Window on the World

This was true in the time of the early church, and it is true today. We participate as best we can, yielding to the love and authority of Jesus Christ in our lives.

John Hayward of the University of Glamorgan, in Wales, wrote a significant article for the Quadrant, the journal of the Christian Research Institute in Great Britain.

Since most of you do not have access to this journal, I would like to share some of his findings regarding patterns and cycles that re-occur in the Christian church in Britain over the last century.

One of Dr. Hayward’s findings that struck a particular chord with me is the identification of a particular category of church member, whom he calls an enthusiast.

Dr. Hayward says that "growth [of a church] ends for lack of contacts with unbelievers, not lack of enthusiasm [of the church members]. The growth eventually ceases because the enthusiasts spend proportionately less time ‘infecting’ the shrinking pool of unbelievers. Only if unbelievers are deliberately sought out will growth last."

Dr. Hayward categorizes the growth of the church as being similar to "an epidemic of a disease. It has small beginnings that lead to substantial growth, which eventually slows down."

Whenever we find times of revival growth, we also find these enthusiasts present. I find this corroborated in our own experience.

In the latter half of the ’60s, we experienced explosive growth in the church. Enthusiasts abounded. Even though we encouraged them not to, they continually shared their excitement with friends and relatives.

Who are these enigmatic enthusiasts, and what can we learn about them? My guess is that nearly all of us know, or at least have known enthusiasts. Some of us probably used to be enthusiasts, and I pray that some of you reading this now find that you are enthusiasts.

Enthusiasts are often relatively new Christians. They may or may not be spiritually mature. Sometimes they don’t know much about the Bible.

But we must remember what their role is: they infect other people with their enthusiasm. They have experienced the love of God in a way that is obviously genuine and is apparent to those who know them well.

The new work that the Holy Spirit is doing in the lives of the enthusiasts can be extremely magnetic to unbelievers who are searching for meaning in their lives.

It is important to be clear about what the enthusiast does well. He or she may not be able to teach and ground a person in the faith. But the enthusiasts have something that draws people to come and see for themselves. When Jesus healed lame people and they went cavorting through the streets to their homes, they drew crowds.

In the same way when people see someone who was spiritually lame now whole and full of hope, that can cause a person to want to see for themselves. This gives the rest of the Body the opportunity to express Christ’s love and acceptance.

So, the enthusiast’s value is not necessarily seen within the congregation. They do their best work outside the congregation in the presence of unbelievers.

Quality over quantity

A small number of enthusiasts who have something spiritually worthwhile to offer will have great effect. Again, this is because the enthusiasts’ lives have been touched by God in such a way that is a) obvious and b) causes unbelievers to see a glimmer of hope that they might benefit as well. This stimulates unbelievers to want to find out more.

A major threat to enthusiasts is the fact that the church in the West has become so institutionalized. Even our contact with unbelievers tends to be turned into an outreach program of one kind or another.

Good works are good for the Christian, but do not necessarily lead others to reach out to Christ. They are of redemptive value only if they illuminate and lead to the One who is truly good. These programs can be unintentionally destructive when they occupy the time and energy of the few enthusiasts who may exist, and keep the enthusiasts tied up in institutionalized service or outreach.

So, when the rare new enthusiast comes along, we can’t wait to plug him or her into some ministry within the church. This is often driven by a desire to relieve the pressure a little on the 20 percent of a typical congregation who statistically carry the ministry burden for the 80 percent who statistically do little or nothing.

It is critical that we may be running the risk of ministering ourselves to death. A congregation can have so many ministries (inreach or outreach) that no one has any time to live a simple, transparent, transformed life in authentic relationship with the unbelievers who are part of the daily orbit of the enthusiast. It is also important to understand that the enthusiast does not have the same impact when part of a church’s ministry as he or she will have when in close personal contact with unbelievers they know.

The enthusiast is at his or her best when in personal relationship with those people who know him or her well and who would recognize the miracle that is taking place in the enthusiast’s life. This allows Christ to manifest himself as a personal Lord who engages the personal life of people who cannot save themselves.

My father was an enthusiast. He and mom were two people who were so determined to respond to what God was doing in their lives that he hopped a train halfway across the country and appeared in Pasadena to check out this church that he couldn’t seem to get any information about.

A few years later, we were living in Pasadena, where my dad had become a student at Ambassador College. Our house was a zoo. You never knew what stranger dad had run into and would bring home for dinner. In a few cases those who came for a meal turned into an extended stay with us.

Most of these people were brand new prospective members, who, like mom and dad, were determined to find out what this church was all about.

My parents were not yet mature Christians, they were still learning themselves. But their enthusiasm was so infectious that many of those they influenced went on to become mature Christians.

In some cases they later became pillars and leaders in the church, names many of you would recognize.

My parents did not remain enthusiasts forever; no one does. As they matured in the faith, more and more of their friends and relatives also either became converted, or drew a line and wanted nothing to do with religion.

But for a period of time in our history one generation of enthusiasts produced another that followed. While explosive growth is spiritually driven, nonetheless, enthusiasts abound and play a major part in the growth cycle.

We have precious few enthusiasts today in the Worldwide Church of God. I’ve met a few, and perceive that sometimes we, the more "mature ones" in the congregation, chalk up their enthusiasm to immaturity.