Reputation

 

I have preached this message repeatedly through the years but have never actually gotten the words down on paper in any constructive way. This message has taken many forms and has included material from many different parts of my life, and churches I have served, and places I have been. The bulk of this message has drawn inspiration from a favorite author of mine, Ken Gire. He has authored more than 20 books, but his Moments with the Savior series has been my absolute go-to for a look into the scriptural world of the Gospels with some well intention-ed liberties taken on his part to fill in the gaps and paint the background around the stories of Jesus that we know so well. On one such occasion, Gire even steps into the Old Testament, for a moment, to explain one such reference that is made in an illustration used from Luke 17. I have visited this text when I first enter a church. I have come back to it when I am at a place for a few years. And, I have tried to make sure I stop here again one last time before I move on from a pulpit. While I have drawn heavily from the work of Ken Gire in delivering the message, I have only attempted to manuscript this message once (back in 2012 in my Fried Chicken and Burritos blog). 

It's time for an update.

A bit of scriptural history is needed before we arrive at the place mentioned by Jesus. The story that our Savior references comes from Genesis 19. If we back up a few chapters, we see Lot and Abraham having a conversation about who is going to settle where. Both of their camps have grown so large that they cannot find ample ground in which to sustain both of their families and servants and animals. So, they choose. Abram headed to more rocky, hilly, desert like country. Lot eyes the lush, green area known as Sodom in the Jezreel Valley. What do we know about the land and area here simply by hearing it's name?

The words Sin and Sodom could easily be exchanged in the course of a sentence. This region sat in the southern most portion of the Jordan Valley. To call a place or area "Sodom", in comparative likeness, is said to have begun around 1594 as people would have called other cities out for being living in similar practices. Sodom was well known for it's location, it's excesses and it's growing population. The ways of making money here brought people from all over. It is exactly what brings Lot. He would raise his family here. He would grow his livestock business and become a leader in the community. They thought well enough of him to make Lot a judge, presiding over the civic affairs of the people. 

The scripture in Genesis 19 recalls the two angelic men who come to the city that day. They find Lot "sitting in the gate", an equivalent for "being a judge". In past years I have used the video series "That The World May Know" - a resource funded and produced by Focus On The Family with the help of Dr James Dobson. Bible teacher and historian, Ray van der Laan, led a crew of students through different places of interest in the Holy Land seeing dig sites and places of historical significance. One such video shows the unearthing of a small city that is believed to have been from the time of King Solomon. There were three chambers on each side, a total of six chambers in the gate, leading archeologists to believe that it came from the Solomonic period. It is easy to see here the possibility of someone like Lot "sitting in the gate" of a city. As people are coming and going through the entrance of a city like this they would have need of answers to their questions. They would need advice. They would need someone to provide judgment on matters of business or personal affairs. That is where we find Lot. 

In years past, this is where I have stopped and turned the gaze of the scriptures toward the people in whatever church I have served and asked them to put themselves into the pages of history. What does the world around us think of our lives? What do they know about us? Would our towns and villages ask us to "sit in the gate"? (Most of us would probably run from the notion.) Few of us would want to be put in a place of this stature. As a child, I grew tired of being told what to do. I wanted to spread my own wings, make my own mistakes, answer my own questions. I never got to be a leader. I never got to be in charge. As I progressed through my twenties and into my thirties, I finally got my chance to be up front in the church. Now, after 25 years of pastoral ministry, I can tell you that it's not all it's cracked up to be. There are days I don't even want to darken the doorway.

Before I get sidetracked with my own historical perspective, let me say that what we need to focus on here is what the world around us thinks of us. Better yet, what they know about us. I've seen many a thought posted across Facebook and on pages listed under "inspirational quotes" that would suggest that it doesn't matter what others think about us. Just live your life and don't worry about what others think of you seems to be the push these days. That is unless you do something or say something that would leave a bitter taste in the mouth of someone who mentions your name. The focus of this Christian life to to lead other people to Christ. What would people say about you? What do people think of you? As they pass you in the grocery store? As they see you walking your dog down the street? As they shake your hand at a football game or community festival? What is going through their mind when they lay their eyeballs on you? I could project a few unsavory thoughts out there. You should get the point by now. What people think of us does matter. Especially when the matter is trying to help people find their way to Christ and become disciples and followers of Jesus. 

As I pen this message, I find myself working in a direction I had not contemplated before. It seems like I have pushed it here before only to say that our reputation is of utmost importance. What people know about us needs to lead the way into a life of evangelism where we share Jesus with other people. But, what do we do when our reputation has been tarnished? How can we fix it and restore it if what people know about us has been polluted? Is there any way to make things right? My affinity for superhero movies did not disappoint as I sought for an illustration. The recent blockbuster Dr Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was an inspiration to the soul and the senses. The idea that there are many different universes across space and time is one that can confuse our minds. The notion that redemption is possible is one that transcends both time and space across any universal format. In the course of the movie we find our hero confronted with several characters that fans would find themselves familiar with from the comics. One of them is Professor Charles Xavier, or Professor X, as fans of the X-Men franchise would call him. Many characters in the world of the X-Men seem to have "lost their way" as the good Professor would say. But, the popular ideal that transcends its way into this newest movie is a line that we have heard the leader of the X-Men say repeatedly through the years. "Just because someone stumbles or loses their way, it doesn't mean they are lost forever." Even the friend and enemy of the Professor, the evil Magneto - Erik Lehnsherr, who swore to bring down the world and tear everything in his path apart with his ability to control all thing made of metal, comes back to his friend at the end of the movie franchise in a redemptive role. 

The imaginative world of movies aside, what makes anyone think that someone can change their reputation? Can we really change what people think they know about us? Although it was made into a movie, the real life events surrounding the life of a New Jersey man named Joe Clark come to the forefront. I have referenced him countless times through the years and quite often in this message on reputation. Joe was known as an angry man. Some called him "Crazy Joe". As a teacher at East Side High in Patterson, NJ the hot headed Clark was known for his tirades against the school district and state government. After walking out of the high school during a heated exchange with the teachers union, we find the central character in his latter years serving as principal of one of the elementary schools in the district. His friend and colleague, Frank Naper, who taught with Joe at Eastside, is then the school district suprintendent. Big changes need to happen at the high school and all over the school district or the state is planning to step in and take over the education system. The only person that Napier sees right for the job is his old pal, Joe Clark. The day Napier comes to talk to Joe as school lets out at the elementary is a focal point of the movie. Frank explains to Joe the situation and wonders if this is the chance to turn things around. Get things going in a direction at Eastside and all over the school district. Joe is less than enthused at Frank's idea. 

 

 

After a heated exchange. Frank levels with Joe over the truth of the matter. "The truth is for all your talk and all your 'Crazy Joe' routine what have you ever done? Nothing! You're nothing but an insignificant man. It's as if you were never born. Your life hasn't made one bit of difference, and neither has mine. Want to take that to the grave?" For the record, Joe does take the job at Eastside. They do succeed in turning test scores around and making change. But, lasting change is hard. While Clark's tough nosed, rage filled (at times) approach kept tough-to-deal-with students in line, percentages in certain areas - like, reading or math, didn't show any sign of improvement. In fact, they turned worse in some respects. While Clark's methods sought to instill school pride and ownership over one's life, his methods were scrutinized by many. Some said if he hadn't been dealing with poor, black kids in an inner-city situation that his tactics would have never been tolerated. Other praised him for his courage and strength. Joe truly lived by the idea of not caring what other people thought of him. And, yet, after an exchange late in the film with his female vice-principal, Joe does soften a bit and lightens his harsh demeanor.

 

I tend to make a central point of personal reputation throughout this message. Today I want to truly focus on what we can do to make things different and better concerning our outward display toward others. How can we fix our reputation? How can we turn a corner and start afresh? One of the most telling ways is finding out how hard it is to say you're sorry. Joe Clark actually reaches that place late in the movie. How late in life do we need to find ourselves before the words leave our lips? Another question would be, will the person we need to make things right with actually allow us to make things right? If they will not, then we need to take another approach. Just do the right thing. Begin now with the emphasis to say the right things, act the right way, live life as the person you are supposed to be. Be the husband or wife your spouse needs you to be. Be the father or mother your kids need you to be. Be the brother or sister your family needs you to be. Maybe the door will finally open to allow you to make things right with the other person. Maybe it never will. The desire to fix one's reputation needs to be as important to us as life itself. The need to share Jesus with others depends on it. The need to love your family and church as Jesus loves you if what matters the most. Author and pastor Max Lucado said it best. "God loves you just the way you are. But, he refuses to leave you that way. He wants us to be just like Jesus." Jesus loved other people regardless of their shortcomings, their sins, their attitudes. If we want love and forgiveness for ourselves then we must love other people with that same intention.

 

Now we find ourselves focusing on the church in general. While I have taken the avenue of speaking about our personal lives through much of this message, it is at this point that I bring it around to the life of the church as a whole. The subject of reputation is one that is woven through the scriptures. We see it prominently in Revelation as Jesus speaks with seven different churches about what they are all know for in their regions. Jesus speaks directly to each church about what he already knows of them. The church at Sardis might be the most pertinent for all of us. 

Joe Clark would have brought the point home. "They say, 'One bad apples spoils the bunch!'" Jesus says the church at Sardis has "a reputation for being alive". Some of the people are awake and focused. By the time we get to verse 4 we see some people who have had their morning coffee. Their eyes are open. They know what's going on. But, the ones that are not are making the whole situation harder for the entire group. Our Lord is more direct here than he is with any of the other churches. If our hearts are in the right place, if our focus is where it needs to be, our names will be in "the book of life". If we don't seek to make things right, to repent and turn our hearts, He will come and we won't even realize what is going on. Its that stark and direct. No middle ground there. It is one way or the other. 

It has been ten years here at Thornville and only a couple years with Hopewell. Sometimes it seems like we haven't accomplished much. "I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God." What is theres till to do? So much! Will anyone be willing to take the Slide show presentation over after Gabby is done in a couple weeks? You ladies who have enjoyed the bible study on Thursday nights; will you continue on and bring others into the fold or will you let it die? I'm not going to be here to pass out hot dogs this fall. Did the notion that we were sharing God's Love with people walking by rub off on anyone? Will the Night live on or will it go by the wayside? There is so much possibility here. 

The scriptural and historical focus from Luke 17 centers on the character of Lot's wife.

The subject of reputation truly comes to rest on the matter of looking backwards. This is what we know about Lot's wife. When confronted with the truth that she would lose all she had in Sodom, when told that she needed to press onward and go forth to a new future, she does what any sad and depressed person might do.  She turns and looks back. 

Everything she knew was back there. She raised her family back there. The story from Genesis says that her daughters were planning to get married. There were grandkids in the future. There was a nice comfortable life they had made for themselves. Now, she is being told to leave it all behind. Many a church person finds themselves in the same place. Maybe you have been right where Lot's wife is in this scripture. Maybe you have to learn how to deal with the future. Maybe things change in your congregation. We have to accept ways of doing church differently. We have to say goodbye to pastors and welcome new families into the fold. There are new songs and new ways to worship. Or, we could hunker down and get all cemented into a way we think things have to be because we are in league with the seven sure words that will kill a church. "We have always done it that way." 

Seventeen words paint the picture we are looking at today. "Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it."

Three words put a caption underneath it. "Remember Lot's wife."

And, remember our Savior. Who gave his life for all of us. Who dies for our sins. Who left behind all he had for the sake of others. 

Reputation Means Everything.