Sex, General Motors and Dr. Seuss. These three topics have been the subject of sermons by Chris Mesa, senior pastor of Austin Avenue United Methodist Church.

In fact, he has devoted an entire series of sermons to each one.

“The series on sex was controversial,” said Mesa, 47, who came to the historic Methodist church two years ago. “I got an e-mail from a church member who said he would not be back until it was over.”

Chris Mesa, senior pastor of Austin Avenue United Methodist Church, often preaches series of sermons on such topics as sex, General Motors and Dr. Seuss. Here he stands beside a sign that reminds his congregation that its primary responsibility is to serve as disciples of Christ and to create others.
Duane A. Laverty/Waco Tribune-Herald

He described his messages on Dr. Seuss as “whimsical,” an attempt to find gospel truths in the children’s books by Theodor Seuss Geisel such as “Green Eggs and Ham.”

Mesa now has embarked on a series comparing the plight of the church with that of General Motors, the powerful carmaker that survived bankruptcy with the help of government bailouts.

“If you had suggested 60 years ago that GM might fail, no one would have believed you. It was the most powerful corporate conglomerate in the world,” Mesa said. “But it became a little arrogant, and Honda and Toyota began to eat into its market share.

“It ignored trends and continued to build the giant cars it wanted to build. Quality began to slip, but GM didn’t care. Its attitude was that people would buy their cars anyway.”

Some old-line churches have made the same mistake of thinking they could not fail, Mesa said, adding they lost sight of their mission to create disciples and got caught up in trivial things like choosing the right carpet.

He urged members of his congregation to make a covenant to invite two people to church every week for the rest of their lives.

He asked those making such a pledge to bring their covenant to the altar.

Mesa grew up in Dallas, received his undergraduate degree from Southern Methodist University and went to seminary at Texas Christian University.

He preached at churches in Alvarado and Burleson at the same time before moving to Weatherford, Temple and then Waco, which he called “a great appointment.”

Still, he faced challenges at Austin Avenue United Methodist Church. As with downtown churches elsewhere, it had seen declines in attendance and financial support.

He said the church has 1,200 members, but about 250 people show up for Sunday services.

These days, Mesa said, a downtown church cannot survive without excellence — in its preaching, its music and its children’s ministry.

He immediately hired Randy Umstead, a renowned tenor and professor of voice at Baylor University, to serve as his music minister.

Personally, Mesa dedicated himself to preaching sermons on a single topic during a series of Sundays, which forces him to do more research and planning.

Associate pastor Rachel Heyduck, 34, said Mesa doesn’t mind poking fun at his own shortcomings and tells quirky stories that resonate with the congregation. His messages “are very tangible but very entertaining.”

“He’s not a pastor who shies away from hard subjects, which I admire,” Heyduck said.

His Dr. Seuss series included a sermon on “Green Eggs and Ham,” in which a character named Sam-I-am tries to persuade an unnamed character to try a meal featuring those foods.

Finally, in an attempt to shut Sam-I-am up, the character tries green eggs and ham, likes them and thanks Sam-I-am.

“That goes to the biblical concept of being open to new and different experiences,” Mesa said.

Then there was the series on sexuality. Mesa made the point that God created sex, but churches in America became so uncomfortable talking about it that they abdicated their responsibility to Hollywood.

“They said, ‘Let them tell you about it,’ and then we sit back and talk about the terrible sexual morals of this country,” Mesa said. “We’ve kind of thrown the word ‘adultery’ out with the bath water because it sounds parochial and ancient.

“We think we’re smarter and more sophisticated about sex than God, which is a bad mistake.”

He said casual sex creates heartbreak and those who practice it often have trouble finding true intimacy.

In October, Mesa plans a series on stewardship that will include the wise use of money.

“How many TVs can you watch at one time?” he asked. “How many boats can you ski behind?”

mcopeland@wacotrib.com

757-5736