The City Transformed: The City
Dr. Tom Pace
February 10, 2019
Isaiah 58:10-12

If you offer your food to the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,
then your light shall rise in the darkness
and your gloom be like the noonday.
TheLordwill guide you continually,
and satisfy your needs in parched places,
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters never fail.
Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
the restorer of streets to live in. Isaiah 58:10-12
Join me in prayer. Gracious God, open us up, open our eyes that we might see and our ears that we might hear what you have for each one of us. Open our hearts that we might have compassion and then O Lord, open our hands that we might serve. Amen.
Some of you may not know that I came to St. Luke’s first in 1982 as the Minister to Youth. I was young and green, and I was influenced by a marvelous member of our staff, a diaconal minister named Dean Robinson. He was in the early stages of an organization that St. Luke’s helped to create called the Christian Community Service Center. It was the first church coalition of its kind in our city to meet the basic human needs of people in this ZIP code. They operated out of the little metal building on Edloe Street that’s now our Woodshop.
I was really impacted by watching St. Luke’s bring that into creation. Our children were in the Day School here and it was very significant in forming them to who they were to become. There was also an After-School Program that all sorts of kids were a part of and every summer our campus would be filled with students who were part of the summer camp program that was here. I just watched the energy and the thriving.
Since that time so many other ways of making an impact on our city have come to pass, given birth out of this congregation. The Amazing Place – used to be called the Seniors’ Place – was first here in the St. Luke’s building and it does incredible day care and educational programs to reach families who are dealing with mild and moderate memory loss in the family. Bridges Academy was formed to provide music as a transformative force in peoples’ lives and to provide music education in the public schools; when they were eliminating music education in many of those schools, St. Luke’s provided that education.
Nick Finnegan Counseling Center, for Christian centered therapy, was born to meet the needs of troubled folks who are just going through difficult times.
We merged with Gethsemane United Methodist Church that we might create an outreach campus, a platform in southwest Houston in the heart of this diverse refugee community, to be able to have a place where we could do ministry from that place and to build relationships across those lines.
The reVision Ministry was the first sort of signature ministry that was housed at St. Luke’s and St. Mark’s and St. Luke’s came together to create reVision to deal with gang-affected young people in our city, to give them a community where they could belong rather than be part of a gang, and to address the issues we think of as the alternative school to prison pipeline that is there.
On the Gethsemane campus we came together with KIPP School’s Legacy Health Care and the YMCA to create a coalition of organizations designed to provide holistic ministry to the people in that neighborhood.
The Story Houston was created out of St. Luke’s as a way to reach non-religious Houstonians, for whom regular church, traditional church like this would be not attractive. But it was to be a way to reach into the neighborhood to reach into the city, to reach non-religious Houstonians.
Now we have the Early Childhood Education Program at our Gethsemane Campus. It’s to be launched in 2020. Why share this history? I want you to think about who you think St. Luke’s is. What is the core heart of St. Luke’s?
When I came in 2006 we had 20 to 30, I really couldn’t remember how many but seemed like a thousand - home meetings. We go to houses where they’d gather people from the neighborhood and I’d come as the new pastor and ask the questions. Who is St. Luke’s?
We had just come out of the Hurricane Katrina difficulty, the floods and so many of the folks from New Orleans had come. St. Luke’s had stepped up into the challenge and many folks stayed in our Activities Center, our Gym, for over a month.
We’d just come of that time and people in these home meetings would go to that experience, and say, “That’s who St. Luke’s is! Right there – that’s who St. Luke’s is. That’s our heart. That’s what we do. That’s who we are.”
The DNA of St. Luke’s is about making an impact in our city. I’ve heard the term “Beacon Church.” There are all different types of language to talk about it, but the heart of it is we want to be make a difference. We exist not for ourselves; we know that, but for those around us.
Eric Huffman shared this quote he found. It’s in the brochure for the capital campaign for the very first building of St. Luke’s. Next year will be our 75^th anniversary. So, on the very first building campaign there were these words: “Only once in a lifetime comes the privilege of helping build a church that will stand for generations in the community for which it is built. When we build, let us think we build forever. Let it not be for present delight, or present use alone but for our descendants.”
Did you hear the words “for the community for which it was built”? We don’t exist for ourselves.
Our Church Council has approved after pretty much a year of prayer and thought, a new statement of vision. A new mission statement, a new spiritual journey. I want to be really clear with you. This is not intended in any way to change our vision. This has been our vision, this has been our DNA, this has been who we are. We’re trying to give clarity and some new language that we can all use to talk about it, an effort to reflect who we really are.
You received this when you came in and I hope you’ll take it home and take more time to look at it. On the back of it here is a new way we’re thinking about our structure. Here’s why this is important. Each of these purple circles is a part of St. Luke’s. These are all still part of our organization. We’re calling each one of these “Ministry Centers” – our Gethsemane Campus, The Story Houston, Nick Finnegan Counseling Center, the Day School and Bridges Academy. All of those are individual ministry centers. If you’re a business person think of these as business units.
All of them are under the governance of our Board of Trustees, and the Church Council and the Finance Committee, and the Staff Parish Relations Committee of St. Luke’s. All of them are part of St. Luke’s family of ministries. But each one of them has its own mission statement and its own constituency.
Let me give you an example. The Story Houston is very clear that their mission is to reach non-religious Houstonians and help them become followers of Jesus. They have a very clear target audience and target constituency – non-religious Houstonians.
The Nick Finnegan Counseling Center is designed to minister to people going through difficult times.
Each one of these has its own mission, but here’s what I want you to remember today. All of them are united by this singular vision. All of us are reaching for, giving ourselves, to help to bring about a city transformed by the love of Jesus. That’s what unites us all.
Next week we’re going to talk about St. Luke’s church specifically in our mission statement. I’ll give you a preview. Our Mission Statement is to “Equip families and individuals to live and love like Jesus.” That’s the church’s mission. The family of ministries, all of us, are about straining for a city transformed by the love of Jesus. So, what I want to do today is to very briefly give you the theological underpinnings of that vision.
Our Call to Worship today was from Matthew 9 and this is the passage of Scripture that has been foundational for us. I have been using this as foundation for our new member classes since I came here. It was the passage in the very first sermon I preached. It was the passage that’s in the little folder in my file cabinet at home that says, “Important Stuff” because it has my funeral stuff in there. This is such a core passage and it’s pivotal in the Gospel story.
Jesus has been traveling about and he’s gathered the disciples and they’re following him. Let me read it to you what Jesus is doing: “And Jesus went about the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom, curing every disease and every sickness.” We like to think about this as good news and good deeds. He’s proclaiming the Good News but he’s also putting that Good News into practice, making it tangible. “Curing every disease and every sickness…” He’s making a difference, fixing that which is broken. Good deeds – good news.
Then there’s this moment when Jesus sees the crowds. Now it’s not just the individuals, but he sees this mass of people. It says, “He had compassion for them because they were harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd.”
He calls the disciples and says, “The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few. Pray the Lord send laborers into the harvest,” and he gives them authority to do the exact same thing that he’s been doing. He gives them authority to preach the good news, to fix that which is broken.
Then it says, “These twelve Jesus sent out.” From this point on they’re also called apostles. They’re not just disciples, but most of the time they’re called apostles, meaning “those who are sent.”
Now I don’t know if Jesus thought, “Oh, they’re ready now.” I kind of think not. I kind of think he still thought, “You guys do not get it!” But the need was so great that he sent them out.
Here’s what Matthew 10:7 says: “As you go, proclaim the good news, the kingdom of heaven has come near, cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment, give without payment.” You do the very things I’ve been doing.
Friends, we are a people who are sent. We are sent into our city to make a difference. Now let’s talk about that for a moment. Why all the talk about the city? Where are we sent?
The idea of a city is a very important concept in Scripture. It’s all through Scripture and there are really three components to it and I want you to understand those because that’s really the theological underpinning here.
The first is the city in which you live, the place that you are. The people who are closest to you. Around you. You’ve been put in that place for a reason.
When Jerusalem was captured by the Babylonians, King Nebuchadnezzar’s army, the Children of Israel were sent to the city of Babylon. They were held in exile there. And the prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 29 - you’re most familiar with this line, “I give you a hope and a future…” This is the context of that verse: “You have a hope and a future.”
What does God say to Jeremiah about the exiles who have now been sent into the city of Babylon? Listen to what he says: “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.” Notice the word sent, where he says, “I have sent.” He goes on, “Build houses and live in them, plant gardens and eat what they produce. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile and pray to the Lord on its behalf. For in its welfare you will find your welfare.” He’s telling them, “Don’t go over to Babylon to fight against it, go invest yourself into it. Build gardens, marry wives, build houses, and seek its welfare.”
Fifty years pass, and King Cyrus of Persia comes in and defeats the Babylonians and Nebuchadnezzar falls. Cyrus of Persia sets the Children of Israel free. He says to Ezra and Nehemiah, “Lead them back to Jerusalem.” And what are they supposed to do when they get back? We heard it in the Scripture that was read just a few moments ago. “Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach,the restorer of streets to live in.” He’s telling them, “Go back and rebuild the city. Fix that which is broken.”
Friends we live in a marvelous city - the city of Houston. The most incredible city. I honestly believe that. I know I’m biased but I think we have the most amazing city. Incredible diversity, incredible prosperity working together like in so many other cities you don’t see. But there are still lots of broken places. There are people who are lost, families who are hurting, and struggling. There are people who are dealing with grief that is just overwhelming. There are neighborhoods beset by poverty. And there’s a culture just like in the rest of the world where there’s division and bickering and language that’s hurtful. We’re called to that city.
Let me give you some statistics. Eighteen per cent of the people in Houston say they’re non-believers in any faith. Eighteen percent. We call them the “Nones.” If you send them a survey asking, “What religion are you?” and they check “None.” Not N-U-N but N-O-N-E. N-U-Ns – those people have a religious affiliation, N-O-N-E has no religious affiliation.
Now here’s what’s even most significant. Fifty-two percent of the people say they haven’t been to a worship service. They may be affiliated but they don’t worship. I would tell you it’s significantly lower than that based on the traffic on Sunday mornings. Do you think 50% of the people in Houston are out going to church on Sunday morning? I think not. The truth is that people who have a nominal faith are sometimes the hardest for us to reach and draw into becoming real followers of Jesus Christ. We’re put here for that.
Let me go on. The Barbara Bush Literacy Foundation says, “Thirty-eight percent of Houston children five years and younger live in poverty. Sixty percent of Houston area children enter kindergarten lacking prerequisite reading skills. Forty-eight percent of children have no pre-school education at all.”
On any given night, there are more than 6000 people who are homeless in Houston. Sixteen percent [they estimate] of Houstonian are alcoholic. Ten percent of our youth in Harris County report have a major depressive episode that can be defined as suicidal ideation in the past year. Ten percent of our students have had a major depression in the past year.
The Way Home Adoption Agency where my daughter Kendall and my wife work- full disclosure- tells me that in Texas there are 13,000 children in foster care waiting to be adopted. Thirteen thousand. There were 158,000 marriages in Texas last year… I don’t know how many in Harris County; I looked for that number and couldn’t find it. 158,000 marriages in Texas but there were 67,000 divorces. So that’s about 43% divorce rate.
Over the last fifty years reports of chronic loneliness have doubled as a percentage of the population.
I could go on and on with the challenges that are in front of us. But they’re real. And that’s what it means to say we’re to be a “repairer of the breach, a restorer of the streets to live in.”
Now as our Church Council has considered this, we recognize that it’s great for us to talk about it as a vision statement, but somehow you have to put meat on that. We’ve been doing that, and I shared with you as we started the service today.
But I’ve asked Michael Lewis, our chair-elect of our Church Council, and he will be chair next year. I’ve asked him to lead a task force to identify ways we can make a bigger impact on our city. So that we can really reach out and move the needle on some things. He’s here today and I’m going to ask him to share with you just a few minutes.
Michael Lewis: Thanks, Tom. I’m excited and honored to be with you to speak to you today, especially about this initiative. My wife and I have been members of St. Luke’s for 23 years. We have a daughter who’s going through Confirmation, and we have a son working on his Eagle Scout rank and they both got baptized here. And from my recollection it didn’t go as nearly as well as Henry’s did. So good job to you guys on the baptism. Tears were involved, and I think my son may have cried, too. I’m not sure.
But anyway, the church has been great for us all the way throughout. We have a fantastic staff that’s supporting everything we do here, the ministry is phenomenal, and the music program is outstanding. Troop 46 is one of the troops in the area that we support. There’s just so much great that’s going on.
In 2018 we volunteered 30,000 hours; 30,000 hours of St. Luke’s member time out serving in the community, which is fantastic. With all that being said, as Tom mentioned, there’s still a lot more that we need to do.
There are two experiences I’ve had fairly recently that have driven my passion toward organizing this effort. First was from two years ago when through The Story Houston I volunteered with a prison ministry program called Jubilee. This is a program where you go into a ministry and you do a three-day workshop with the inmates who I’ve since started referring to as my “brothers in life” because of my relations with them. It was a little intimidating; I’ll be honest with you. I went in and saw a room where the guys were twice my size, covered with tattoos all the way up to here. Then I realized that those were just my fellow volunteers. Then we went in and after a day with these folks I realized that I need forgiveness for my sins just as much as the folks there need forgiveness for their sins. And that God loves them just as much as he loves any of us. While it may sound fairly simple, it was a revelation to me that really made me experience God’s love more than just learn about God’s love.
Actually, I ran into one of the people who’ve gotten out of prison in the same unit, so he was there at the workshop I mentioned this morning in our parking lot. He was going to the Story Houston and he now has a Christian radio show on a Christian radio channel, so it’s transforming our lives as volunteers and also transforming the community.
Another opportunity I had come up this week. I guess it was on Wednesday when I had coffee with a lady named Sharon and she wanted to meet and talk about how to form a charity. She wants to help sex-trafficking survivors, which confused me at first. I thought, “If they’re survivors then we’ve kind of done what we need to do.” She said, “No, you don’t understand. When folks come off the street they go to a safe house, but after they leave there, 80% of them end up back on the street. The issue is that they can’t get enough income because they don’t have the skills for employment, so they end up back on the street.” She wants to create a charity that would provide education and housing for these ladies, so they can get a professional job that’s sustainable and will keep them safe.
It’s a great concept and I love her passion. She’s super-credible, but she doesn’t know how to get the business plan together. She doesn’t have board members to help her; she doesn’t have funding to get it started. And those are the things that I feel we can help with.
Those two encounters kind of give you a range of people out trying to make a difference. All are addressing the segments of society that Tom is talking about.
The City Transformed Task Force wants to identify more of these types of organizations that we can partner with and I’m honored to work with the team to mobilize St. Luke’s people in connection with these efforts. We truly can make a huge impact on our society. We already make a big impact and we can make a bigger impact on our society and our city through partnering with these types of organizations and entrepreneurs.
Until recently I didn’t realize that there were so many segments of society that are not supported well enough. I didn’t realize that we had so many entrepreneurs and people out trying to make a difference that just need that help to get going. I think there’s a great opportunity for us.
In Matthew 25 Jesus says, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these my brothers and sisters of mine you did for me.” We’re called to go out and help our city and our city needs our help. In your program there’s an insert and at the bottom there’s an email address acitytransformed@stlukesmethodist.org. It’s kind of small print but it’s there on the bottom of the front page. If you know of segments of society that you feel we could better support, or if you know of people or charities that are trying to make a difference that we could help enable; or if you would be interested with helping out with this task force to focus our efforts to make that stronger impact, please send an email and let us know and we’ll follow up with you.
Thanks for all you do.
Dr. Pace: One important thing I want you to understand as we move forward is that the picture of St. Luke’s as an institution isn’t going to do all of this. We know better than that. We can’t do everything. But when we talk about the church transforming our city it doesn’t just mean the institution or the ministries, it means us. It means the people of St. Luke’s that we are a sent people. As those who have been transformed from disciples into apostles, we are sent into our workplaces and into our families and into neighborhoods and into our schools and into our charities we work with. We are sent into every relationship that we have in our lives and we are to carry the love of Jesus into that place, that it might be transformative, the city in which we live.
I want to briefly just lift up the other two images of the city because they’re important. The second one is that in Scripture it talks about the “city on a hill.” In Matthew 5 it says, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a bushel but on a lampstand where it can give light to everyone in the house. So, let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”
The church is to be that “city on a hill.” We are to be a foretaste of the Kingdom of God that is to come. People are to look at the church, and say, “Oh, that’s how we’re supposed to live. I see how they get along. I see how they care for others besides themselves. I see it in the way they live together and treat one another.”
Here’s the problem. We live in a world, a culture, that has so much polarization and division. And too often the church looks like the world. You don’t see a distinction. People don’t look at the church and say, “Ah, see how they love another. See how they treat one another. I want to follow that Jesus.”
We are to be that “city on the hill.” Next week we’re going to talk more specifically about our mission to equip families and individuals to live and love like Jesus did. To love people the way Jesus did.
Here’s the last image, and that’s of the coming of Zion, the coming city of God. Tim Keller, now retired pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York, had a great sentence. He said, “The story of Scripture begins in a garden, but it ends in a city.” And that’s the New Jerusalem, the city of God. The Kingdom of God that has come from heaven to earth.
Isaiah talks about the New Jerusalem and how that one day out of the New Jerusalem will flow such righteousness that the nations of the world will beat their swords into plowshares and “study war no more.” Revelation says that the New Jerusalem will come down out of heaven and that God himself will be with us and he will wipe away every tear from our eyes and death will be no more. Neither will there be mourning or crying or pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.
When I hear about that “wiping away tears from their eyes” I think of the line in one of my favorite hymns, “O beautiful for patriot’s dream that sees beyond the years, thine alabaster cities gleam, undimmed by human tears.” Oh, my goodness. Now you may say, “Pace, that’s heaven –that’s not on earth. It’ll never be that way here. That’s heaven.”
And the Scriptures in Hebrews does talk about the heavenly city, but you have to realize that the story of Scripture is not just that we’ll go to heaven. It’s that heaven will come to earth. You just prayed it and I hope you’ll think about that when you pray it. “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven…” That’s the future, the city of Zion that we’re all marching toward, that we’re all working toward. Trying to join God in that work. And you know it gets pretty frustrating sometimes and we think to ourselves “It’s never going to happen.” But that’s not what Scripture tells us.
What Scripture tells us in 1 Corinthians 15 is, “Be steadfast, immovable, for your work is not in vain.” It shall come. God will fix that which is broken. And there will be the whole world as a city transformed by the love of Jesus.
Let’s pray together. Gracious God, we want to be about your work. We so much want to join in that work. We confess that too often we fall short and become focused on ourselves. Forgive us, God, and make clear to us what you want us to do, each one of us. That we might keep that vision in front of us, a city transformed by the love of your Son Jesus the Christ. Amen.