XII) COURAGE TO CANCEL THE FUNERAL

In chapter 7, verse 11, of Luke’s Gospel Jesus was approaching the town of Nain along with His disciples and a large crowd that was following Him. As they were coming upon the gates of the town they met with a funeral procession coming out. The dead person being carried out was the only son of a widowed woman. He would be her only means of support and he was her only family. When Jesus saw her, His heart went out to her and He said, “Don’t cry.”

Then Jesus touched the coffin and the entire procession came to a standstill. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” You can imagine every head turning to look at the coffin. Then to everyone’s amazement the dead man sat up and began to talk. Jesus then gave the widow her son back.

Sometimes great leaders are called in to cancel the funeral. The church I currently pastor has had its share of up’s and down’s. It was planted in 1972 and flourished until the marriage of the founding pastor ended and he resigned in 1994. Many people were disillusioned and hurt by the entire ordeal and left the church. Other’s stayed to see who the next pastor would be and what he would do. Six years later the church had fallen from almost 500 to less than 100. There were some who suggested that the church should be closed and the remaining members moved to another church of the same denomination some three miles down the road.

When I came to the church I had no knowledge of the history of the church or the troubles they were experiencing. All I knew was that at one time this had been a strong and thriving church and that they owned some nice facilities in a growing suburb of Atlanta. After an interview with the church board and receiving almost 80 percent of the vote, I came to this church. I didn’t know it at the time, but I came to cancel a funeral. Some were predicting the demise of the church but God had other plans. Four and a half years later we are averaging around 300 and are still growing. We are dreaming of a new sanctuary to seat a thousand and are beginning the second year of our Christian school.

I’ve read many church growth books and I have one entitled, Turn Around Churches in which the authors paint a rather pessimistic picture of the prospects of turning a church around when it is in a freefall. The truth is that it is tough. It requires bold decisions and much faith. It cannot be accomplished by pessimistic people who doubt themselves and do not trust others or God.

This difference is illustrated by two groups of people at a hospital. One group is visitng an expecting mother. There may be some pain expressed by the patient, but there is also joy and expectation, even jubulation as the new birth is anticipated. The other group is visiting a terminal patient who has been given only hours to live. There may not be much pain for the patient, but the family is anticipating loss and death. They are sad and grieving even before the finality of the event. When we come to an organization as a leader we will will set the tone. Are we going to exude the confidence of new life or the finality of certain death? There are people watching us who want to know how they should respond.

Jesus saw the need. He was touched by the tears of the widow and He was able to do something about it. He called the dead back to life. Great leaders see beyond the crisis of the moment and envision possibilities that others may not have even considered yet.

I’ve seen pastors go to struggling churches and managers go to struggling businesses and all they do is affirm what everyone else sees and knows, “This place is in trouble.” Some will even tell other pastors or busniess partners how bad it is and indicate that perhaps it should be closed. It is not likely that a church or a business with a leader like that has any hope of new life. These leaders are the first ones there with a shovel in hand to bury the dead. Great leaders don’t come with a shovel, they come with a vision and they come to cancel the funeral not to officiate it.

As a result of this miracle, many people were amazed and believed in Jesus. This miracle furthered the cause and brought Jesus one step closer to fulfilling His ministry objectives. Canceling the funeral may require smaller victories leading up to the greater. Jesus raised a young man and a young girl (Luke 8:51-56) before He raised Lazarus.

Resurrecting a church usually does not happen in one fell swoop. Instead it may require the resurrection of the music program, then the youth program, the children’s ministries, the singles, and so on. As one small victory leads to the next hope is birthed, faith is renewed, vision is restored and the entire organization is raised. In business it may come in small bites as smaller goals are realized on the road to organizational rebirth.

If things look bleak where you are, remember that God may well have called you there to cancel the funeral, not to preach it. (Next I’ll be looking at Luke 8:51-56 and the need to cast out the scoffers.)