River Road Church Baptist

January 8, 2006
Dr. Michael J. Clingenpeel

“Twelve Who Made A Difference ”

When Lyndon Baines Johnson was President of the United States, his daughter, Lucy, joined the Roman Catholic Church. That would hardly make news today. But remember, this was 1965, only five years after Americans elected the first Catholic President. So, in those days, it created something of a stir. The real controversy came when Lucy, who had been baptized as an infant in the Episcopal Church, was re-baptized by her Catholic priest. The Episcopal bishop at the time, James Pike, cried foul. “Was her baptism as an Episcopalian”, he said, “insufficient? Was it not good enough?”

For a period of about six months, the controversy roiled in mainline publications like the Christian Century. Does baptism depend upon some form created by a denomination, or is it made valid by the attitude of the candidate’s heart? Is it a matter of canon law or is it a matter of the human heart? So went the debate. Well, in the end, more important stories occupied our nation - civil rights, the Vietnam War - and the furor died as it should.

I thought of that controversy this week when I read the lectionary text from the Book of Acts. Here in the 19 th chapter of the book of Acts we read the only account of which I am aware in the New Testament where a re-baptism takes place.

Acts, you recall, is a narrative tracing the progress of the Christian movement from its origins in Jerusalem to the outposts of the Mediterranean world. It is the story of Peter and Paul and the message that they delivered against enormous odds.

In Acts chapter 19, Paul arrives in the city of Ephesus, a city of some significance in Asia Minor. He discovers, however, that the gospel has already beaten him there. Already there are 12 ‘disciples’, to use Luke’s term, ‘believers’, to use Paul’s term. Paul gathers these 12 and asks them two questions. First, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And these believers responded quite honestly, “We’ve never even heard of a Holy Spirit”. Then Paul said, “Into what baptism were you baptized?” And they replied, “Into the baptism of John”.

Paul was perplexed. Clearly these persons are followers of Jesus, they are disciples. But they don’t really know much about what that means. They are badly in need of some remedial instruction in the life of discipleship. So Paul gathers them and explains to them the difference between John and Jesus, and they agree to be baptized again. Following that the Holy Spirit manifests himself to them in new and powerful ways.

What are you and I to make of this somewhat obscure, unusual story from the Book of Acts? This morning I have three points, in case you’re counting.

Number one: a sophisticated understanding of theology is unnecessary for a person to declare himself or herself a Christian. These twelve are disciples. They are followers of Jesus. Luke describes them as “disciples,” a term he reserves elsewhere for persons who are followers of Christ. Paul asks them if they had received the Holy Spirit when they believed. Clearly Paul implies that these persons are believers. How did they come to believe?

Well, George Hunter, in a book in which he compares the growth of Christianity in Ireland in the 6 th century with the growth of Christianity in the Roman Empire in the 1 st century, suggests that in those days most belief came as a result of a three-step process. Someone would present to someone else the message of the Gospel. That someone would invite persons to believe and then, following their belief, they would invite them to unite with the church. So this process had obviously taken place before Paul ever arrived at Ephesus.

We know from going back to the 18 th chapter of the Book of Acts that there was a Christian already in Ephesus. His name was Apollos. He was eloquent and earnest and must have told them about Jesus. They announced that they were disciples of Jesus and they became a part of the church. But they didn’t have a very mature understanding of what they had done. Still, that didn’t matter to Paul. For Paul, it was enough that they declared that they were followers of Jesus.

Every month or so, I give you a big word. I do that partially to prove that I attended seminary. The word for the morning is “kerygma”. It’s a word that means proclamation or pronouncement. The basic Christian pronouncement or proclamation is simple; Christ died for our sins. Christ was raised from the dead. Jesus is Lord. You peel away all the barnacles that have encrusted Christianity from across 2000 years and this is at the core. This kerygma, this basic message, is the basis of our unity as followers of Christ.

Five years ago, Reverend John Mott delivered the ‘London Lectures on Contemporary Christianity’ at All Souls Church in London on the theme of Jesus. He was introduced in those lectures by the then Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, who made the following statement, “The most important task that we have as Christians today, whatever our denomination, is to name the Name. And to do so, not only with the greatest courtesy for the beliefs of others, but also with the conviction that the person of Christ continues to meet the longings and the needs of every human heart.”

We are to name the Name, he says, with courtesy to others yet conviction that Christ is the one who meets the longings of every human heart. The essentials of discipleship are really very, very few. Jesus is at the beginning, Jesus is at the end, and Jesus fills all that is in the middle. It’s Christ crucified, Christ raised, and that’s the kerygma. That’s what Paul preached and that’s what these 12 believed.

Point number two: All disciples of Jesus, even though we may have a basic understanding, need a fuller or deeper understanding of our faith. You see, Paul accepted the basic authenticity of the discipleship of these twelve, but he also believed that these 12 needed to understand something more about their faith. The kerygma is at the heart of what we are as Christians, but there are nuances, finer points that open up our lives to the deeper dimensions of our relationship with God in Christ.

In 1982 the microwave oven was on its way to becoming a fixture in the kitchens of America. That year, for her birthday, I purchased a microwave oven for Vivian. I know it’s not pearls or perfume, but it is probably better than the electric power saw I bought her for another birthday. Along with the purchase of that microwave oven came the offer to attend a free class showing the differences between cooking in a conventional oven and cooking in a microwave oven. We were both busy at that time and neither of us attended. That was a mistake. One late afternoon I decided to add a warm treat to our dog’s dinner. So I took the liver, heart and other vital organs of a chicken and I placed them in the microwave on high for five minutes. The giblets were summarily reduced to nano-particles.

Now my point: you and I don’t need to know very much to operate a microwave oven. But a few modest instructions will give us some clue as to the nuances of cooking with a microwave so that we can avoid some problems as a result.

What is true for machines is even more true for relationships. It doesn’t take very much knowledge to get married. For about twenty-five bucks and a trip to the County Clerk you can get a license. But once you’re married, it is helpful if you pick up a little more information about how to be a husband or wife. I’ve come to the conviction that wives should come with owner’s manuals, and so should husbands, children, churches and pastors. We are in relationships. And while those relationships may be forged on the basis of a very simple commitment, that relationship grows and fulfills its potential only by the discoveries that take place over time with care and with very, very intentional effort. So we need to know not only what is at the heart of being a Christian, we should also learn the subtleties of living the Christian life.

In his book, The Divine Conspiracy, Dallas Willard says that every follower of Jesus needs intentional, effective training in Christ-likeness. That doesn’t mean we all need to attend theological school. It does mean that all of us would be better if we learned how not to allow anger to foul up our lives. Or if we learned to live purposely instead of accidentally letting covetousness or longing rule our lives. It means that we should know how to bless someone rather than curse someone. We need training in what it means to be a follower of Christ.

Point number three: All of us, as disciples most of all, need to understand the presence and the power of God in our lives. Paul sat down with these twelve and instructed them on the difference between John and Jesus. John - the forerunner, and Jesus - the one who fulfills. And he talked with them about the work of the Holy Spirit. He said they needed to know who the Holy Spirit is and how the Holy Spirit works in the life of a believer. And then Paul baptized them, laid hands on them, which was a sign of blessing between Paul and these twelve. It was way in which Paul symbolically imparted the power of God to their lives. And the signs of God’s presence and power came upon them and their lives were changed. They got a little happy and they started speaking in tongues. But that wasn’t the real change in their lives. The real change and the evidence of it would only come over time in a more dramatic way.

Some of you remember the Oscar winning film, Tender Mercies. Robert DuVal played a country singer and songwriter named Mack Sledge. Mack’s affection for whiskey was ruining his life. He had lost his voice, his career, and his family. After a drunken stupor, he showed up a day or two later at a dilapidated gas station and hotel in west Texas where he went to work as a handyman in exchange for his rent and his board. The one who ran the station was a young widow named Rosalee and she had a little boy named Sonny. Rosalee and Sonny gave to Mack something he had never had in his life, unconditional acceptance and grace. And across the two hours of the film we see the affect of that upon Mack’s life.

There’s a point in the film where the most obvious transformation has taken place. It is a scene in a local Texas Baptist church where Mack in standing in the baptistery and the pastor lowers him down and brings him up. Later he wonders aloud to the little boy, Sonny, whether they really feel any different. But it is clear that Mack’s life is different. The tender mercies of Rosalee and Sonny have become windows through which Mack experiences the tender mercies of God. It’s at that point that Mack begins to sing a haunting melody, “On the wings of a snow white dove, He comes with His pure sweet love.”

And so it is just as the Spirit of God descended upon Jesus in the Jordan River as a dove so the Spirit of God descended on the life of Mack and he was a different man. It’s not really a religious movie but it is a movie filled with gospel, with good news.

And the text this morning is not really that religious a text. But there is gospel in the text because there is more to the story that follows. You see, Ephesus becomes the gateway to growth in the early church, and these twelve nameless disciples become the very nucleus of the growth of the early church. They begin to make a difference in their world for God.

God’s kingdom grows on the strength of people like you and me. People who choose to be disciples, people who choose to understand what this means in their lives. And people who learn over time what it means to live quietly and gently in the presence and the power of God.

May we pray together: Gracious God, we would like to make a difference in the lives of others and in our world. Help us to learn that there is a connection between making a difference and the kind of commitments we make on a daily basis. Help us to give ourselves over as disciples to Jesus. Help us to gain a deeper, fuller understanding of what that means. And then help us to live in the presence and power of God’s indwelling spirit, in whose name we pray. Amen.


MC; lmk, mt