows your name". And we provide refreshments. We've loved this class.

Today I have to tell this class something that has been growing in my heart for months. It's something that is changing my life. I wish I had heard it when I was in my 20's. Now, in my 50's, it's hard to fight off the protests from other parts of my mind that I'm too old, that it's too late, that the habits of a half a century are too deeply rooted. But if my insight is right, if the idea hits you at 50, 50 is soon enough.

But this idea also flies in the face of so much that so many have considered so fundamentally Christian for so many centuries! Can so many have been that wrong?

Mark Twain pointed out that the story of Noah demonstrates conslusively that the majority can be wrong.

I launched into my lesson, working my way slowly to the point. I didn't have to talk too much. This class is great at discussion. If there's any problem teaching them it's that it takes some effort to keep them on the subject. And, truly, often we find more value off the subject than we could ever had gotten from what I had planned. I kept them going where I wanted. And finally I took the plunge:

"You've read John 14:12: 'Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.' [NRSV] Do you realize that this means that, if Jesus did it, we can do it too?"

Breathlessly I waited for their response. I looked right at Dave.

And, slowly, soberly, as if he had already come to this conclusion himself, he nodded, looking into my eyes.