To Serve or Not Serve–There is no Question

As you consider service in church, there are a couple of foundational ideas you need to keep in mind. The first is this: the term volunteer does not apply; eliminate it from your Christian vocabulary. Volunteers are people who take time away from their primary focus in life (work, family, etc) to do someone else a favor by “helping out” with, say, a bake sale at school, or snacks at the kids’ soccer game, etc. The various dictionary definitions of the term volunteer all include the word offer, as in giving up something that belongs to us, and generously presenting it to someone else as a gift. Among real followers of Christ, there are no volunteers within His kingdom because every moment of our life already belongs to Him–and in large part, that means the church, which is the embodiment of Christ on Earth (Col 1:24, 1 Cor 12:27, Eph 5:30) From the moment we made the decision to follow Jesus Christ as our Savior and our King, our time became His. “Our” time in no longer ours to offer, only to manage as best suits His purposes, not ours.

The second foundational idea to build upon is the understanding that the word serve is a verb, it assumes (and requires) action. The dictionary definitions include phrases like work for, help, and useful activity. Furthermore, a service is always provided to someone else, even in the secular world. So, although showing up to a church service may be a useful activity, it is not useful to anyone else; it is not helpful to others, and it does not constitute work which benefits anyone but our self. And even though the worship aspect of a church service is both commanded by God and pleasing to God, it is not a service to God. Moreover, according to the Bible, there is only one reason the pastor teaching the sermon was given to the church, and that is to prepare you for service and ministry.  “He also gave apostles, prophets, missionaries, as well as pastors and teachers as gifts to his church. Their purpose is to prepare God’s people to serve and to build up the body of Christ.”

 The third foundational point we need to have in place is a complete acceptance that the Bible is true–in it’s entirety. Far too many Christians trip themselves up in their walk with Christ by picking and choosing the Bible verses that they like or appreciate the most, making those the foundation of their entire belief, and completely ignoring the scriptures that they find inconvenient or that seem to modify their favorites. While it’s great to have your favorite verses, God did not provide the rest of the Bible for someone else. Like it or not, every bit of it applies to you.

SERVICE

A while back I was talking with one of our ministry partners in our church lobby, and I made the statement that a non-serving Christian is very likely not a Christian at all. Another long-time servant in our church happened to be walking by and overheard. Her expression showed no small amount of shock. But I stand by that statement. I believe that a non-serving Christian is a complete contradiction in terms; like talking about air that contains neither oxygen nor nitrogen. There is no such thing. Mind you, I was not then, nor am I now suggesting that individual Christians will not go through seasons without ministry involvement, or periods of focus on personal growth and/or clarity of God’s current will for them. But in the life of the true follower of Jesus Christ, those times are always brief and very deliberate. And before you write this off as merely my opinion, let me take you through the myriad of Bible verses that have brought me to this conclusion.

Lets start with a very general premise. As followers of Christ it is our goal and desire to be more and more like Christ. That’s what followers do. In John 14:12, Jesus said,  “I can guarantee this truth: Those who believe in me will do the things that I am doing.” And Romans  8:29 reiterates the thought. “God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him.” (MSG) Then 2 Corinthians 3:18 tells us, in part, how this happens. “We all show the Lord’s glory, and we are being changed to be like him. This change in us brings ever greater glory, which comes from the [Holy Spirit].” (NCV)

The words serve and service appear around 300 times in the Bible. The vast majority of those occurrences are commands (not suggestions) to serve the Lord and/or serve others. The following is a sampling of those directives from throughout the Bible. (All the emphases are mine.) As you read them, remember that the body of believers (the church) is the physical embodiment of Christ on Earth. Remember also, Jesus taught, “. . . anything you did for even the least of my people here, you also did for me.” (Matt 25:40 NCV) Serving in the church is serving Christ our Lord. They are one and the same.

Deut 11:13

If you faithfully obey the commands that I’m giving you today, love the Lord your God, and serve him with all your heart and with all your soul [He will bless you]. GWT

Josh 24:14

Fear the Lord, and serve him with integrity and faithfulness. GWT

1 Sam 12:24-25

Fear the Lord, and serve him sincerely. Consider the great things he did for you. GWT

1 Chron 28:9-10

Serve the Lord wholeheartedly and willingly because he searches every heart and understands every thought we have. If you dedicate your life to serving him, he will accept you. But if you abandon him, he will reject you from then on. GWT

Job 36:11

If righteous people listen and serve him, they will live out their days in prosperity and their years in comfort. GWT

Ps 2:11

Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. GWT

Ps 101:6

The person who lives with integrity will serve me. GWT

Zeph 3:9

Then I will give all people pure lips to worship the Lord and to serve him with one purpose. GWT

Mal 3:18-4:1

Then you will again see the difference between righteous people and wicked people, between the one who serves God and the one who doesn’t serve him.

Luke 1:74

He promised to rescue us from our enemies’ power so that we could serve him without fear. GWT

John 12:26

Those who serve me must follow me. My servants will be with me wherever I will be. If people serve me, the Father will honor them. GWT

Rom 1:25

These people have exchanged God’s truth for a lie. So they have become ungodly and serve what is created rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. GWT

Rom 12:11-12

Don’t be lazy in showing your devotion. Use your energy to serve the Lord. GWT

2 Cor 9:12-14

What you do to serve others not only provides for the needs of God’s people, but also produces more and more prayers of thanksgiving to God. You will honor God through this genuine act of service because of your commitment to spread the Good News of Christ and because of your generosity in sharing with them and everyone else. GWT

Gal 5:13-14

You were indeed called to be free, brothers and sisters. Don’t turn this freedom into an excuse for your corrupt nature to express itself. Rather, serve each other through love. GWT

Phil 2:4-7

Don’t be concerned only about your own interests, but also be concerned about the interests of others. Have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. . .he emptied himself by taking on the form of a servant. (GWT)

Heb 12:28-29

Because we are thankful, we must serve God with fear and awe in a way that pleases him. GWT

1 Peter 4:10-11

Each of you as a good manager must use the gift that God has given you to serve others. Whoever speaks must speak God’s words. Whoever serves must serve with the strength God supplies so that in every way God receives glory through Jesus Christ. Glory and power belong to Jesus Christ forever and ever! Amen.

I don’t know how anyone can read all those scriptures and believe for even a second that service is an option for a real Christian. And yes, I have read Ephesians 2:8-10 which says that, “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done. . .” Christian salvation, I realize, is not, and can not, be earned. But, Paul also wrote that we prove our repentance (changing our mind and our purpose to align with God’s) by our works. (Acts 26:20) Moreover, James said that, “... faith by itself is dead if it doesn’t cause you to do any good things.”

 Too many people read that last verse find it oh so easy to assume that “dead” faith only applies to people who don’t even believe in God or Jesus. But James is actually defining dead faith as a real existing faith that doesn’t produce any positive actions. There are two perfect examples in the Bible. Can you name the first character (outside of His family) to recognize the adult Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God? If you said Peter, you are wrong. Satan would hold that position. And after him, there are several demons who also refer to Jesus and the Son of God. Clearly, they believe in Jesus Christ the Messiah; but their faith is dead. It does not produce anything but selfishness and fear.

The point here is that service and ministry and good works are not a requirement for salvation, they are a sign of salvation, and a symptom of a worldly heart infected by the supernatural power of God. They are the visible manifestation of the new life given to us when we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and embrace the Holy Spirit that is now a part of us. When we truly and whole-heartedly choose to accept Jesus Christ as savior and Lord, one of the results will be a desire, even a longing, to join Him in building up His kingdom and spreading His Good News. Christ-followers serve. This is not a requirement, it is a clinical observation of the reality of the situation, like recognizing that thunder results from every single bolt of lightning. Jesus Himself said almost the same thing in John 13:35: “Everyone will know that you are my disciples because of your love for each other.” (GW) In this case, the word Christ used for love is agápeen, which goes beyond our feelings to our duty. In other words, this form of love is one that translates into a visible, tangible action. So, Jesus is essentially telling us that people will know you belong to Christ because they see how you serve one another.

In his second letter to the church in Corinth (people who had already accepted Christ), Paul tries to get them to consider whether or not they possessed a living faith. He wrote that they (and we) should, “Look closely at yourselves. Test yourselves to see if you are living in the faith. You know that Jesus Christ is in you — unless you fail the test.” (2 Cor 13:5 NCV) Make sure you don’t miss the secondary point in that verse. Knowing it was written to a group that today we would clearly label as Christians, Paul makes it plain that it is possible for professing Christians to NOT have Jesus Christ in them.

The Bible gives us many criteria we can use for such tests. The basic ten Commandments, the fruits of the spirit, and so on. But I submit that one of the key factors, and one of the easiest to recognize, by the way, is whether or not we are serving. I started this article by saying that Christians, by definition, want to be like Christ, to obey Christ, and to follow only Him. Then we would do well to remember that one of the few times that Jesus Christ described himself, he said this: “The Son of  Man did not come to be served, but to serve others, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” We would also do well to note that this verse does not say “give up his life.” Jesus death on the cross was the pinnacle of His service, but it was not the entire service. He left His home, He left perfect and complete intimacy with God the Father, He moved away from indescribable comfort and joy, and He spent 33 years living in abject poverty and isolation here on Earth. During the years of His life which we are shown, Christ spent ALL of his time in service: teaching, healing, comforting, encouraging, and leading. It is this example we are meant to follow–not one grand act of supreme service, or a bold crystal-clear calling to single crucial task–but a lifetime of constant teaching and encouraging; a continuous effort made to build His kingdom and lead others to His Truth.

Dead Faith

My morning reading has taken me into James once again. I recently heard a sermon by Andy Stanley in which he pointed out something about James that I hadn’t given much thought. Andy asked the question, “How much faith would it take for you to believe that your brother was the son of God?” James grew up with Jesus. They played hide-n-seek, wrestled, and most likely argued. They were brothers. How much faith did it take for James to shift his concept of Jesus from “big bro” to saviour of the world! I’m going to suggest that it took a whole lot, perhaps more than any other apostle.

In any case, I only share that as a little extra insight into the author. Every time I read James, I am struck by the idea of “dead faith” (James 2:26). I think most people hear or read the phrase dead faith and they think this verse is refering to a lack of faith, or to someone who does not believe in Jesus at all. They think that their faith cant be dead so long as they have any faith at all. But James said that dead faith was faith that does not lead to action. Faith that fails to compel good works, service, and ministry. I have heard this sort of faith compared to that of demons. Think about Mark 5:6-9. The demon named Legion believes in Jesus, he even refers to Jesus as “Son of the most high God.” His faith that Jesus is the son of God is complete and unquestioning. But the demon’s faith leads nowhere, except perhaps to a selfish concern for what Jesus may or may not do to him or for him. Know anyone like that?

James goes on to say that faith of this type cannot save you. Believers, particularly in America, I think, love to grasp on to Ephesians 2:8-9 and believe that we are saved by any sort of faith, no matter how wishy washy, no matter how shallow. And if God had not given us the rest of the Bible we would have no basis to suggest anything different. But James does give us a more specific definition. He says that living faith leads to actions. The very next verse in Ephesians even says that our rebirth in Christ created us for works and service.

This may seem like a contradiction, but it boils down to cause and effect. Good works cannot cause you to be saved. But real, living faith will cause you to serve. Paul (same guy who wrote Ephesians) said that we prove our repentance (a key componant of living faith) by our works (Acts 26:20). So Paul and James are both saying that the evidence of a living faith, that is faith which leads to salvation, is in our deeds, our works, and our service; not just our belief.

Are you too busy to serve in church? I’m going to suggest that your faith may be dead. But don’t take my word for it, read the Bible for yourself. But seek out the scriptures that speak to this subject, and seek out all of them. And before you even start, ask God to lead the study and reveal His intention for your life.

Why Are We Obedient?

I’ve been involved in a study recently, the authors of which contend that serving Christ out of duty and resposibility are not only wrong, but can lead to a negative result of separating us from God. Jesus clearly suggests that they are right in Matt 7:22-23, “Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” These guys were doing some pretty amazing spiritual activities, weren’t they? I don’t know about you, but I have never driven out a demon, nor performed a single miracle. Yet, Jesus was not impressed, because they did not have a relatioship! His big problem with these folks is that He never knew them.

The type of people Jesus is talking about in these two verses are doing the right things. Driving out demons is most decidedly not a bad thing! Miracles in His name are not bad things. The authors of my study would extrapolate the list to include virtually any form of service in church, missions, or community aid to the poor and homeless. They suggest, as Jesus said, that we can spend a lifetime doing those things and never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!

That seems completely at odds with the preceeding verse in which Jesus says we have to do the will of His Father. No just accept, agree with, or encourage in others, but do them. Clearly that speaks to spiritual activities, tasks, and physical labor, like teaching a class, greeting visitors, caring for infants, cleaning bathrooms, or even driving out demons.

The answer lies in our motives. You see, I think a lot of “Christians” join Christ’s church, not out of a real and foundational faith in the Son of God, or out of a deep realization that they are broken and in need of a saviour, but for the same reason that former Denver Bronco great Randy Gradishar shared with our church family a few months ago. Randy told us that his inital decision to become a Christian was nothing more than an insurance policy, as if the application of the label “Christian” would reserve you place in heaven.

Far too many Christians take that insurance policy about a half step further and seek out the rules they must follow in order to keep the policy from becoming void. Thus, they engage in the right activities, but for the wrong reasons. They become like the Pharisees of the old tesament, who made their rules more importatnt than God.

I think that duty and resposibility can be great things in a person who is actually commited to following Jesus Christ. I believe Christ commands His followers to serve for two reasons, and the foremost of those is for the benefit of the disciple who is serving.  You see, when we join God in the work He is doing, we draw closer to Him. We allow His spirit to mix and blend with our own. It’s a lot like the difference between reading a persons resume and taking on a project together. You get to know the person so much more when you are working side-by-side on a project you both believe in.

The first couple of times I served in a church it was entirely out of guilt and obligation. I called myself a Christian, but I had made no real commitment to Christ, and my service felt like a burden, an inconvenience at best. That changed in April of 2005, when I made the decision to accept Jesus Christ as the LORD of my life, when I fanally realized at a core level that I both wanted and needed to follow Him. After that, my service was still initiated by  duty, resposibility, and obediance, but I wanted to be obediant because I wanted to be with Him, to join Him is building His kingdom. My service drew me closer to Him like nother else ever had, but only because I now believe in Him completely, including the value of service to Him, to me, and ultimately to God’s kingdom.

If you are currently serving in church and feel burned out or just over-extended; or if you call yourself a believer, but see service as an inconvenience that doesn’t fit into your busy life style, then you really need to look at whether or not you actually know Jesus. The relationship has to come first and it has to be real. The insurance policy version doesn’t cut it. Get to know Christ first, then get to work with Christ.

Discipleship is a process

My wife and I are constantly discussing the idea of how “good” is good enough? She was raised Catholic, so there is a lot of wrong baggage still in her psyche. She knows that we all sin–still–and that we will never be able to be perfect, this is why we need a savior! But Jesus still tells us that if we love Him, we will obey His commands. Which brings our conversations full circle back to the question of whether or not we are obeying “enough.” I constantly tell her that it is a process. Don’t compare yourself with perfection, you will always be disappointed. Instead, compare yourself with yourself a year ago, or two years ago. Do you look a little more like Christ today than you did then?

I am doing my morning reading in the God’s Word translation right now. (I really like this version, by the way) A couple days ago I came across Phil 3:15-16 again. God’s Word renders the verse like this: “Whoever has a mature faith should think this way. And if you think differently, God will show you how to think. However, we should be guided by what we have learned so far.” The way that’s worded near the end really reminded me of the idea of a process. Paul said we should be guided by what we have learned so far. That doesn’t just mean what commands we have learned so far, but the degree to which we have learned to submit, so far. Or our current ability to rely on the Holy Spirit to sustain and guide us, so far. These things will constantly be growing if we have set our sights, as Paul says in the earlier verses on God’s will for us through Jesus Christ.

The real question is not how good are you, but what direction are you travelling? Is you ultimate goal to reach God’s ideal or the world’s?

Service to the Kingdom

I have recently been doing some video interviews with Children’s Ministry Team Members and asking them how many different ways their ministry serves the church. The most common answer was building young disciples, planting seeds, and providing a Christian role model. But what most volunteers fail to recognize are the broader implications of their service. Typically, if kids come to church happily, their parents are much more apt to come themselves on a regular basis. This is not only infinitely valuable for the parents, but can make all the difference for the child as well. You see, no matter what we may teach a child in Sunday School, they are much more likely to grow up with a charater similar to the one modeled by their parents!

Team members also fail to realize that by providing a warm and enjoyable experience for kids, they are providing an opportunity for other parents to serve in the church without feeling as if they are traumatizing their kids by forcing them to spend an extra two hours at church.

Other kingdom values include keeping adult services free of crying or restless kids, creating an inviting church environment for guest and seekers, and making our church family feel safe.

I know I’ve left out a lot of others, but the big thing to think about is just the fact that service in God’s church is always more than just the task which you are performing–always!