August 23, 2009
1 Corinthians 12: 1-12
(Sloan Letman's last day)
"Gifts To Share"
This is Sloan's day and it is our day to thank Sloan and to wish him well as he heads for St. Louis and Eden Seminary. Though Sloan has been here a fairly short time, he has had an enormous impact on this church community. This is because Sloan decided when he first walked into this church to share his gifts. That is really the secret behind Sloan's impact: He decided to share his gifts and he never went back on that decision.
Gifts from God, gifts from the Holy Spirit have only one purpose: They are to be shared; they are to be offered to the church of Jesus Christ for the good of all. As St. Paul so beautifully wrote:
"There are varieties of gifts, but he same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good."
Sloan's gifts: He has enormous energy, which becomes most apparent after the lunch hour. He has preached, led worship, served on the Transition Team, the Central Board of Governance, the Worship Committee, and lately he has taken on the tasks of getting the Newsletter collected and printed and the bulletin printed. He designed our new letterhead and logo. He keeps the computers functioning at high levels. And all of this at the amazing cost of absolutely nothing. The Spirit gives. Sloan shares. The Church receives. That is the divine economy at work.
Sloan has brought his creativity to this church. Not only in designing a logo and making the newsletter look so professional, but the creativity of his thinking. Sloan is as smart as anyone I've ever met and he has a vast range and depth of knowledge. And, he is not bashful about letting you know that he knows lots of things.
Sloan possesses a fine theological mind that I hope and pray he will put to wonderful use at Eden and in churches for years to come. By this I mean Sloan sees things through the eyes of Christ, through the eyes and needs of the Church, through the eyes of God. This does not mean Sloan is always right, something else he will learn at Eden, but it does mean he is always seeking God's hand in the present experience, in the past and in the future. This is a mighty gift to share with us.
I thank you and Sloan for the opportunity to work with him these past five months. I can truly say I looked forward to being with Sloan even though there were times when he drives me nuts. Sloan and I have a little thing about the clock, about being punctual. We have spent way too much time talking about eating habits. And I have spent far too much time trying to understand Sloan when he gets excited, which is a lot of the time. The words come out so fast I don't have a chance. The ideas flow out like a gushing stream far beyond my meager ability to comprehend. Probably not really knowing what Sloan is saying or thinking all of the time is a good thing.
Sloan can be like a burr under the saddle or a pebble or perhaps a boulder in your shoe. I do not believe that Sloan believes that the church of Jesus Christ should ever settle for just being comfortable.
Sloan can be too loud, too excitable, too certain, too quick to jump to conclusions. But even when Sloan is in his rapid fire no holds barred mode, he is always proceeding from and for the Church first.
Sloan proceeds for the Church first. Sloan seeks the good of the Church first. And that is what makes Sloan such a Godsend: He is so deeply and constantly passionate for the church of Jesus Christ.
In Revelation 3, the Risen Christ speaks these words: "These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God.
'I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing' - and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked - I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye slave that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him and he with Me.'" (Rev. 3: 14b - 20)
At some point in his young life, Sloan opened the door to his heart and let Christ in and the two have been dining together ever since.
You can say all you want to about this wonderful young man, but you can never say he is "lukewarm". Never lukewarm about the church, about the love of God, or about the One who stands at the open door of Sloan's generous heart. For that we are blessed. As we have been blessed by Sloan, so may God bless His son Sloan.
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