I'd like to introduce our speaker this morning.
Most of you know who she is, but let's find out
a little bit more about Julie. We were at our
women's retreat last fall, and she came to me
and she said, I think I have a sermon for Women's
Ministries Day. And I go, Amen. So Julie, where
did you grow up? I grew up in a little town in
California called Willits, about an hour away
from the sea, and about two and a half hours
above San Francisco. Okay. On a 1 ,200 -acre
ranch. Wow. What did you do? What were your chores?
Chickens, goats, garden, picking berries, picking
berries, picking berries, picking berries. Okay.
Where did you go to school? Well, I was kind
of a hybrid. I went to our local church school,
and then I was homeschooled, and then I went
back to our local church school, then I was homeschooled,
and then I went away to academy. So I got the
best of both worlds. Okay. And college? College,
I hopscotched. I started off in California, took
a break, and went to work in Minnesota for a
year, then went to England, and then I came back
and finished at Southern and haven't left. Well,
we're glad you're here this morning. What's the
title of your sermon? Who Are You? It's about
our different personalities. Cool. Thank you
so much. I love you. So today, I want to introduce
you guys to the Tater family, which we are all
members of. And I've borrowed from different
stories and different... Different personalities
I've seen over the years that I've been in church,
and every one of the personalities I'm sharing
today in no way reaches every personality in
the church. Some people are a combination of
personalities. None of us are the same. All of
us, every single one of us, have good and bad
character traits. We try to hide the bad ones
and only show the good ones. But some of us are
more successful than others. Some of us, you
know, everybody knows everybody. But we are hash
browns, okay? All of us are shredded up into
a pot and browned nicely. And as a church, we
are a serving of hash browns. So when we're all
shredded up into the same pot, Hopefully, we
blend each other's good and bad traits, and the
good of others makes up for the harder traits
in others, and we make it a family. Today, I
want to share some of the personality traits
that make up this Tater family. As I said before,
we can be a combination of difference of these
traits. So what I want for you guys to consider
while I'm going through these is which traits
do you have? I don't think any of us have all
the traits of every personality I'm going to
show today. But which ones do you have, good
or bad? Which ones do you need to look at? Which
ones do you need to develop more? Where would
you like to grow? So without further ado, I'm
going to be introducing to you both the good
and the bad of the Tater family. And before I
do that, let's bow for a word of prayer. Dear
Heavenly Father, I just pray that you will help
this sermon reach someone here, if not everyone.
Just help me to say your words and not mine.
In thy name, amen. All right, we're going to
start off with our first personality, Tater,
and this is Dictator. Dictator is the self -appointed
ruler who feels like everything should be done
his way. He is not a team player. He doesn't
listen to others. He does whatever serves to
make him look good. He tries to boss everyone
when there's work to be done. He is so full of
himself. He doesn't see that people avoid him
and rarely want to work when he's in charge.
Spiritually speaking, Dick knows his Bible upside
and down and constantly quotes from it when trying
to make someone see his way. What he doesn't
see is that people don't want to be around him
and don't see Jesus in his actions. Jesus in
Matthew compared... The scribes and Pharisees,
to what I consider a dictator, he said, look
at what they say and what they do and learn.
And that's a synopsis of Matthew 23, the beginning
of that. They bind heavy burdens they're hard
to bear. They lay them on men's shoulders, but
they themselves don't act upon their own words.
So there's pros and cons of being a dictator.
One is it is real easy to make a decision. It's
his way or the highway, okay? So we're going
to do this, we're going to do it tomorrow, and
you're going to be here. Very efficient because
he's going to tell each of you where to be and
what time and you're going to be there and what
you're going to do. The con is... There's no
joint decisions. The rest of the hash browns
are not contributing to Dick's point of view.
He suppresses anybody that says, I don't agree
with that. He doesn't want to hear it. And should
he leave, the church is in shambles or the group
is in shambles because no one knows how to do
anything without his direction. This, we've seen
this in the world as well where dictator leaderships
rise and fall. And the same happens if one person
controls a congregation. So then we can move
on. There's the imitators. Emma. As the member
who follows all the latest fabs, she never really
discovered her own identity because she's so
busy trying to be somebody else. She doesn't
have her own beliefs because she wants to fit
in and be accommodating to others. She will agree
with whoever she's with. When put on the spot,
she can only repeat what she's heard. She doesn't
study for herself. And spiritually speaking,
Emma... doesn't know her Bible and relies on
others to tell her what to believe. Now, a prose
of Emma Tater. It's very efficient because she
doesn't disagree with anyone. So wherever the
flow is going, there she is. Reduce risk. She
doesn't have to step out and make a decision
and somebody disagree with her because she's
always the one agreeing with others. She could
learn and adapt. Some imitators do learn to do
that. But they lack originality. They follow
other people's ideas, so they rarely come up
with one of their own. Ethically, she's not an
example you want anyone to follow because she
goes with the flow. Because she doesn't study,
she has limited spiritual growth. sometimes decides
to follow right out the church doors. And she
depends on others to make decisions for herself.
And this is very, very dangerous because who
knows who comes and who she's following. Like
I said, she could follow that opinion right out
the door. Now our next part of the hash browns
is Hezzy. Hezzy Tater. He's often asked to help
at church, knows that he should, always puts
it off. He'll get around to service to God someday.
But it's more fun to do what he wants in the
moment. Spiritually speaking, Hezzy knows that
he should commit his life to God, but he knows
he'll have to give something up, something he
likes to do. So he hesitates to commit. When
hard times come, he's one of the first ones to
draw away from his church and family because
it's easier to leave than depend on God for a
result. Now, pros, they can be thoughtful. They
just don't go very deep. They avoid risk at all
costs. They might help with strategic planning.
But don't expect them, they'll give an opinion,
but don't expect them to actually execute. And
emotionally, they're pretty shut off because
they're hesitant to get involved. The cons is
they miss a lot of opportunities. Most of us,
when there's something going on, we want to be
involved because it brings the family closer
together. They're indecisive because they can't
make up their mind what they want to do. They're
not committing to something, and I don't know
about any of you, but when I'm mulling something
over and I'm hesitant, it causes a lot of anxiety
within me because I haven't made up my mind.
And they tend to procrastinate. Now, our next
tater is common tater, or common. Common has
an opinion about everything. You never need to
know what they think because they are the first
one to tell you. It doesn't matter whether they
are a subject matter expert. They have an opinion.
They don't like others to disagree with them.
Spiritually speaking, Carmen wants God to do
everything she asks. God's will is often not
relevant, nor is truth. She can easily... or
he or she can easily sway others who are just
learning to their side. So the pros of commentators.
They are engaged. They want to talk to you. They're
an expert on everything. Not, but sometimes.
Entertainment value. A lot of times they're pretty
funny to listen to. Real -time updates. They're
right in with another tater that we'll bring
up, and they know the latest gossip in town.
And it really can be a pro and a con. Bias. A
commentator wants their opinion. Sometimes they're
misinformed. They rarely listen. They like to
talk over others, and they love to stir the pot.
If there's drama going on, they have something
to talk about. And in 2 Corinthians 12 .20 it
says, For I fear lest when I come I shall not
find you such as I wish, and that I be found
with you as you do not wish, lest there be contentions,
jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions,
backbitings, whisperings, conceits, and tumults.
A lot of times the commentator, Carmen, is involved
in any kind of drama. Now, our next tater is
the spectator. Spectator, his favorite phrase,
I love work. I can watch others do it all day.
He doesn't get involved because he is a great
observer. He shows up, but he looks on, sometimes
joins in. but is great also about giving his
opinion of what needs to be done. When asked
to help, there's always an excuse that will prevent
him from providing assistance. Spiritually speaking,
Speck is at church because that's where he's
always been. He doesn't study for himself and
is asked what he believes. He can only give a
small amount of information before struggling
for more. Pros of saying as a spectator on the
sidelines. If they choose, they can observe and
learn. Reduce pressure because all you're doing
is giving opinion. You're not helping with anything.
It's safety and risk avoidance because you can't
offend anybody if you're not doing something
that they don't want you to do. And they're great
at a supportive role. The cons are they miss
opportunities, just like our last tater. They
miss out because they don't participate. They
have limited social connections because they're
always observing. And I don't know if you work
with somebody, if you guys have experienced it,
when you work with somebody in a church or a
work setting, you get to know them as a person.
But if you're sitting off to the sidelines all
the time. All you're doing is watching someone
else work. They have regret and self -doubt,
and they lack personal development. They don't
want to study for themselves. Now I have a duplicate
side, which I'm going to skip. Our next tater
is Aggie Tater. Aggie, when she was in school,
got poor marks on plays well with others. And
he's continually in conflict with others. always
seems to be involved in strife and division.
No matter what the pastor of the church does,
it is never good enough in Aggie's mind. She
loves to stir the pot. She loves it when people
are arguing and disagreeing. Spiritually speaking,
Aggie loves to point out the faults in others.
She can make everyone around her feel as though
they're the worst sinners in the world, but she
doesn't take time to look in the mirror and reflect
where she currently stands. You know, Aggie can
be motivated to change because she's stirring
that pot and something's going to happen, good
or bad, when she's stirring that pot. Encourage
action. People may agree with her and move forward.
Keeps things interesting. There's always drama
going on. And stands firm for what they believe,
right or wrong. The cons are... She's very confrontational.
She always causes conflict, can be a bit overbearing,
and can drain the life out of a congregation
because they're always dealing with drama. And
drama sometimes is good, but when you have drama
all the time, it is not good. In 1 Timothy 5
.13, it says, And besides, they learn to be idle,
wandering about house to house, not only idle,
but gossips, busybodies, and saying everything
they shouldn't say. Now, we've seen some negative
taters, and we probably have put faces in place
of these potato heads. But there are the good
ones, too. We have the sweet taters. And sweet
taters are lovely and cordial and cooperative
members of the tater's church family. They're
one of the most loved members of the church,
have a great attitude, faithful, committed, supported,
involved. She doesn't dictate, imitate, hesitate,
commentate, spectate, or agitate. Spiritually
speaking, Sweet Tater is an example for everyone.
She is the first to tell you she isn't perfect,
but if anyone is suffering, they head straight
to Sweet Tater as she loves everyone, offers
to pray for those who are struggling. She truly
sees the good in everyone. She's also very involved
in Bible study. And in Matthew 5, 16, it says,
Let your light shine before men, that they may
see your good works and glorify your Father in
heaven. When everyone comes in proximity of Sweet
Tater, she shows them Jesus. Now, the pros are
it's a welcoming atmosphere, encourages compassion,
promotes unity, offers support and encouragement,
reflects Christ's love. The cons are... Sweet
taters normally struggle with confrontation.
They want to love everyone, but they don't want
to be the one that confronts anything that's
going on. They are often taken advantage of because,
oh, sweet tater will do it, sweetie will do it.
And they might overlook tough truths about different
fellow members because they want to love everyone.
It's hard for them to make a really hard decision.
Say we have to ask someone that they please not
share that opinion that conflicts with our belief.
Sweet tater doesn't like confrontation, so it's
hard to be that strong person. And people take
advantage of the sweet potatoes. They can feel
very drained, they get tired, and nobody seems
to notice because they're so used to that congeniality.
Now our next one is a Martha tater. Now Martha
is always busy. She sees a need and promptly
helps with it. She's caring. kind, but tends
to neglect her own needs when helping others.
Martha can get burned out or upset when others
don't see the same priorities or needs as she
sees that need to be done. Spiritually speaking,
Martha knows her Bible, but is often too busy
to spend quality time for God. So her Bible knowledge
is real, but her heart can often be in the wrong
place. She has trouble surrendering and listening.
On the other hand, people can always count on
her to be there if needed. But she needs to be
reminded often to take time for herself and her
relationship with God so she doesn't burn out.
Now, the pros of Martha's is they're reliable,
they're hardworking, they support church growth.
They lead by example. They make ministry possible.
Many times it's the Marthas behind the scenes
that makes the ministry possible. And they help
strengthen community bonds. The cons are when
they get burned out, they're burnt out. And so
sometimes they'll just sit down and say, I quit.
I can't do it anymore. Sometimes they can overshadow
others. They're so used to being the driving
force behind the scenes, they don't take a step
back and let someone else come and fill the role
alongside them. And they may struggle with delegation
because they can take traits from a dictator
of wanting it done their own way if they start
something. They have less time for spiritual
growth, unrecognized efforts, and so balance
is key. Workers are essential, but they need
support, encouragement, and rest. Now we have
a preacher -tater. Preachers are scholars of
the word. They're constantly learning and wanting
to share with others. They have a knowledge of
many different subjects and bringing facts into
conversations. They have a constant desire to
learn and share. Spiritually speaking, preachers
have a strong relationship with God and desire
to share that relationship with others. They
attract those who desire to learn more. Sometimes
they have to dumb it down for the average listener
so they can understand it. Now, here I've got
a story. And it may go right along with VBS because
I'm positive this is similar to the same story
that is going to be done for VBS. But it's a
story about a missionary that we're going to
call John. And he went into native New Guinea.
to preach about Jesus. The village he was sent
to was a village that was a bunch of thieves.
They came to listen to his stories, but they
continued to live as they were because they didn't
see any need to change their life. John decided
he needed a way to get income and decided to
plant a grove of pineapples. He nurtured these
trees for the next few years while he preached
and served the people of this village. Finally,
the year came. The trees were going to put out
fruit. John got so excited he was going to be
able to have some pineapples. But as the fruit
got bigger, it started to disappear before it
was even ripe. He discovered that the villagers
were stealing his fruit. He got upset and told
them to stop, but they wouldn't listen. He prayed
about it, but God didn't stop them from stealing.
He tried to teach them about God, but he was
angry about his pineapples. And one day he was
praying, and God said, Okay, God, I'm tired of
being angry. I'm giving you the pineapple grove.
If you can keep the natives from stealing your
pineapples, have at it. So he gave his anger
to God and the pineapple grove. And once again,
pineapples began to grow on the trees. And once
again, the stealing started, but he didn't get
angry. He just said, God, they're stealing your
pineapples. One day the villagers said, Teacher,
why are you not angry about us stealing your
pineapples anymore? And John said, Well, I gave
the grove away. And they're like, Oh, who have
we been stealing pineapples from? And they said,
Well, who did you give it to? And he said, Oh,
I gave it to God, so I don't have to worry about
it anymore. You can have the pineapples. Well,
word quickly got around that the pineapples no
longer belonged to John, but they belonged to
his unseen God. And everyone was afraid to steal
the pineapples. And so as the pineapples got
ripe, they would come to Mr. John. You need the
pineapples ripe. You need to harvest your pineapples.
And his reply was always, God will tell me when
they're ready. And so John noticed, as he gave
his anger to God and resubmitted his will to
him, he became a better person. The villagers
noticed, too. One day he was asked, Mr. John,
have you become a Christian? And he was shocked.
He asked them what he meant. I've always been
a Christian. They said, no, you used to be an
angry man, but you talked about a God of love,
and we couldn't see it. Now we see a man who
can love. Did you become a Christian? John suddenly
realized that while he had come to tell people
about a God of love, he had not shown that love.
And until he gave God his pineapple grove, he
was always angry. After this, the villagers wanted
to know about the God who could change the teacher
and soon stopped stealing as they all began to
believe in a God of love. All it took was for
the missionary to become a Christian and show
God's love to the people he was trying to reach.
Preachers and teachers should be the hands and
feet of Jesus. All of us are teachers, but what
type of teacher are you? And so I've got both
a preacher and a teacher. They both go along
in the same. You can have preachers, strong spiritual
guidance, community leadership, provide stability
to a church, offers emotional support. But the
cons is preachers have a tendency to burn out
as well. There's a potential for conflict because
a preacher should always stand up for what's
right, and those who don't want to do what's
right will cause conflict. Preachers have a pressure
to meet expectations. All of us have an expectation
of what our preacher should do, and sometimes
it conflicts with what we see. Limited personal
time. out there working all the time. So their
personal times can sometimes be eaten up with
church business. And sometimes preachers are
resistant to change when something new comes
in. Teachers are kind of the same thing. They
have a deep spiritual knowledge. They provide
spiritual guidance. They encourage faith and
development. They foster community and discussion.
and equip others for ministries, they're often
working right alongside with the preacher. The
cons can be a risk of misinterpretation. How
many of you guys have known a solid Christian
who has gone to a seminar, read a book, and completely
switched the gears of their faith? I've seen
it with multiple of the friends I went to college
with. I have friends that have stayed staunch.
bible believing adventist and i have seen friends
who've stayed adventist but gone the way of the
world and so if you have a teacher that switches
they become a bad teacher for god not a good
teacher for god teachers have a potential for
bias also in the same thing they can face resistance
because not everybody wants to be taught what's
right Every single one of us has something we'd
prefer the other person not know. And if they
hear something that they don't want to hear,
then they tend to kind of resist that. So they
face resistance. They have a pressure to be perfect.
And if a teacher is too rigid or academic, they
may not resonate with the learners. Know your
audience. Teachers need to speak on the level
of the audience. I've heard some people say,
well, I went to this meeting, but all they talked
about was all this academic stuff up here, not
something I could understand, and I didn't get
a thing out of the sermon. Preachers and teachers
are essential in shaping faith communities, but
they also need support, accountability, and continue
to learn to be effective. Now we have a meditator.
Many doesn't like conflict and often works with
others to resolve their conflict. She often works
to resolve conflicts that Dick, Aggie, and Calum
started. She and Sweet are good friends and often
work together. Maddie is also actively praying
for the church, especially those involved in
conflict. She prays for her neighbors and herself.
Spiritually speaking, Maddie works hard to have
a good relationship with God, who gives her guidance
and strength to help others resolve their conflicts.
I have another story here about an elderly lady
who prayed on her porch every day. Her neighbor
was an atheist, and he hated to hear her prayers.
She prayed for her family and her church and
her neighbors. He constantly, her neighbor constantly
mocked her faith in God. Then one day, he heard
her praying for food. Her budget had not stretched
far enough that month. Her neighbor said, all
right, I'm going to get her the food and prove
there is no God. And he went out and got the
groceries and put it on her porch and then sat
around the corner and waited. She came out, saw
the groceries, and started praising the Lord
for the groceries. And he jumped out and said,
ha, it was me who got the groceries. God had
nothing to do with it. She looked at him and
then up at the sky and said, thank you, Lord,
for the groceries and making the devil pay for
it. Realizing that he was being used by God and
gotten the groceries, but was unable to convince
the woman that he had provided them and God hadn't.
God always answers in mysterious ways. So are
you like the atheist or are you like the elder
lady that can see God providing in everything?
And so in 1 Timothy 2, 1, it says, Therefore
I exhort first of all the supplications, prayers,
and intercessions in giving of thanks that be
made for all men, for kings and authorities,
that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in
all godliness and reverence. So, you know, meditators,
their prose, they encourage peaceful reverence.
A lot of times they can help resolve things faster,
but they may not be able to resolve all conflicts.
They have a potential for bias, and they are
not guaranteed the result of a resolution. So
meditators are very valuable in many situations,
but their effectiveness depends on the nature
of the dispute and the willingness of those involved
to do that. Our next one is Theotator. Now, Theo
is a Bible scholar. He can sometimes be considered
unsociable because he studies so much. He loves
to study the Bible with others, to lead Bible
studies. His danger is making sure he studies
the right materials. Sometimes he can learn error
and share it with others. He prays for guidance.
Spiritually speaking, Theo is a strong Christian
and loves to share with others. He loves to study,
and with the prayer studies, the right materials.
He is a strong influence on the rest of the church.
So theology. They have deep Bible knowledge.
If they are doing it right, they're preserving
biblical accuracy. They encourage people to think.
They support church leadership, and they bridge
faith and knowledge. Cons are they can get very
over -analytical. A lot of our PhDs have studied
themselves right out of the church. When you
have to study for a broad subject, sometimes
the study materials can make you doubt what God
can do. They're very likely to disagree with
someone who doesn't believe the same way. They
can be detached from the hands and feet of Jesus,
the practical aspects of faith. And they use
complex language, influence, and personal bio.
And I know I'm running late. And so I want to
skip down a couple to the learning taters. Like
I said, there's a lot of taters. So learning
taters can come in many forms. Children, are
we showing our children Jesus? Learners. Our
visitors, our children, our community, what do
they see? Do they see Jesus in us every day?
The children learn by watching us. Children learn
more by watching us than they do by reading the
Bible. We, as a church, are responsible for our
children. I have seen more children leave the
church as a result of actions within the church,
and they never come back. I want, for adults,
I want you guys to lay that heavy on your heart.
What would Jesus do? Lay it on your heart because
it's so important for our learners to see Jesus
in us. um our visitors do we greet them at the
door do we invite them to lunch do we you know
if if we're having potluck do are we showing
jesus to our visitors and our community i know
we do 1890s days and a few other events but do
does our community see jesus in us if we're walking
down the street do they go oh i recognize you
from 1890s days you're with that that seventh
day advent is something or the other Be the hands
and feet of Jesus so the people that are learning
can come to us. So, you know, the pros of learners,
you can help them grow spiritually, community,
morally, interactive learning, and encouraging
family involvement. Cons can, if you're limiting
your perspectives, the learners only see a certain
point of view, and they may see it as not attractive.
Potential for pressure. Witnesses can be both
good and bad. And balancing learning and fun.
So creating a welcoming and engaging environment
is key to helping our learners. So my question
to you is what kind of tater do you want to be
today? What kind of tater do you want to be moving
forward? You have viewed some of the positives
and negatives of different personalities. Have
you decided who God wants you to be? Can you
take the positive traits of some of the negative
characters and become a spiritual leader within
your church? That's my prayer for each and every
one of you today, is that we can become leader
-taters. And we can become a wonderful church
of hash browns. So let's bow our heads. Dear
Heavenly Father, we thank you and we praise you
for your love and care. I just pray that you'll
be with each and every one of us as we decide
who we want to be for you. And I just pray that
we choose to be you. In Jesus' name, amen.