Several years ago retired United Methodist Bishop, Ernest Fitzgerald wrote:

"On a cold, dreary December evening, several hundred people gathered at a large downtown church in Winston-Salem to celebrate the Christmas season. I had gone down a long hallway to help a small boy who was pushing against the massive oak doors trying to get outside. The boy was about two years old. He was crying as if his heart would break. I picked him up, thinking he belonged to someone at one of the Christmas parties. Investigation, however, revealed nothing. I rushed outside and spotted an old model car speeding away in the darkness. Gradually, it began to dawn on me that the child had been abandoned. I made a few calls and soon the church was filled with people wanting to help in any way they could. Within moments, the local TV stations interrupted their usual programs to ask if anyone knew the identity of the little boy. The next morning, one of the city's newspapers had the child's picture on the front page. Under the picture there was an article describing the events of the evening before. The reporter began his story with this striking line: "Someone trusted the church last night, and the church came through." It will be a long, long time before I can forget that newspaper headline. So much of the world's future depends on the faithfulness of the "People of God" to the "Great Commission." There is a deep hunger across our land as countless people grope for answers to the deepest questions of the human spirit. The message of Christ speaks to these questions, bringing hope and light to people who now stumble in the dark and live in despair. Our world will be changed as the hearts of people are changed. Evangelism is no longer an option for the church. It is essential for the survival of the world."

In much drier words our United Methodist Discipline says the same:

"The people of God, who are the church made visible in the world, must convince the world of the reality of the gospel or leave it unconvinced. There can be no evasion or delegation of this responsibility; the church is either faithful as a witnessing and serving community, or it loses its vitality and its impact on an unbelieving world." (Paragraph 128; 2004 United Methodist Discipline)

This morning in our series on discipleship we focus on the mark of service. It is an especially appropriate day to look at this mark of discipleship as this is the day designated to celebrate One Great Hour of Sharing. Our communion offerings this month are earmarked for this program. It is an offering that began in 1949 with Bishop Henry Knox Sherrill of the Protestant Episcopal Church. It came out of the massive need facing the world as it rebuilt following the devastation of World War II. While the needs that gave rise to the initial offering have changed, massive need in the world is still present with us. Our One Great Hour of Sharing offering funds the United Methodist Committee on Relief, providing it with funding so that it can respond immediately to disasters to the needs of the world when disaster strikes.

The discipleship of service is where the church becomes most visible in the world. It is how we become the visible Good News of Jesus Christ to the world. When we talk about service as a mark of discipleship we aren't talking exclusively about volunteering to be on a church committee, helping at church function, teaching Sunday School and the like. All of those are important, crucial even to the body of Christ, but if we define service as that which we do for our local church, then we run the danger of slipping into simply maintaining the church; rather than being the visible presence of Jesus Christ. In Power Surge, Michael Foss makes a helpful distinction between membership churches and discipleship churches. He writes:

"Membership is about getting; discipleship is about giving. Membership is about dues; discipleship is about stewardship. Membership is about belonging to a select group with its privileges and prerogatives; discipleship is about changing and shaping lives by the grace of God." (Power Surge, page 21)

For me the distinction looks like this: When we are in membership mode we approach church by asking, "What will I get out of this?" In discipleship mode we come to church to find ways in which to respond to the love and grace of God. Again, this movement is embodied at many levels, but most visibly to the world through our service which goes far beyond simply paying our dues and serving the church on committees and the like. Service as a mark of discipleship occurs both within the life of this local church and also in our places of the world to which we are called.

This morning we read a very familiar gospel story from Luke. I'd like for us to look at the story through the eyes of service and discipleship. Jesus tells the story in the context of the Pharisees grumbling about his spending more time with sinners than those who "deserve" his time. While it is often called the parable of the prodigal son, it is really the father who is the prodigal. The word prodigal comes from the Latin and its root meaning is to "drive forth or away" or to "waste." It can be interpreted as either extravagant wastefulness or liberal generosity. The father fits the latter definition in this story. We as the church are called forth in service to be the prodigal father … generously seeking out the lost and scattered. We ourselves have been found by God's prodigal love for us. We are sent to serve the world

We may be tempted to play the role of the older brother who wanted the younger son to at the very least earn his way back. We may want people to come to a realization for their lost-ness before we will serve. Yet, God calls us to serve and welcome people … to give them our very best, no matter what condition they show up in.

The discipleship of service calls us to generous and extravagant service in response to God's love for us. The Discipline reminds us that we have no choice – either we are the church visible in the world or there is no church. The bishop's story is a vivid portrait of what that service looks like. As we go forth, may it be said of us: "Someone trusted the church and the church came through."