My mom (aka "granny") has blessed me so much my whole life - but especially since she moved here in May. She has made having four children 5 and under a lot easier than it should be for Keith and I. One of the ways she has blessed us is by having a "sleepover at granny's" on most Friday nights for our boys. They get to stay up late watching movies and Keith and I get to sleep in a little longer and have a sweet time with the Lord where we actually get to be still for more than 5 minutes at a time. So, I am blogging this after I've had one of those precious mornings.
My heart has really been burdened over teaching members of the body of Christ that it is vital to their Christian walk to serve the body. I think our culture is so used to being consumers that we can easily forget that church is not a consumer driven establishment. The church does not exist to make Christians feel better about themselves because they've gone to church one day a week and sang a couple of songs that makes them feel closer to God. It makes my heart sad that we, left alone, all tend to feel like that's good enough for our spiritual life. I think that this is one reason that non-Christians don't see a real need for Christ in their lives. Because for so many believers, having Christ just seems to make a nominal difference in your life. They don't see evidence of the transforming work of Christ in the lives of most Christians they know. They see it as vanity on our part - just trying to do whatever necessary to feel better about ourselves - and going to church really does move us up on the ladder of being better than our neighbor, right ? Please read the sarcasm in that last sentence.
One of the basics that God had in mind when he put the church together was that we learn how to serve each other and that we could see how each part of the body is extremely vital to the functioning of the church. It seems like such an easy command to obey - to serve the body.
Let's look at Eph 4. 11 - 16: "It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we ll reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitfulful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work."
It is obvious from this passage that God's people are to serve so that the body of Christ may be built up. When you don't serve, you are keeping others from becoming mature in Christ. And I love the last verse, that the whole body is held together by every supporting ligament, and that we grow as each part does its work.
If you are reading this and you are not serving in your church body, I pray that you will be challenged to step out and obey the Lord's will for you in this area. We always wonder what the Lord's will for us is in certain areas...well this is a clear directive that you don't have to keep pondering...You are called to serve.
And along with this challenge - remember, that serving in Children's ministry is not baby-sitting! And it is very manly. And the excuse "I am not gifted with children," is really only true for a very select few in our society. Most of the time, that is just used because you think of it as baby-sitting and you're right, that is really not a gifting that many of us do have. But if you see Children's ministry as a way to show Christ to our young ones and a way to model for them what being a godly man/woman looks like, then you really have no good excuse for not giving CM a try. I am overwhelmed by the impact that the CM at our church has on all my kids.
Because our church is a church plant, we still only have a select few ministries to be apart of on Sunday mornings. So, that's why I had to include the previous paragraph. Our main ministry focus on Sunday mornings is pouring into our kids and many of our people seem to think it's an easy out for not serving - but remember, you are needed so that our chuch body functions like God intended and so that we may all become mature.
Usually, my postings are all warm and fuzzy, so I'm really curious as to ya'lls thoughts on this posting after you read...
6 comments:
Great post, Barie. And I agree with you about serving. Especially in the children's ministry. I am the nursery coordinator at our church--which means I miss Sunday School every week with my class and husband. But, it's so rewarding and the blessings definitely outweigh any sacrifices on my part. However, it a frustrating and sad job too b/c almost every week we are literally begging other church members to help serve our babies and children. We just can't find enough workers. People don't want to miss their Sunday School class, or don't feel that it's their job. When someone approaches me and asks, "Would you guys like some extra help today?" I am so elated, I could give them a hug! It's surprised me how hard it is to show others that even if you don't have the gift of service, still serve!
Barie, Thank you for speaking Truth!...Sometimes Gods words are hard for His children to hear but we are so blessed when we heed His word and obey, and sometimes we all need to be reminded that its now all warm and fuzzys but meat and bread on which we live. So you stand up for Him and You Go Girl!!!! Make His heart glad in His little girl today!!!
still praying for yall. Linda
And if I could spell it would be good. It is suspose to say "it is not always warm & fuzzy..." Hugs
We are serving as an act of obedience...kind of like deciding to be baptized. It's what we are all called to do. Not to say it isn't a challenge but the rewards are great! At the beginning of the year, one child out of 12 brought their bible to Sunday School. Now about half do and hopefully by the end of the year, they all will. They are learning their memory verses and are really opening up to us and confiding in us. It's great to see that we are earning their trust! This morning I had a great conversation with my small group about salvation. Some of the kids and I were able to share with one boy who isn't saved about what salvation means. I think sometimes we get too caught up in the little details of serving. You never know how good it will be until you just do it!
Thanks for your post! I think it's words we all need to hear to some level or another! I'm a pastor's wife and pastor's kid, and every church I've ever been at has had trouble finding children's and nursery workers. Just in the last 50 years have parents shifted their thinking and placed all of the responsibility on the church to teach their children the truths of the Bible. It's just easier that way, I guess. I think as a whole, we as Christians have become very selfish in only wanting to give our time or service when it really feels good all the time. The minute things don't feel so tingly good or it gets a little inconvenient, people just want to bail out! The real reward and blessing comes when you "press on to the end"! As a pastor's wife and lover of every aspect of ministry, there have been times I have done way too many things just because no one else was doing it, and that's not right either. I think the main issue, is being so in tune with the Lord that we can hear clearly when He calls us to serve him in a certain role. Thank you for making me think today about something else besides diapers and kiddos, and helping me evaluate my service to the Lord!
I heard Pastor Tim preach on this passage and he made the point that God always provides for His church. If we are doing the ministry that He wants us to, there are always the right people to fill those spots of needs (as long as we are willing to obey God). (But I don't often look at it that way.) Being reminded that He is always doing the work of providing encourages me, and the truth that even if His children don't obey and ministries suffer - He is still going to be working and changing people (even when we screw things up...which we all do at times). No doubt, I'll always need to be reminded of these things...it is very hard to put my desires aside to serve others.
Very sharp post, Barie.
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