04/26/2026 ~ Fourth Sunday of Easter ~ * Acts 2:42-47; Psalm 23; 1 Peter 2:19-25; John 10:1-10 ~ EKC VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTxrk17aQN8
HARPSWELL TV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNZOalTvCN4

The Work of the Church

“They [that is: those who were and those who had become disciples of the Messiah] devoted themselves to the instruction of the apostles, to communal life, to the breaking of bread and prayers.” — Acts 2:42.

There are in the neighborhood of eight billion people on this planet. Roughly a third identify as Christians. About 1.4 Billion of those folks identify as Roman Catholic.

However world-wide, there are more than 45,000 other denominations, many of whom believe they have the clearest read when it comes to the Bible. But let’s take a step back from that diversity and consider only the group we generally call American Mainline Protestant. There certainly is diversity among those historically related groups. But what are the differences? Is it core beliefs?

No. The core beliefs can be stated by paraphrasing Paul’s words. Trust God; Christ lived; Christ died; Christ was raised. That’s the basics, so what are these separations, this diversity, especially in Mainline churches, about? (Slight pause.)

I think the differences can be labeled as sociological separations, not core beliefs. These differences are in some ways tribal attachments.

There are two specific aspects of this tribalism I want to examine, one of which is theologically abhorrent. Like people worship with like people. Or, as the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said the worship hour is still the most segregated hour in America.

King knew this observation was not just about race. It is about a myriad of things from education to income to occupations and more.

A second tribal tendency is about how churches organize, the methods by which churches govern themselves. The Mainline churches use three basic, different systems of government labeled as episcopal, congregational and presbyterian.

Here’s a simple explanation of that. Episcopal systems of government, hierarchal in nature, have bishops. Generally bishops listen to the people but have the final say. Thereby they can tell people what to believe, how to process, proceed, organize.

In congregational systems the people, themselves, accept the responsibility of deciding what to believe, how to process, proceed, organize. Do note: this does not preclude honoring, respecting and cooperating with other churches.

Presbyterian systems are kind of a mix of those two. They elect members to area and then national assemblies. Those then dictate decisions about what to believe, how to process, proceed, organize. A disclaimer: that was a painfully brief description so what I just said deserves a large gain of salt.

Adherents to each system offer theological and biblical reasons for the superiority of their method. It’s probably no surprise I think Congregationalists have it right. Why? I think the congregational system faithfully attempts to follow the great rediscovery of the Protestant Revolution, a basic premise of the early church: justification by faith.

If we are justified by faith, it places a serious responsibility on each of us to be accountable for our behavior, our beliefs. But further— and there are some, perhaps many, do not like to hear this. Those early Protestants insisted personal responsibility does not rest on or end with the individual. No one is an island.

We are accountable to one another, in covenant with each other and God. Each person in a Congregational church needs to be ready to act on behalf of and in unison with the whole. Congregationalism is about individual and mutual responsibility.

I think this is clear: God calls each of us separately and all of us communally to be accountable as we love God and love neighbor together. Hence, if we hand over either our individual or our mutual responsibility to a prelate or some distant assembly, thereby accepting dictums, we abdicate the accountability of the personal and the local communal commitment. (Pause.)

These words are in Luke/Acts in the section known as Acts: “They [that is: those who were and those who had become disciples of the Messiah] devoted themselves to the instruction of the apostles, to communal life, to the breaking of bread and prayers.” (Pause.)

You heard me say this earlier. Luke and Acts are one work, not two. Generally, the Gospel tells us about the work of Jesus. Acts offers a blueprint for the continued work of Jesus, as that work is and needs to be carried out by the church, by us. (Pause.) So, what is the work of the church? (Slight pause.)

Does the work of the church have anything to do with how we govern ourselves, anything to do with the tribes to which we belong, with the kind of programs we offer, the type of music we play, the rituals to which we adhere? No.

The basic work of the church is, I think, illustrated in these few sentences in Acts. We are called on, as individuals and as a people, as a community to grow in our intellectual, emotional, physical and spiritual lives.

How? We need to claim ownership of the message authored by the life of Jesus which says trust God, love God, love neighbor. How? The Acts says we are to experience one another through communal acts of fellowship, breaking the bread and prayers. This is first step in and toward personal and communal growth.

But there is more. Fellowship, breaking the bread and prayers— these are meant to empower and facilitate the actions of the church in its outreach to the world, as we go into the world beyond this gathering.

Please notice— fellowship, bread breaking and prayers are not products or goals or programs, not end results. They are experiences we have with each other.

So the basic work of the church is not about an end product nor about how we operate. The first work of the church, the prime work of the church is about the action of our presence to and with one another. (Pause.)

Here’s a very modern illustration. Is the real work the Disney Corporation the selling of Mickey or movies or theme parks? No. They are in the business of trying to help people feel happy.

Is the work of the church programs, buildings, organization or preservation? No. The work of the church is trying to help people grow. It’s about the growth of our intellectual, emotional, physical, spiritual lives through communal action.

When a church does this work the people of the church experience personal growth, evolution, development, change. When a church does this work the people of the community in which that church lives experiences growth, evolution, development, change because of the presence of that church. (Slight pause.)

I think the basics are simple: rely on God through the acts of loving God and neighbor. If all Christians just did that there would be no need for 45,000 denominations, no need for tribes, for associating only with other like people. If all Christians practiced the basics, intellectual, emotional, physical, spiritual growth, evolution, development and change would abound. Amen.

Elijah Kellogg Church, Harpswell, Maine
04/26/2026

ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Benediction. This is a précis of what was said: “I think you know I’m a graduate of Bangor Theological Seminary. Among the professors were a Roman Catholic nun, a gay Presbyterian, one of the first women ordained in the United Church of Christ, a lay person who was a member of the Disciples of Christ, a Southern Baptist, an Episcopal priest, a cleric who had dual standing with both the Presbyterians and the United Church of Christ. They all understood they were working together in the vineyard of God, as one in Christ. They all understood there are no real differences. There are just the basics and that thrust God, love God, love neighbor is not about tribalism. It’s about intellectual, emotional, physical and spiritual growth.”

BENEDICTION: The time for this service of worship is ended but our service in the name of God continues outside these doors. Therefore, may we love God so much, that we love nothing else too much. May we be so in awe of God that we are in awe of no one else and nothing else. Amen.