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From The First Baptist Church in America pulpit
Providence Rhode Island - September 7, 2008
“Praise Him All PREACHERS Here Below” (Acts 4:32-5:11)
Dr. Dan Ivins, preaching

That’s how I sing the doxology. The “creatures” will be fine. They can look after themselves. The way I figure it, the preachers need all the help we can get. The creatures can do their own singing. Because one of the surprises for me in becoming a preacher was how little power we have. We’re not Priests. Course I didn’t go into the ministry for the power, or the money, although the retirement’s out of this world!”

I became a pastor because I wanted to do something to help somebody. It wasn’t too long before I realized how hard that is to do. Mostly because what somebody wants and needs are two different things. And once you get over the fear of speaking in public, preaching is a head-trip, especially in our high and lifted up pulpit. For 40 years I’ve put up with “church-work,” just for the privilege of getting to preach on Sunday morning. Our power is symbolic, the power of influence. That and we have the stories. The life-changing stories of Jesus. It’s our only power.

Robert Duval wrote the script and starred in “The Apostle.” Here’s a preacher who knew how to use power! This homegrown evangelist backed down a bulldozer with a Bible. Knocked a ratty little youth pastor upside the head with a baseball bat, and could pray his way into Farrah Faucette! The apostle is like St. Peter, one of the early church’s in-your-face preachers featured in the Book of Acts. People thought if they could just get underneath his shadow, they wouldn’t need to wait their turn at the doctor’s office.

Apostolic preachers didn’t put up with any junk from church members who got out of line either. Paul said, when he heard about a young man in Corinth, living in incest with his mamma, “Kick him out! Remove him from the church” (I Cor. 5:1-2). And that was that. With 3000 conversions in one day, you don’t have to be into numbers as much. Even more graphic is Simon Peter’s relationship with Ananias and Sapphira. Pastoral care has its place, to be sure. But early-church preachers weren’t always nice. Or did pleasant things to build up the institutional church. They didn’t mind making waves either. They didn’t pay the preacher, so he could say anything he wanted. But preachers have the ability to help people or hurt folks. It works both ways, church can hurt too. Inadvertently you can step on a Baptist land mine in a New York minute! So I still doxolgize for the preachers and not the “creatures.” Because sometimes you have to be honest. And it’s not always nice. But, at least I haven’t killed anybody yet! Like St. Peter did.

You won’t find Luke’s story featured in the “purpose-driven” places, or “how-to” manuals for church growth. Luke presents Christianity’s earliest and most successful preacher ... hurting somebody for the good of the church. Accountability was swift, absolute, and final. I heard a southern preacher preach on this story and he called it: lied, died, and fried! They don’t mess around down South either. Now it's important to read this without laughing. Because Luke tells it in clinical, dispassionate terms. Wouldn’t you know at the root of it is money? A couple held back part of their contributions, while pretending to give more than they did. Emphasis on “pretending.” Things were going so well, momentum was spreading, so Peter couldn’t allow these holdouts to hold-up the church. And the church rolls shrunk by two. But the church went on. Luke is reminding us of the seriousness of subterfuge, because it leads to a denial of reality and deep division in the fellowship. And "...great fear fell upon the whole church." I should say so! No attempts to sympathize or understand or redeem. Preacher Peter got up-in-their-face because they were behaving in a way that no church could tolerate, and still be a church. Their sin? Nothing sexual or immoral but very destructive: trying to keep up the appearance of total commitment at a bargain rate. Emphasis on “appearance.”

Peter’s judgmental approach no doubt sent repercussions throughout the congregation. But is anything worth killing off somebody’s relationship with the church? (I don’t know why stuff like this bothers church members so much. Ya’ll do it to preachers all the time!) And that’s why I sing for ‘em. But boy if it’s a member...whew! It throws us for a loop. In Acts, it’s a life and death matter. There's a lot at stake anytime we preach. So I take it very seriously. Which means we must not paper-over our niceness, our congeniality if situations call for it. Which is worse, to die of trepidation or the truth? To let things slide, in return for job security? Deceit. Lying to the Spirit, pretending, that’s what got Pete steamed.

What’s really sad about it is, this loss of life and membership could’ve been avoided. If Ananias and his wife had integrity and admitted that they weren't where Barnabas is in spiritual maturity ... yet. They'd like to give more to the church, but they need time to grow in their giving. Who could’ve faulted that candid confession? Such is to be admired.  But they lusted for the accolades that went to Barnabas. His generosity was real. Theirs was a fake, so they repressed their fears. Impersonation is a serious matter with God. We look on the externals, God looks on the heart. Letting that go on in church causes more drop outs and hurts people in more ways than we can number.

So yeah, St. Peter got the “the keys to the kingdom.” But his task wasn't just to unlock doors, but Jesus told him to "feed his sheep."  So he also had a "shepherd’s staff" that he used to protect the rest of the flock. Most of the time, we value the truth. Unless ... it gets out that we’ve been doing something we don’t want others to know about. Then it becomes electric! It makes you want to ask: Isn't there some way to get through this church stuff with God, without anybody getting hurt?

Yeah I sing for the preachers. Because we face an impossible responsibility: How on earth can anybody represent God before the people, in the high hour of worship on Sunday morning, and be honest and tactful in our kind of world, without anybody getting hurt? Especially when the very avoidance of hurting … hurts. Every time we open a Bible, soembody’s on the spot. And one of the most frequent binds for me, is being caught between not wanting to hurt somebody and having to be honest.

Me? I’m singing for the preachers because we’re called to serve others without feeling taken advantage of. It's a tight rope to walk, between serving and enabling. So after awhile you start telling people "no." And there are consequences to pay anytime a preacher tells somebody "no." Remember how Martha scolded Jesus good for showing up late for her brother’s funeral? “Jesus wept.” So not all the time, but a lot of the time, today’s servants of the Lord are gingerly walking around on eggshells, trying not to hurt somebody. “First of all, do no harm.” Hippocrates’ advice to physicians is a defensive way to relate. But people won't break. And they will, despite their protests, get over it. And sometimes the church is better for it. In spite of the appearance of insensitivity, Peter stood tall in Jerusalem. He rightly realized that people need the truth as much as they need his “healing shadow.” Real life requires a good dose of both.

One of the benefits of living in DC 20 years was getting to know Rabbi Edwin Friedman. He allowed as how in his counseling practice he frequently encountered this type personality with “something to hide.” He tells a story I never forgot, about a man who got hurt so often, that his nerve endings began to grow outside his skin to protect him from the pain of life!  So here’s Nervous Norvus, with nasty nerve chips on his shoulders. Everybody knew to stay out of his way too, else he'd get hurt. Whenever someone got to close, he'd wince and withdraw to a proper distance. “Do not touch. Handle with care. “Poor me,” had become a victim’s way of life. But the payoff was, getting lots of mileage from his exposed bundle of nerves. One day his wife finally got tired of it and touched him. And he protested “You can't do that. You'll hurt me! Remember my nerves.” “I'm tired of handling you with kid gloves.” So she kept on touching and touching. And do you know what? His nerves began to pull back inside his skin like a normal human being. And the man with a pity-party learned a valuable lesson: the truth may hurt but it can also heal. And it’s not always nice.

Naw, we don't want to hurt anybody...most of all me, right? So the preachers we revere the most, are the grandfatherly reconcilers, consensus builders, who go out of their way to avoid trouble; and just preach the half-gospel idealism of compassion and love. Totally unobjectionable. And the church dies from dullness. Which is worse, dying from boredom or the truth? You’re dead either way.

Jesus didn't get nailed to the cross, nor John losing his head for preaching warm and fuzzy pastoral care. It's nice. It’s safe. Nobody's feathers get ruffled. Besides prophet’s get stoned. And Martin Luther King, Jr. got shot! Because there’s that little thing about the truth. And the truth is -- the truth hurts. "You shall know the truth and the truth will make you mad." It can kill. They shoot people in churches today with a 12 gauge shotgun. This couple died from the truth! Either way, you’re dead.

Peter thought the early church would be better off without this couple’s wealthy resources, than to allow them to stay a part of the body under false pretenses. Because the greatest danger to any organization, is the breach of trust. That and a half-hearted commitment, which is worse than none. So he couldn’t let the hold-outs, hold up the church.

Other things can kill a church too. Remember when Paul wrote that scathing letter to the church at Corinth about "the way they were taking communion?" He said it was “the cause of sickness and death” (I Cor. 11:23). People dying for failing to observe communion correctly? Whew, I hope we get it right this morning! In Corinth they got it wrong because the rich were alienating the poor. Segregation defiles the body. Paul said, "Look. I didn't make this up. I got it from the Lord. This is for everybody. On the night he took bread, he was betrayed” And the wine becomes blood and the bread becomes a broken body. This is large I tell you, a matter of life and death.

Looking back on the past 4 decades of singing “praise him all preachers here below,” at the expense of “creatures,” I'd have to say it's been something worth giving your life to. And it can even be fun sometimes. We laugh a lot around here. But it’s humbling too. To think that God uses preachers like Peter and us to try to change the world and help some folks live better ... even if it hurts others. Yeah, I still sing for the preachers. Because God calls us to be conduits of grace; through us...to you. Somebody's gotta do it! Ya’ll just happen to have one here now, ol’ #36, who loves it.

Consider this poem by Glenna Holloway :
We come to church today a bit unsure
of what we can expect. We may endure
a tirade just to satisfy the lure
of judging our preacher and his views.
We've heard conflicting opinions from the pews.
How strict is he about making vows?
What leeway in belief does he allow?
We're in no mood for politics or tithing now.
His predecessor leaned on faith, not facts.
The congregation never could relax.
A minister must learn to understand
his role is just to raise a gracious hand
in formal blessing, not to reprimand.
Well, this one's robe fits right, he looks devout.
We'll see what he thinks Sunday's all about.
The anthem sounds angelic to the ear.
His prayer is brief enough to calm our fear.
With luck, he'll stick to what we want to hear.
(The Christian Century, July 5-12, 1995).

Pastoral Prayer (9-7-08)
Everlasting Spirit, mighty in your love and loving in your might, we gather for worship today, not to parade our faith before the world, as if we think our persuasion is better than others’ practice. Because the scriptures remind us that there’s some good in the worst of us, and enough bad in the best of us, that it behooves all of us to rely upon your grace. Yet the church can’t just throw out its responsible standards.

Under God, all our members confess their sins. Toward God, we all strive. Before God, we all share our mistakes and receive the confirmation of forgiveness, not only from God, but from one another. Because we have gathered in this worship this morning, thrust us into kindnesses for which we think we’re not capable. Tempt us into braveries that cause our knees to tremble. Nudge us into commitments that seem impossible. Let this day stand in our memories as one when steps of growth were taken and great bridges of confidence were crossed.

Save us from doing the right things for the wrong reasons. And even more from doing the wrong thing for the right reasons. We know Jesus came to save the least, last and lost, so why are we harsh when we should be kind; cold when we ought to be warm; weak when we need to be strong; duplicitous when we’re called to be dependable? Guard us from ending up with bad answers because we started with poor questions.

May this worship lift up our eyes, and command our hearts. Close our mouths and open our ears. Where we have fallen, lift us. Where we have sinned, forgive us. From false pride, free us. From greed and ambition, release us. From the fear of difference, convert us. If bodies are ill, heal them. If minds are distraught, calm them. If souls are stained, cleanse them. Grant us courage in our convictions, honesty in our decisions, and charity but firmness in judging those with whom we differ. Open our spirits to your grace. Touch our hearts with your love. Imbue our wills with your power. Guide our steps with your light. Appraise us of those around us, their joys and sorrows, their gains and losses; their hopes and fears. And when this hour is over, let us close ranks, link arms, steel our spines, and move forward in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, in whose name we pray. Amen.