Why Tab? One
Why Tab? One by Rev. L. John Gable
July 30, 2023
We come to the last of this series of sermons on “Why Tab?”, the question I asked of myself 15 years ago, the very question each of us must ask and answer for ourselves still today, and I would venture to say that the answer I want to explore with you this morning is more important than any of the other answers I’ve given thus far. We’ve spoken of Tab’s ability to maintain a balance between Christ-centered preaching and teaching and social engagement in the community– not an easy balance for many churches to maintain, but we have managed to do so; of our “deep keel” of location and legacy programs and generosity- each of which have kept us stable and standing through the myriad of changes which have come our way; of the partnerships we have birthed and launched and maintained in the work of the Gospel in this community and around the globe, some of which have continued for decades, Tab Rec will turn 100 next year. As important as each of these are to our identity, I believe our ability to maintain unity in the midst of our diversity is of greater importance still, and it is that I would like to focus on today. Why is this so important to us? Because it was important to Jesus.
Our Scripture lesson from John’s Gospel comes at the very end of His ministry and is part of what is often called the “Last Supper discourse”. Last words carry extra weight and should be carefully listened to as being important words, essential words. Jesus concludes this table conversation with His disciples by offering this prayer. Unlike the model prayer He gave earlier that we refer to as being “the Lord’s Prayer”, this one really is our Lord’s Lord’s Prayer, a prayer He actually prayed, and for what did He pray? He begins by praying for Himself, that He and His ministry might be honored and glorified so that God the Father might be honored and glorified. He then prays for the twelve who were seated at the table with Him, His closest friends and followers, that God might protect them, physically and spiritually, saying, “Father, protect them in Your name that You have given Me, so that they may be one as We are one.” Of particular note, He prays for their one-ness, their unity, as they were being commissioned to carry on His ministry. And why did He ask this for them? Because He knew, different as they were from one another, how easy it would be for them to scatter to the winds once He was no longer there to hold them together.
And then He concludes by praying for all those who would come to believe in Him through their work and witness, saying, “I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in Me through their word.” It is not a stretch to say that Jesus was praying for us, and for what did He pray on our behalf? “That they/that we may all be one. As You, Father are in Me and I am in You, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me.” Again I ask, of all the things Jesus could have prayed for for us, why did He pray for this, for our unity in faith and witness and ministry? Because He knows us and He knows of our proclivity to divide and separate ourselves from one another when issues arise and times get tough. And He knew that were that to happen it would be damaging to the Church in generations to come that would gather in His name and to their witness to the difference Jesus makes in the way we relate to God and to one another. He wanted them, and I dare say us, to demonstrate to the unbelieving world that the Church is different, that His followers are different, that persons of good character and principle really may differ without dividing, that agreement on the essentials outweighs any disagreement which may arise on the non-essentials. These are all things you have heard me talk about before because this is important to me, and given that Jesus focused on this in His parting prayer, it is safe for us to say that unity in the midst of diversity is important to Him as well. I bring it up to you again because Tab is doing it and we need to continue to do it, for our sake and for Christ’s sake.
I have been quoting Aaron Renn a good deal recently. Aaron is a local writer who, along with his family, worshiped with us for a number of years before moving out of town. In his leaving he sent me an email citing 10 wonderfully, unique characteristics of Tab. Listen to the way he describes #3 and #4: “Tab is an extremely rare church where people who have very different politics attend together and seem to get along…For me personally, Tab was a refuge from the kinds of disputes and controversies tearing the US religious world apart. Just consider Covid. I’m sure you all heard it from people on both sides, and that this was a big stress inducer for the Session and staff. However, the congregation seemed to be buffered from that…Agree or disagree, I appreciate that Tab laid out an approach to what it was doing and followed it while not becoming heavy handed with mandates on the congregation. I think this is about as well as could have been done given the times, and again, I felt completely buffered from any controversies, which was a relief.”
Aaron cites the pandemic and that is a good example of how we have tried to live in unity despite our differences and diversity. I know not all of you agreed with me or the staff or the Session on the decisions we made when trying to navigate our way through it. I didn’t even agree with myself some of the time, yet you/we made the conscious decision and commitment to trust the decisions which were being made on behalf of the well-being of the congregation borne of our desire to stay together. You continued to be fully supportive of our mission and ministry, even when you may not have been fully in agreement with some of the decisions which were being made.
Fast forward, as we came out of the restrictions of the pandemic new decisions had to be made regarding social distancing and the number of services we should be offering on Sunday morning. Recall the survey we sent out asking for your opinions. We got a tremendous and varied response, but the overwhelming response was despite any personal preferences regarding the number, hour or style of worship there was a clear desire for us to stay together. That is a statement of our commitment to unity in the midst of our diversity.
The early church was considered to be such an anomaly because they were very diverse, but not divided. In one early manuscript the early Christians were described in this way: “Christians are not distinguished from others by country, language, nor by the customs which they observe. They do not inhabit cities of their own, use a particular way of speaking, nor lead a life marked out by any curiosity… They reside in their homelands, but as aliens. Every foreign land is home to them. Every homeland is a place of exile. It is they who hold the world in unity.” It is notable that their distinctive diversity was not a liability but an asset, perhaps even a necessity, if the Gospel message was going to reach out to all, not just to some.
So what was it that held them all together despite their differences of background, language, culture and nation? It was their shared commitment to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. They remained absolutely committed to the One who united them despite their many differences. And because of that they made a difference in the world…and the world sat up and took notice. I believe the same can be true today, right here, among us. Our shared commitment to Christ is expressed in our shared commitment to one another. To choose Christ is also to choose His people. We don’t have to agree on everything as long as we agree on Him.
Every organization is defined either by its boundaries or by its center. “Boundary-set organizations”, even churches, create perimeters, cultural fences, theological borders to keep clear lines of distinction between “us and them”, who belongs and who does not. “Center-set” organizations take a different approach. Rather than trying to define who does and does not belong by setting points of disagreement on the perimeter, “center- set” organizations focus on common points of agreement, the essentials, if you will, with less concern for the issues which tend to divide, the non-essentials. I believe the Church is called to be “center-set”, our center being Jesus. He and He alone is our essential. A shared commitment to Jesus and His Kingdom purposes establishes our relationship not only with Him but with one another, this is the essential. Once in place, any disagreement over the non-essentials becomes increasingly less important. I agree with Leslie Newbegin when he says, “The Church is not defined by its boundaries but by its center.” This was restated by a very varied gathering of Church leaders in 1952 who were meeting under the auspices of the World Council of Churches, a diverse body to be sure.. They spelled out the basics very simply, I quote, “The closer we come to Jesus, the closer we come to one another.”
This, I believe, is what Jesus meant when He prayed that “we all may be one” because He knew, then and now, that in times of disagreement we have a tendency to run to our corners, to divide and separate (red and blue, pro and con, for and against, in and out) somehow thinking we will find safety and shelter by surrounding ourselves with those who we think think and believe as we do, only to discover that the more narrowly we define our perimeters we suddenly find ourselves standing alone. We know that we live in a culture right now that biases toward being “boundary-defined”, but that should not be so in the Church because we are defined by our Center. In our times of disagreement rather than running away from one another we should be running toward one another because the One who unites us is greater than anything that could ever seek to divide us, unless of course we allow them to.
Jesus’ prayer for our unity despite our diversity is evidenced in His teaching. When asked, “What are the essentials?” Rather than listing the many, He offers only two: “Love God and love your neighbor as yourself”, saying all the rest is just commentary. The Apostle Paul, one who we might expect could come up with a long list of rules and regulations, makes this shockingly simple statement to the church in Corinth, “I have decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” Are there other things on which we can argue, debate and disagree? Of course there are, but all of them pale in comparison to the One who prays to keep us together.
I conclude this series of “Why Tab?” sermons, and in some ways my entire ministry, focusing on this topic of unity within the Body of Christ, despite our difference of opinion or perspective or the denominational label on our door. Why? Because it is important to me. You have heard me say all of this, perhaps many times, before over the past 15 years. And because I believe it is important to Jesus, this being the focal point of His parting prayer, His final wish and desire for you and for me, and for all those who are called in His name to be the Church. But I believe it is also important for Tab because we are uniquely positioned to demonstrate what it means to live in unity despite our diversity, but this doesn’t just happen by chance; we must choose to be committed to it and to one another, and we must pray for it, as Jesus has.
Several years ago I got an email from our dear friend Bill Diener, our former Clerk of Session, now deceased. I asked Kaye for her permission to use it. Following the death of their daughter Karen he sent me this message. “I feel most fortunate to be a member of Tab. Our congregation is diverse, and maybe eclectic. From a secular standpoint this is almost an impossible group of Christians to lead and direct; at least very challenging. However, and I don’t know exactly how to describe it in words, there’s a common essential ‘goodness’ within its individuals and families. Each part cares about the other parts. There is a true love within which also pours out to the less fortunate in our community. For a long time doubter of the power of corporate prayer, I am now reformed. We could not have had the human strength to endure on our own. It’s as if the arms of God are manifested in the hugs we receive from people. We feel truly blessed.”
Friends, in days to come, when you are faced with the changes which will inevitably come and decisions are made which may or may not be to your liking, and you feel the urge to rush to your corner, I ask you to make Jesus’ prayer your prayer, “that we all may be one”, because “You belong to Christ and I belong to Christ and we belong together.” And, I believe, when we do so, the world will sit up and take notice, not because of who we are, but because of who He is to us, and that is the most important answer any of us can give to the question, “Why Tab?”. Amen.
Rev. L. John Gable
Tabernacle Presbyterian Church
Indianapolis, IN