Stir It Up!
Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting
Pastor Bob Henry
September 17, 2023
Good morning, Friends and welcome to Light Reflections. This morning I am continuing my series on the biblical prophets. The scripture I have chosen for this week is 2 Peter 1:21 from the New International Reader's Version.
21 It never came simply because a prophet wanted it to. Instead, the Holy Spirit guided the prophets as they spoke. So, prophecy comes from God.
This week, in Part 2 of looking at what we can learn from the Biblical Prophets, I want to tell you a story. It is personal and was one of the reasons I gravitated to this sermon series when I was contacted by my friend, Howard to read his book. For those interested, Howard Macy’s book which I am basing this series on is “Befriending the Prophets” from Barclay Press.
To set up the story, let me go back to last week when I mentioned that for prophets, being between God and the people they belonged to, and loved, was often awkward and sometimes painful, particularly if the message they had to deliver was harsh.
When I was in Oregon, we were deep in the throes of the same-sex marriage debate in our Yearly Meeting and my job was being threaten on many fronts. Pastoring a Meeting through this was not easy and often left me with sleepless nights.
As a pastor I had many hats at Silverton Friends, as do Beth and I here at First Friends - some you know of and others you might be surprised we fill.
Along with those hats, as a Recorded Minister among Friends, we also have a calling to always be aware of the balance between being “pastoral” and “prophetic”. In seminary we are warned often about the distinctive differences.
Actually, it gets a bit wild among Quakers, because we are quick to remind our leaders that everyone is considered a minister among Friends.
Footnote here: That means everything that I am talking about today is for EVERYONE in this Meetingroom (or online).
Last week I showed a theme running throughout the scriptures – that being one of the main goals or outcomes for the prophets (early and latter), even Jesus, Peter, and Paul were for ALL people (each of us) to prophesy and become disturbers in our world.
Quakers took this stream that runs throughout scripture seriously, linking it with their understanding of equality to put us ALL in this category – meaning we ALL have the ability and potential to be prophets, ambassadors, disturbers for the love of God.
If you take a look at the stories of the prophets in the Bible, you will quickly find that there were people who valued them and people who wanted them dead – there was no real in between. Sadly, the polarization in our world today, has perpetuated this and left many prophets without a voice or in fear of utilizing it.
So, let me take you back to Silverton, Oregon for a moment and let me share. I was sitting in my office one afternoon when a member of our Meeting showed up for his weekly visit. Usually, it was Tuesday morning. He had already been to McDonald’s to grab a breakfast sandwich and cup of coffee. I would know he was arriving because his black lab, Buckley, would run into my office, turn the corner by my desk, and greet me with a big wet lick and a happy bark. Then through the door, Chuck would enter in his work cloths, suspenders, and felt fedora hat.
This day, in Chuck’s hand he held what looked like a canoe paddle (actually, this one). Since Chuck and I had a good relationship, I joked with him saying it looks like your “up the creek, but you HAVE the paddle!) He laughed and then quickly handed it to me. He said it was a gift that he made – but it wasn’t a canoe paddle.
Instead, as he sat on the couch in my office and Buckley found his way to my rug, he said that this paddle-like thing was what he called a “giant stir-it-up stick.” He then explained that as the pastor of Silverton Friends, it was a gift for me and represented the fact that I had listened to the Spirit and God had stirred up the church in a big way. We both began to laugh.
It was just what I was needing for someone to say and do for me at this time, especially as the tensions within our Meeting and our Yearly Meeting had grown and become almost unbearable.
But I will never forget his next words, because I was quick to disagree with them.
He said, “You have been prophetic in your words and what you have done here.”
I shook my head and said, “No, Chuck. I don’t think you should use that word to describe me. I am no prophet, I am just willing to call things as I see them.” Not realizing that calling things as I see them could be more prophetic than I knew.
So, he said, instead he would call me the “pot-stirrer” – which in Oregon, at that time, probably had a completely different meaning.
What we did end up talking about was how my willingness to call it as I saw it – allowed others to be free to speak up and share as well what God had put on their hearts. Even Chuck felt he was given a word for our Meeting and took a turn preaching. As we continued to talk, Chuck began to list others who also became more vocal and shared their hearts at Silverton Friends and even in the community.
Looking back now, what I realized was that I was more of a facilitator of the prophetic messages arising around me. We at Silverton Friends kind of took turns on the prophetic words without formally recognizing them. My hope was always to free the voices around me so we could all benefit from our combined wisdom. Yet, the oppression and challenge to my ministry and many others was coming from people who thought that their message was the true word from God. A battle that many in organized religion continues to fight daily.
I had hoped that in those moments I was more faithful or obedient than I was prophetic. I will be honest, during that time, I wanted to quit the ministry more than my Meeting knew. To think that I was considered the “pot-stirrer” by anyone, was not really an honor, but always had me questioning why I would speak up or stay and engage.
I found myself reading the prophets a lot during this time. Jeremiah was one I found I could relate to – he actually got to the point of saying he was no longer going to speak in God’s name. I could relate to that. Actually, I know many pastors, good Christian people, even some Quakers who have decided that they do not want to speak for God anymore – they say as I did, it makes life more difficult, even miserable at times.
As I said on numerous occasions during this time, I did not feel in the depths of my being released from Silverton, so I tried hard to stay obedient to the call of God in my heart. And that was very hard as people wanted to run me out of town.
Howard points out that the prophets in the bible didn’t exactly volunteer for the job. When we (you and I) are being led by the Spirit within us to speak up, to act, to even challenge the status quo, I believe it is because of our unique calling, a vision that becomes clear to us, or even the environments where we find ourselves in that moment.
There were similar themes with the prophet’s callings - some a little more dramatic than our encounters. For some prophets it was a burning bush, a vision or dream, even a “word from the Lord” where a mission was laid out.
I have told this story on many occasions, but when I was considering a call, which I was beginning to feel deep down inside me to become an Anglican Priest, Sue and I were on a trip home from Chicago to New Haven, Indiana. As we were discussing what I should do, I mentioned that I wish I could have a sign. I am sure many of you have been at this point saying, “If only I had a sign…”
But at that very moment, I looked up and there on the side of the highway was a giant billboard that read, “If you are looking for a sign, then this is it – join the priesthood.” I about ran off the road.
Please understand, it doesn’t have to be that dramatic or clear – even though that was pretty awesome.
I have had people tell me, I feel a leading to do this, or say this, or act on this and it came after reading a book, or watching a T.V. program, talking to a friend, or while walking on the beach. There are lots of ways that we hear the call on our lives to speak out or follow a specific path.
I always think of how our stamp program began here at First Friends – and please here me on this, I believe our Stamp Program has been prophetic in so many ways. It has been a visible sign that God is here, that God cares, and that God is actively working to renew wholeness (shalom) in all creation.
And it came about because Amy Perry was moved by something I said in a sermon, and deep down it stirred in her the desire to take over the stamp program and bring it to First Friends. I believe whole-heartedly that Amy’s call to take over the stamp program was a prophetic moment for Amy and First Friends. And her prophetic vision has been contagious to so many of you and others around the world. The stamp program has flourished and grown and oppressed women in third-world countries are being impacted and freed to start their own businesses by her acting on what God put on her heart that Sunday morning.
Again, Amy would probably deny that this was a prophetic moment and just say she was being obedient.
Howard points out that with the prophets in the Bible, God initiates the contact, perhaps in a burning bush, a vision or dream, or a word from the Lord [or billboard or even in a sermon] and lays out the mission. Typically, the prophet-to-be objects, “Who me? Do what? You definitely have the wrong person here.”
I think we all are surprised when we get the nudge, or call, or have an insight that others are not seeing. The same was true for many of the prophets. For example:
Moses said he did not talk well and objected to what God had put on his heart.
Jeremiah said he was just a lad, too young, perhaps even a nobody.
Gideon said his family wasn’t anything much to speak of.
Amos flat out denied being a prophet and blamed it right on God.
We ALL like to make excuses or question our calls. I have heard them and said them.
What will people think if I speak up?
I am not that adventurous to go there?
Other people are better at saying what I am feeling?
I think that may be too political?
What if things change after I say something?
Howard points out that even though the prophets made excuses and didn’t volunteer or sign up for the job, God still chose them. And God often would add “Do not be afraid. I’ll be with you” because fear is what usually grips those called to being prophetic or speaking up.
The important thing to note is that in each of the cases, the prophet was obedient. Howard says it is because “they came to KNOW God in ways that would not let them go.”
As you may have heard, the word “know” is a loaded word in many languages, especially Hebrew. In this case, to know God doesn’t just mean knowing about God, an abstract head-knowledge of God – which many denominations hold in highest regard. But rather, Howard says,
“Its knowing God by heart, a completely whole-hearted, relational knowing as the great command requires: ‘Love the Lord with all your heart, all your being, and all your strength.’ (Deut. 6:5 the Shema). It is a kind of knowing that forms, guides, and compels us.”
As Quakers this totally makes sense. Especially since we believe there is that of God within each of us. Our obedience, our action, our speaking up prophetically, all flows from our knowing the God within us – or as the Hebrew people said, “that resides in our hearts” and then permeates our entire being!
That is why I think the greatest obstacle for you and I being prophetic in our world today, in our families, in our relationships, even in our communities is OURSELVES. We second guess ourselves. We don’t want to admit that we may have an important word from God. We hold ourselves back from taking that needed action. We worry, fear, and have neglected to embrace our prophetic voice that the God within each of us is calling us to use. What would happen if we embraced it and actually spoke up? I sense it would begin to change our world.
So, let’s go back to my time in Silverton, a couple years later, Chuck and Buckley showed up again in my office. Things had calmed down and we were moving in more welcoming ways. This time Chuck had hand-crafted a box (this one) for me. And in the box was a note that accompanied this miniature version of that giant stirring stick. The note read:
Bob, if the original “Stir-it-up” Paddle (by virtue of its size) subliminally encouraged you to over-zealous moments, I apologize. The 2014 model is, perhaps, a safer unit: less horsepower, etc.
Directions for use, “stir-it-up” paddle, model #2014:
Season all things with patience, kindness, and love;
Listen deeply to the Holy Spirit,
And stir appropriately.
God bless you and all your family.
Chuck, [his wife] Val, and Buckley
And those directions are the perfect way for me to close this message.
As you and I feel lead to speak, act, or engage prophetically in our circles of influence, and as we become visible signs that God is here, that God cares, and that God is actively working to renew wholeness (shalom) in all creation, remember to season all things with patience, kindness and love, then listen deeply to the Spirit within you, and finally stir appropriately (sometimes it will be in small ways and other times it will be in much bigger ways) – just remember to stir it up!
Now, as we enter waiting worship, I hope you will consider the following queries:
1. When have I avoided sharing or acting prophetically out of some worry or fear?
2. Have I ever sensed a call from the God within me? What did I do with it?
3. How may I be formed, guided, and compelled to prophetic action by getting to know the God within me better?