Crash the Future

Occassionally in my church I have the priveledge of helping people find a place to serve that is just right for their abilities, experiences, and interests. It’s a fun thing that I get to do. It’s interesting, though, because it causes me to confront the question, “Why should I get involved?” (In case you were unsure, yes, I hear variations of this question.) Well, as a result, I’ve been asking myself the same question, and I repeatedy come back to three simple truths.

Jesus served others and said that those who wish to follow Him would do the same. In fact, He pointed out that if we wish to submit to His teaching and leadership, we should not expect to be greater than He is. (John 13) As a result, if He demonstrated the humility of service, we should do the same. It’s just a part of learning to be like Jesus.

Discipleship (following Jesus) is a personal journey, but it is not an individual journey. The vast majority of times it says, “you,” in the New Testament it is a plural “you.” While the Bible speaks to us personally, it was written to the church as a whole. God intends for us to spiritually grow in the context of community. You can’t practice service as Jesus intended if you serve only yourself.

The church is an organism, not an organization. Church is not a building. Contrary to social convention, we cannot “go to church.” Every picture of “church” in Scripture is of a living organism, it is neither an organization nor a structure. One of the most common metaphors for church is the body. (1Corinthians 12) If you are a follower of Christ, you are a part of that body. If you fail to serve in the way you were designed to serve, it impacts the rest of the body, meanwhile, you begin to suffer from spiritual atrophy. If you completely stopped using one of your arms, your whole body would have more difficulty with basic tasks, and the muscles of your arm would weaken. When you don’t serve in the way God has gifted you, you don’t develop as you should, and the body as a whole suffers.

While it is nice to have more people to assist with the ministries of our body of believers, that is not why I am excited for the journey upon which people embark in service. You see, more important than the continuation of the ministries of our particular church is a person’s progression along the path of becoming a follower of Jesus. Service is a vital part of each person’s spiritual development, and our church’s ministry team is simply one avenue for that development. I readily encourage anyone who wishes to follow Christ to get involved in an area of service in his local church. It’s just something disciples do.