February 03, 2015

Some years ago, Silver Dollar City had a ’ride’ that involved 8-10 people sitting in a jon-boat and actually rowing around Lake Silver while a guide went through his script warning of pirates or Baldnobbers ahead. The problem was that the parents would put their children at the oars, and the oars were the only thing that made the boat move! On the time that we went, the three of us sat in the very rear of the boat, my seven-year-old son on one oar, me on the other, and my wife between us. As the ride began, seven oars dipped into the water and just sat there, while I dug-in and paddled for all I was worth! My wife said, “Come on, dad, Row!” The kid manning the rudder behind us said, in a very low voice, “Lady, if Dad wasn’t rowin’, we wouldn’t be movin’!”

Each church is just like that boat. For any progress to be made, Everybody needs to be actively taking part, rowing as best they can! If anybody drops out, our progress is slowed, and we are all diminished because of it. Oh, sure, sometimes one-or-two strong arms can push it forward, but if they work alone, then progress is slow, and they will soon tire and be forced to quit as well. It is only by everybody working together towards a common goal that we move forward, gaining in our closeness to God and the destination He has in mind!

But even when everybody is rowing & working together, how do you control the direction that you are moving? How do we keep the boat on the course that God intends? You use a rudder! In the Methodist tradition, that ‘rudder’ is the Pastor!

The rudder is the means by which we stay on course. The rudder is the means by which we avoid dangerous whirlpools or sirens. The rudder, in this instance, is the means by which God directs His people onto the course that brings them towards Him!

To be effective, the rudder must be an integral part of the boat. If the boat cannot be controlled and guided, then the destination will not be reached… very likely resulting in the loss of all those on board!

Still, in the Methodist wisdom of doing things, every so often our rudders are replaced. And on occasion, the new rudder doesn’t always seem to be compatible with our boat. But the truth is, such incompatibility is too often caused by a lack of determination on the part of the rowers to see to it that the new rudder is accepted and attached as an integral part of the boat! A loose rudder cannot steer! A loose rudder cannot guide! A loose rudder cannot save us from the perils ahead, or even see to it that we Are moving ahead!!

So, as a church… as a congregation… it is our responsibility, first, to all row together, always being aware of the greater good of all. And it is also our responsibility to see to it that any new rudder is firmly and properly attached to the boat, so that the boat may be properly and safely guided forward, and our journey continue. It is Also, then, our responsibility to see that our rudder is given all of the proper attention and maintenance that such an instrument of God deserves!

May we All be rowers and workers in the Service of our Lord!