One of the songs that has fallen into disfavor with many Christians--especially since the Vietnam War--is the grand old hymn, Onward Christian Soldiers. It is too militaristic say some. And perhaps it is. We need to be reminded that early Christians refused to bear arms. They trusted in God, not the weapons of war. Christians must always regard war as a drastic action reserved for the most desperate of situations. Others say Onward Christian Soldiers is too triumphalist. It is not sensitive to the presence of people of other religious persuasions in the world. This is increasingly a concern in our own land--since many Christians today live side-by-side not only with Jews, but also Moslems, Hindus and Buddhists as well. Our friends and neighbors of other religious persuasions might get a little nervous if we marched out of here in lockstep singing, "Forward into battle, see his banners go."
Still, on this Memorial Day weekend--when we remember all those who have died in the Lord, but particularly those in uniform who died serving our country--it would be well to use the metaphor of an army to remind us of the peculiar characteristics of the church of Jesus Christ. For, in many ways, the church is like an army.
ONE WAY THE CHURCH IS LIKE AN ARMY IS IN ITS UNITY. In our lesson for the day, Jesus prays: "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you." (NIV) Jesus prayed that we would be one. Jesus prayed that our church would be characterized by unity. That doesn't just mean that we won't be bickering or fighting. It means that we will be there for one another. It means we will lift one another up in times of need.
In the newsletter, NET RESULTS a story is told concerning the distinguished pastor Dr. Dale Galloway, who is now on the faculty of Asbury Theological Seminary. Dr. Galloway had the joy of building from scratch a 6,400 member church in Portland, Oregon. The church is called New Hope Community Church.
Galloway tells the story of a single mother who belonged to the church along with her son. She was involved in a women's group at the church. One of the members of that group said, "Donna, you look yellow. Have you been to a doctor?" Donna said that she couldn't afford insurance. The group took up an offering and sent her for a checkup. The doctor found a serious problem with her liver. Without a liver transplant in the next six weeks, she would die.
Doctors told her that specialists at a hospital in Texas could perform the operation for $140,000. (This was ten years ago.) The situation appeared to be impossible.
The women in the small group went to talk to the pastor about whether the church could do something for Donna. The pastor was troubled. They were completing a building addition and were $400,000 in debt. He was convinced that the church was financially tapped out and he was losing sleep over money as it was. But as he prayed about Donna's situation, he was convicted that the church had to help. A lay leader whose business was known across the city agreed to be honorary chair of the effort. It would be called "Save My Mom." Another person volunteered to give the next six weeks working full-time on the project.
That Sunday, the pastor shared the need of this mother with his congregation and was shocked when $60,000 in cash was given. The next day, the pastor received an invitation to testify before the Oregon legislature with Donna about the issue of people who couldn't afford insurance. A major newspaper took a picture and ran it on the front page. People started bringing jars of money from bars. Kids brought in their allowance. TV stations joined in the publicity. The effort raised $220,000 in seven days, and Donna, check in hand, went to Texas for the transplant. (1)
A decade later, when people talk about that church, they do not talk about their new building. They talk about the love, the caring that mother received. That's how Jesus wants us to be. Someone has said that the church is the only army that shoots its wounded. What a horrible indictment of us as a people. Often, when people fail for one reason or another, they drop out of church. They don't want anyone to know. Heaven help us if that should occur in this church. We are a family. We are the body of Christ. Jesus prayed that we would be unified so that the world might believe in the reality of God. That brings us to the second way the church is to be like an army.
THE CHURCH IS TO BE LIKE AN ARMY IN ITS PURPOSEFULNESS. An army that forgets its purpose is in trouble.
The late Dr. Clarence McCartney, that famous Presbyterian pastor from Pittsburgh, PA, often told his congregation of a dream he had. In his dream he saw the Lord seated upon His throne, and on either side of His throne stood the great angels--Uriel, the Angel of Light--Raphael, the Angel of Reason--Michael, the Angel of the Sword, and Gabriel, the Angel of Holy Song. Before the throne stood another Angel, the Angel of the Book, and by his side a mortal. The Lord on the throne said to the Angel of the Book, "Who is this that you have brought, and what are his claims?" The Angel looked in the Book and said, "O King, this man was a great inventor, and shed light on the pathway of man through the world." The Lord said, "Send him up, and let him stand here by the side of Uriel, the Angel of Light."
Then the Angel of the Book brought another before the throne. The King looked on him and said, "Who is this, and what are his claims?" The angel looked in the book and said, "This man was a great philosopher, a thinker, who thought great thoughts about Thee." The Lord said "Send him up, and let him stand here by the side of Raphael, the Angel of Reason."
Then the angel brought a third man before the throne. The King looked upon him and said, "Who is this, and what are his claims?" The angel looked in his book and said, "This was a great patriot. With his sword he delivered his people out of the hands of despots and tyrants." The Lord said, "Send him up and let him stand beside Michael, the Angel of the Sword."
Then the angel brought a fourth man up. The Lord said, "Who is this, and what are his claims?" The angel said, "This man sang holy songs in praise of God, some which still echo through the Church of the Living God." The Lord said, "Send him up and let him stand beside Gabriel, the Angel of the Holy Song."
Then the angel brought forth a fifth one. "When I saw him," said McCartney, "I wondered who he was--and why he had been brought before the throne, for in his person I saw no note of greatness--and in his eye no flash of genius." The King looked upon him and said, "Who is this and what are his claims?" The angel looked in his book and said, "This man worked in a factory and won 10 souls for Christ." At that moment all heaven rang with a great shout--angels and archangels, cherubim and seraphim, and all the host of the redeemed rejoiced over 10 lost souls that had been redeemed. (2)
Let us be clear about our purpose: we are to save those who are lost.
Now, Christians define "lost" in different ways. Some people count anyone who does not believe in Jesus as lost. Other would say those who are oppressed in an unjust society are the lost. My own faith is that anyone who for any reason needs to experience the love of God as exemplified in Jesus Christ should be counted by us as the lost who need to be found. Our purpose as a congregation is to touch the life of anyone who is hurting, anyone who is feeling unloved, anyone who doesn't know why he or she is taking up space in this world. Our purpose is to be a beacon of hope for the hopeless, a beacon of joy for those who are in despair, a beacon of peace for those who are in torment, a beacon of love for those who have been used and abused. Our purpose is to reach people who need the love of Jesus.
An army that forgets its key objective is in trouble. An army that gets too scattered in its purpose will be ineffective. In his book, Leadership for a Changing Church, Robert Dale uses this analogy: Suppose you were walking down a real street in Kokomo, IN and you read this actual sign: "Burgers, Fries, Shakes [and] Bait." Would that sign cause you to want to visit that establishment? Would you, Dale asks, consider any store where menu options might include "a cheeseburger with a side order of night crawlers" to have lost its strategic focus? We need to remember why we are in business: we are here to serve people in the name of Jesus Christ. (3)
A FINAL WAY THE CHURCH IS TO BE LIKE AN ARMY IS IN ITS DEVOTION TO ITS COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF. We have one leader as the church of Jesus Christ, and that is our risen Lord.
More than 20 years ago Jerry B. Jenkins wrote the book, THE WORLD'S STRONGEST MAN, with Paul Anderson. Anderson was the 1956 Olympic weight lifting gold medalist. He stood 5'9" and weighed 375 pounds. He was a strongman, says Jenkins, not a body-builder, and to the uninformed he might have appeared fat.
Anderson's massive trunk allowed him to lift weights his competitors couldn't even imagine. One of his feats that may never be approached is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records. It was his back lift of more than 3 tons. Though Anderson often seemed self-promotional, those who knew him well knew better. The money he raised in countless strength shows was pumped into the boys' homes he ran in Georgia. He would announce what he planned to do, and then do it, whether lifting a table carrying the 20 biggest people from the audience or driving a nail through two boards with only a hanky protecting his palm. Then he would announce, "If I, the strongest man in the world, can't get through one day without Jesus Christ, what about you?"
Once in an airport, Anderson overheard a man saying, "Jesus Christ!" in anger. Anderson came up behind him, wrapped his arms around the man's waist and easily lifted him aloft. "Where is He?" boomed Anderson, referring to Christ. "He's a friend of mine!" The man, nearly frozen in fear, squirmed to look down at the human fire hydrant holding him in the air. And he said the wrong thing: "Oh, my God!"
Anderson said, "That's Him! Where is He?!"
"I dare say," says Jenkins, "that man never again took the Lord's name in vain. At least not without looking around first." (4)
Paul Anderson stood up for his commander-in-chief. Wouldn't it be great if all of us could be as forthright?--though I would warn against picking up strangers in airports and holding them above our head. What would be even more effective would be carrying out the assignment our commander-in-chief has given us--to seek out the sick and the dying and to bring them to Jesus.
Dr. David Livingstone was a Scottish missionary who traveled to Africa in the 1840s to spread the word of God. Africa was largely unexplored by Europeans at that time; few maps existed of the continent. That didn't stop David Livingstone; he willingly explored vast reaches of territory and made meticulous maps as he went along. In 1869, Livingstone lost contact with the outside world. Two years later, explorer Henry Stanley went to Africa to find him.
Stanley found Livingstone in a remote part of Africa. He was profoundly touched by the doctor's faith and courage. Stanley returned to England. In 1873, news reached Henry Stanley that Dr. Livingstone had died. He was found kneeling by his bedside in prayer. Not long afterwards, Henry Stanley returned to Africa to continue Dr. Livingstone's work of mapping out the continent. (5) He had been touched by the level of Livingstone's commitment. Now he would ensure that Livingstone's work had not been in vain. Memorial Day is a day for remembering that we walk in the footsteps of people with an extraordinary commitment to their commander-in-chief.
So, even if Onward Christian Soldiers is not our favorite hymn, let it remind us that in some ways we are like an army--in our unity, in our purposefulness and in our devotion to our commander-in-chief.
1. May 1998 edition, Cokesbury, page 20.
3. From a sermon by Eric Ritz.
4. (Nashville: Abingdon, 1998), pp. 81-82.
5. Moody, November 1994, p. 6.
5.Tim Storey, It's Time for Your Comeback (Tulsa, OK: Harrison House, 1998), pp. 60-62.