6/8/08                                                                                 ACTS 2:1-17

“THE VISION CONTINUES”

Rev. James Singleton

In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.

How can you tell a church that is filled with the Holy Spirit? According to our Scripture today it is a church that has visions and dreams and the enthusiasm to turn them into reality.

First Christian Church of Wadsworth, Ohio has been a church filled with the Holy Spirit since its inception back in 1828. You can tell because it has always been a church with a vision. At each successive critical juncture in its history the congregation took up the challenge to make certain that its vision continued.

Our beginnings go back to the day a Baptist preacher by the name of Obadiah Newcombe rode into the town of Wadsworth on horseback in 1820. Newcombe came to town as a man with the seeds of a new vision planted within his soul. Even though he was a Baptist preacher, he had been secretly reading the writings of one Alexander Campbell who was considered a heretic by the Baptists and the Presbyterians and many other religious authorities.

·        In a world in which every church claimed to be the one true church;

·         In a world in which every church had its man-made creeds and doctrines which were their measuring stick for whether or not a person was Christian;

·        In a world in which some church members had the authority to exclude others from the Lord’s Table;

·        In a world in which the clergy were the sole and unchallenged leaders of the church—

 Campbell had the audacity to suggest that no one church had a corner on the truth of God and that wherever a person claimed Jesus as the Christ there was a fellow Christian regardless of what denomination he belonged to.  

He had the audacity to suggest that a person should not be judged by whether or not he believes everything in a particular creed, but whether he believes in Jesus Christ.  

He had the audacity to say that no person had the right to keep another from the Lord’s Table because no one can read the heart of another except God alone.  

He had the audacity to proclaim that the clergy alone should not lead the congregation but the clergy and laity alike should lead because God shows no favorites and pours out His Spirit upon all.  

Campbell said that in many things we may disagree, but we all agree that Jesus is our Savior. So in non-essentials let there be diversity; in essentials let there be unity; but in all things let there be love.

Obadiah Newcombe brought this vision to life on December 28, 1828. On that date a new church was started with the following members: Obadiah’s daughters, Matilda and Satira, Pardee Butler, John and Sara Bunelle, Victory Clark, A. B. Green, Philander Green and Polly Eyles. All of them renounced their former ties to the Baptist Church and started a new church in Wadsworth that would eventually become the First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

Ten people had a vision from the Holy Spirit. Would any one else be attracted to that vision? They began meeting in Obadiah Newcombe’s barn and the Word began to spread and people came. As a result, by 1842 it became necessary to build a church building. For $50 Dr. George Pardee bought a lot on the corner of High and Boyer Streets and a small, plain structure was built to seat about 100 people, which continues to make-up the main part of our sanctuary to this day.

When Obadiah Newcombe died in 1847, the congregation numbered 65. The Civil War years came and the church continued to grow and soon the church building had to undergo its first change as a vestibule and baptistery were added. Gothic windows were set in, and the first organ to be used in a church in Medina County was installed. The Vision Continues!

In the 1890s a depression hit this area and the church was in such financial straits they had to appeal for help to the Ohio Society of Christian Churches. The church looked doomed. But the membership met and recalled their vision. The members pledged to start anew, build-up the membership and repair the run down church. The vision was too important to let die. 

  By 1911 they had to build a south annex, a basement was excavated and our current stain-glass windows were installed. 

 By 1929 the Men’s Class had grown so large that a new room had to be built and a new entrance opened up from Boyer Street.

In 1945, under the leadership of Rev. Phil Gould, the congregation continued to grow rapidly. By 1955 the sanctuary had to be enlarged and the chancel was remodeled to its current appearance.
 

In 1966 there was great need for additional educational space, so the Educational Building was constructed. By 1974 the membership was 757. The Vision Continues.
 

By 1987 the membership had reached 900 and the sanctuary was literally overflowing. It was decided at that point to expand the sanctuary once again by adding our current wings and to unite our Sanctuary and Educational Buildings by adding classrooms, library, Gathering Area, restrooms and Courtyard. The decision was also made to remodel the Kitchen at the same time.  

When the expansion and remodeling were finished in 1989 a cornerstone was added in the Courtyard that reads: The Vision Continues 1989.

It is now 2008 and this congregation is faced with yet another decision. Our membership exceeds 1100 and our worship needs have changed. The chancel area was never built to accommodate wings nor was it built to accommodate a contemporary service or large pageants, Youth Sunday, or any of a number of special events and services that take place here now on a regular basis. 

 Just as the congregation back in 1955 decided that the style of the sanctuary no longer met their needs and changed it, so we are faced with the same decision today. Does our chancel area still meet our needs and the needs of future visitors or does it hinder our mission through its poor visibility, limited space, formal style and outdated look?

As you can tell from this summary history, our church has changed a great deal over the past 180 years.

·        If you love the way this sanctuary looks today, you are benefiting from change because for the first103           years it didn’t look like this.

·        If you attend a Sunday school class in the Educational Building, you benefit from change because prior to 1966 it didn’t exist.

·        If you joined this church since 1989 you are benefiting from change because before the expansion there was no room left to grow. 

·        If you attend the Contemporary service, you are benefiting from change, because we have only had a second service for eight years and even if you don’t attend it you still benefit because that additional service     has increased our worship attendance average by over 100 per Sunday and made this church stronger.
 

None of those changes were easy for the congregation. Change by definition is frightening and requires a leap of faith. The Holy Spirit brings dreams and visions but not guarantees. It asks us to trust those dreams and visions.

At each point of change there were those who saw no need for it because they liked things just the way they were. That’s understandable because change is hard. It’s hard to let go of what is familiar and embrace the unknown. But which change could we have done without and still been faithful to our continuing vision?  

In a report entitled Facts on Growth: A new look at the dynamics of growth and decline in American congregations, 14,301 congregations across America were surveyed to discover what growing religious organizations have in common and what declining organizations have in common.

The most interesting part of the report comes in the conclusion. There is one overriding difference between congregations that are growing and congregations that are declining. Can you guess what it is?

The greatest common factor among growing churches is their willingness to change to meet new challenges! In other words, churches that have a continuing vision are the ones most likely to grow.

Change is inevitable. Either we are gaining ground or we are losing ground—but we never stay the same. If you don’t believe change is inevitable, just look at our last church directory taken less than five years ago! We are hardly the same congregation and I hate to tell you but you don’t look the same! 

Our choice is never whether we want to change; our choice is whether we are willing to embrace the changes God is calling us to make or to become the victim of changes that come to churches unwilling to act.

The driving force behind our chancel renovation is not change for the sake of change but for the sake of continuing the vision.
 

In a day when churches seek uniformity in their members so that all think alike, vote alike, discriminate alike—we are a church that embraces diversity because we believe in unity, not uniformity.

In a day when churches believe that only the clergy can lead, our vision is that the Spirit has been poured out upon all God’s people and all people are ministers and leaders.

In a day when women are not even allowed to hold offices in some churches, let alone be ordained, our church has been ordaining women for over 100 years and reaping the benefits of women leaders since our foundation.

In a day when churches exclude Christians from the Lord’s Table because they do not belong to their branch of Christianity, our church welcomes all who confess Jesus as Lord to this table.
 

In a day when Christians are expected to check their brain at the church door and believe everything their leader tells them, regardless of how nonsensical or unscientific it is, we urge you to bring your God given brain in with you and think for yourself. 

In a day when impersonal mega churches are in vogue, we offer an alternative church that is large enough to provide for multiple needs and yet small enough to remain personal and intimate which is the way of Jesus.

Tonight we will have a congregational meeting to determine whether we will once again choose to follow the vision that is out in front of us and renovate this chancel in order to better serve our needs present and future. Let us join our rich history by adding the year 2008 along side the years 1828, 1842, 1911, 1926, 1929, 1938, 1949, 1955, 1966 and 1989. If we do, then, once again, it can be said that here at First Christian Church—

The Vision Continues!

                                                                        AMEN.