If you have heard it said once, you have heard it said a thousand times, "The church. The church. All the church wants is my money. Money, money, money. They may start out gently and nicely but don't worry, they are going to slip into your life and then dip into your back pocket. That is just the way churches are."

Or, some say the church is absolutely dull. It is "dullsville." It is the same old platitudes over and over again. It is "Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so." Same tune, second verse. "Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so." Over and over and over again. The same prayers. The same songs. The same sermons. The same ideas. The same phraseology. We have heard this so many times before that we can come to church, turn off the intellectual engine, sleep right through it, wake up six months later and it would not be any different.

I love that paraphrase of Martin Luther's hymn, "Like a mighty tortoise, moves the church of God. Brothers we are treading, where we have always trod." Over and over and over again. Others say, "The church; its people are kind of boring. It is not only the worship service which is boring, but church people are kind of boring as well. Stuffed shirts. Holier than thous. Religion is a crutch for weak people. Weak, sick and old people lean on their crutches. And besides, the church is a bunch of hypocrites. They are Sunday only Christians. Do you know what that so-called Christian did to me on Monday? What a hypocrite. Church people are those who just can't kick the religious habit."

Or, others say, they can be a good Christian without going to church. "I believe in Christianity, not churchianity. I believe that there is no need for me to come to church. I have my personal faith, my personal God. I don't need the church to be religious; all I need is God to be religious." Still others say, "The church and its teachings are intellectually absurd. I no longer can accept the credibility of Genesis or the edibility of Jonah. Twenty-first century people don't believe that stuff any more as a coin being found in the mouth of a fish than a man being found in the belly of a fish. That's too much for me to swallow." Pun intended.

Others still say, they have been burned by the church. "When I needed the church, the church wasn't there to help. The pastor. You should have seen what he did to my family. Talk about insensitive. If that is the way preachers are, you better believe that my husband won't come back, and after my run in with the pastor, I won't be back either. Preachers, for the most part, are boring, and think that they are always right and holier than thou."

And so, it is with these warm and comforting images of the church that we approach our gospel lesson for today. This is only one of two times that the word, "church," is used in the gospels. Of course, there is Mathew 16 when Jesus said, "You are Peter and on this rock I will build my church and you will have the keys to the kingdom." We find the concept and language about the church from Matthew 18 today. The basic idea is this:

"If you are having problems with a certain someone in church and that person appears to have some fault that is contributing to the conflict, go and talk "one on one" with your brother or sister. If you are still having problems and conflicts within the church, talk with two or three more people in the church. Three or four wise people are better than two. If that person still does not listen, then talk to the whole assembly. And pray about the conflict. Ask God to help for his discernment. Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."

And so this passage for today is describing these inevitable conflicts in the church, and how to solve those conflicts with the Spirit, love and forgiveness of Jesus. The word, "church," is a very common word used by the Apostle Paul, but in the four gospels, the word, "church," occurs in two places. So today I would like to focus on the Greek word, "ecclesia," which means church or fellowship. Let's talk about the church. There are five themes in today's sermon.

First, I would like to begin by saying that Christ is the head of the church. Now, that concept is not emphasized in Matthew, but it is emphasized in Paul's letters. It needs to be clearly said: that Christ is the center of the church. Everything around the church is focused on Jesus Christ. You see, the temptation today is always to replace Christ with success. It is a very easy trap to be caught by in American culture....
Now, for many people, they want to be personally successful so they also unconsciously want to be part of a successful church. Successful churches are to grow bigger and better, with pretty sanctuaries and pretty music and pretty programs and pretty people and pretty preaching and pretty talented leadership.

The good news is subtly replaced by good times. The gospel is replaced by pretty and vibrant preaching. The cross of Jesus Christ which invites us to love and suffer with people in the neighborhood and around the globe is replaced by colorful programs. It happens very subtly. The cross is replaced by programs and activities. The social compatibility becomes more important than Jesus Christ. Style becomes more important than substance. They want a church that will meet their needs. This is especially true here in the United States. You've heard me say that the fastest growing churches in the U.S. are the new evangelical churches, also known as the emergent church. Well, these churches and their leaders are preaching and teaching a gospel that isn't the gospel where texts are misinterpreted, twisted and debated. The divinity of Christ is questioned, the existence of hell is debated and the atoning work of Christ may be just one of many ways to heaven.

Ann and I served in two different churches in the south. It is more of a cultural thing down there than it is up here, that being that you often would hear a church referred to as 'Rev. so and so's church.' You don't hear that much up hear, but when someone told me that they were asked about The Sanctuary, they replied, "Oh, that's Rev. Art Wiegand's church", I cringed. I said, "Whoa. It's not my church. I may be a pastor, but it's Christ's church."

It's funny. I have a plastic western style badge taped to a picture in the office. Every time I sit at my desk I see that badge. Someone asked me once if that badge said that I was the sheriff of this here town. I laughed and said, "It's not that at all. That badge is there to remind me that 'we don't need no stinking badges'. I may be a pastor, but I'm just like you. Your giftedness is as important to this church as mine. That badge is there to remind me that I don't need to wear God's gift given to me in grace like a badge. I struggle to live in his grace gift every day. I have to yield to the Holy Spirit just like you. If you've known me for any length of time, you know I do it some days better than others. This church is a congregation that belongs to Jesus Christ's church.

I guarantee you, if you have a problem with idealizing your pastors, you are going to be disappointed. For they are not going to care for you and love you in the way that you want And if you are mesmerized with a quality of a program in the church, I guarantee you that in time, it too will deteriorate. For that is the way it is with all congregations.

One more thing: when you die and cross the bar and go to the other side of existence, a successful pastor or a successful church are not going to be there to meet you. The person who will be there to meet you is Jesus Christ.

At the heart of all Christian congregations is Jesus Christ who is the head. The purpose of every congregation throughout all history is to lift up Jesus Christ, so that people are bonded to the beauty, the forgiveness, and the eternal love of Jesus Christ.

A second theme: When I think of the word, "church," I also think of the word, "sinners," people like you and me. In the gospel passage for today, we find that when somebody has sinned, another person goes and talks to him or her, and says, "You know, you are doing something here which is not real healthy for you and others." But that person would not listen. So you get two or three other members of the church community and the three friends to and talk with their friend about this problem. But the friend would still not listen. Then the whole community of the church assembled together, perhaps thirty or forty people in those days, listen to the complaint. The complaint becomes public.

As you read this story in the gospel for today, you realize that the heart of the church is to help each other to deal with our sinfulness. The church, the friends at church becomes a family and we as a church family are to help each other with our imperfections, our unhealthy patterns, and the way we sin against each other and ourselves. The church is to become a family that helps each other with one's flaws. That is what families always do. We help each other to grow up and become mature people.

You are very unfortunate if you have no one to help you with your sinfulness and imperfection, with your defects of character, with the pieces of your personality which are not so healthy. We all have these imperfections, these flaws, these deficits. All of us. There is no exception. You are very unfortunate person if you have no one to talk with you honestly about your weaknesses in order to help you mature and grow into wholeness. That is one of the purposes of the church. We are to be like family who loves each other with loving honesty about our strengths and our weaknesses.

There is aimost nothing worse in the world than religious people who think they are holier or better or less sinful than other people. I love the limerick which says, "The power of hell is strongest when the odor of sanctity creates the smell." Yes, the odor of self-righteousness does stink.

Martin Luther said a similar thing when he wrote: "0 Lord, deliver me from Christian churches with nothing but Christian saints in them. I want to remain in and be part of a church which is a little flock of faint-hearted people, weak people, who know and feel their sin, their poverty, their misery, and they believe in the forgiveness of God." That is what Luther wanted. Nothing about colorful programs. Nothing about great music. Nothing about great preaching. What Martin Luther wanted was to be part of community which had faint hearted and weak people who know and feel their need for forgiveness. Luther wanted to be part of a real family, a Christian family, a small family that cared for each other.

I like the following definition of a church. "The church is somewhat like Noah's ark. If it were not for the storm outside, you couldn't stand the smell inside." That is true. There is that smell to the church. The smell of sin. The church stinks. The church is filled with sinful people, but let me tell you, outside the church it is even worse. It is crazy out there. It is absurd what is going on in that world out there. Knowing how terrifying it is out there, I will gladly live inside the smell of Noah's ark. It is amazing to me that Christ is our brother, the Holy Spirit is our advocate, and that God sees us as a pure and holy people. We don't need no stinking badges.

At the heart of the church, we are like a small family who helps each other deal with our sinfulness. Is it not true that you need help? That I need help? To live as a human being because of the shadow side of our personalities? Do you and I not need help with that? The church? The church is Christ. The church? The church is a family of imperfect people who help each other mature in love.

The third thought for today is this: the word, "church," means fellowship, a gathering, a grouping. The passage for today says that "wherever two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them." The church is a community of loving people. The church is a community of people who love you, know your name, and are concerned about you. Is it not important for you that as a member of a church, that people know your name? Is not that your right? "Cheers!" Isn't it that they know what you struggle with? Isn't that at the heart of a church? Where you are known and loved as a friend?

A while ago, I read a piece of research that I'm finding to be fundamentally true: I call it Friendship 1/7. If a new person at church has seven new friends within a year, one hundred percent of those people stay. If a new person has three or fewer friends, ninety-two percent drop out of the church. I know that people attend a church because they like the vitality of the worship or the vitality of the music or they like the vitality of the youth program or the vitality of the preaching, but such people will not stay at The Sanctuary or any congregation unless they make friends. Koinonia. Fellowship. Family. Closeness. Connectedness. Koinonia groups are groups of Christians who pray together, talk together, study together, become friends together. Koinonia groups are family groups. Jesus said, "Where ever two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them." There is no greater power within a congregation than that of a small group of Christians, caring for and loving each other, and lifting up each other in prayer and support.

A fourth theme: The church is to be a discerning, praying family. In the passage for today, Jesus says, "Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven and what you permit on earth will be perrnitted in heaven." And, "Where two or three are gathered in my name, ask anything of the Father and I will give it to you." Jesus is transferring or giving his followers rabbinical authority to interpret or discern spiritual matters. Rabbis used the process of binding and loosing, or interpreting religious ruling of the law in their communities. We rely on the Holy Spirit for discernment in living our lives daily. We make decisions based on God's word, and through prayer that help us to grow. Now, I've had prayers unanswered, you've had prayers unanswered. But mostly, I think that we've had prayers answered in ways unexpected, in ways we have not seen or understood.

What all this means is that there is something dynamic that happens when a small group of Christian people get together to seek God's will and pray. It is one thing for me to pray alone. It is still another thing to pray with 60 people at worship. But it is still another thing to get together with other Christians in a small group and pray for each other. Something happens that is very special.

"When two or three are gathered." Sometimes, only two of us are gathered, and the small group consists of only two people. Sometimes it is in a personal face to face conversation. Sometimes it is a conversation over the telephone or an e­mail. At the conclusion of the conversation, we simply pray for what we have been talking about. There is power when two friends seek discernment and pray together, and this happens in church families.

The last thing is this: The church is mission. We, as a congregation, are to reach out. We all want to be part of a congregation that reaches out and is not focused primarily on itself. We need to be part of a church which has mission outside of itself. More than being a sanctuary. More than inviting people who don't know Christ or have a church home into our congregation. What are some practical ways that we can be people of mission? Do you pray for ways to fulfill our mission statement here? Have you asked God to give you opportunity for mission?

We like being part of a church which is mission centered, where the focus is not on maintaining our institution but serving the needs of others. The church. The word, "church," is a great word. We are pleased that we have been baptized into this community of Christ. We have found our meaning in life through the Family who is teaching us to live in the Spirit of Christ.

THE CHURCH. Christ is the head.
THE CHURCH. Sinners saved by grace that we would not boast.
THE CHURCH. A family, a fellowship, a gathering together.
THE CHURCH. Given God's Holy Spirit for discernment as we gather in prayer.
THE CHURCH. We are to be in mission to 'go' on journey.

Let's go Church.