In 1946 Gordon and Mary Cosby founded the Church of the Savior in Washington, D.C., a community of faith that changed the world. Yesterday Gordon died. He was, I believe, the most visionary American church leader of the 20th century. The great Quaker thinker, Robert Greenleaf, once wrote that nothing great happens without there first being a great dream. Gordon proved that was true.
The Church of the Savior, especially its Wellspring Ministry, changed my life. I say that because they taught me things I never learned in seminary that sent me in a direction in ministry I would have never otherwise gone. Here are some of them that explain why I describe the day I joined Wellspring Ministry in 1973 as the moment I got “saved” from traditional church.
– that commitment is the key to power, not the size of a group. A small group of committed members is always stronger than a larger group with half the members
uncommitted.
– that uncommitted members of a group have a debilitating effect on the committed members, and in the process damage their ability to fulfill their mission.
– that the real measure of a church is not what it does when it gathers, but what it does when it scatters.
– that every Christian is called both to discipleship and to ministry
– that the goal of the Christian life is to have the time of your life doing what you feel called to do for God.
– that success for clergy is not the extent to which they have the support of their church members, but the extent to which they are equipping their members for
ministry.
– that when you don’t know your call to ministry you are susceptible to being jealous of those who do.
– that Emil Brunner was right when he said the church exists by mission as a fire exists by burning.
– that people don’t have a spiritual gift, they are a spiritual gift.
– that taking risks nurtures discipleship instead of endangering it.
– that covenant is the foundation for real community.
– that following call is the only standard of success that matters.
– that ordained ministry is not about personal advancement.
The Quakers believe God raises up a great voice in every generation. I believe Gordon Cosby was that voice in his. Thanks be to God!
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Jan, I am printing this and saving it. Thanks for sharing.
Amen!
Tried on your old email to send a note this morning. I have often returned to a part of a sermon Gordon preached as quoted in An Agenda for Biblical People. Because he reportedly died in the homeless shelter established by The Church of the Savior I reread his message:
At the bottom are the poor and impotent, their minds and gifts never developed; they are the dumping ground of human life….They have no one to protect them, no one to speak for their rights. They are the lonely ones….Part of the scandal of the gospel is that when you meet the abandoned, crucified Messiah, he grabs you and you belong to him. Wherever you are in privilege and power and status and opportunity, you start the movement down, not up. And you go down and down and down until you are powerless, except for his power; you go down until you find yourself with the riffraff….Wherever you see them and hear about them, you know that your lot is cast with them, that they are your people.”
Peace
Great Gordon quote, Charlie. So typical of his preaching. What a prophetic voice!
Thanks Jan. My path and journey was a little different than Gordon Cosby, but the direction was similar. I always appreciated learning more about his ministry. Stephen
Thanks for the tribute, Jan. One whose impact on the church and service to God’s commonwealth has been beyond measure–truly a giant of a follower of Jesus, with a humility “size” to match.
Greetings from the belly of much sadness and immense gratitude.
Last night we had a gathering of Gordon- touched souls cuddled up in the Potter’s House to tell Gordon stories… It was nothing less than a Revival.
It makes me all weepy to read your words about Gordon. I feel so blessed that he touched your life and you were that conduit to me that changed my life. Being in DC in the heart of COS is thrilling on many levels esp as the country seems to care less and less about the people that Jesus cared for more and more throughout his life. COS gives me a place to belong as I strive to hope in a time that often feels hopeless. Your captured the essence of who he was and now the great challenge for us is to raise him up in death as a holy guidepost. Dixcy
You embody the best of COS, Dixcy!
Thank you for making a joyous tribute for Gordon. He has touched so many lives. It has been great 33 years of life changing experiences.
Alice Payne Azzouzi
In 1939 or.40, Gordon commuted from seminary to serve Monroe Baptist Church were I was a7 old year member. Gordon remembers my uncle who was Sunday School Superintendant. That was one of my fondest childhood memories even though he was only thereashorttime.
THANK YOU FOR THIS! A total keeper. One of our major “city saints” for sure!