For many churches September marks the beginning of their new year. There are some however who begin their new “Sunday School Year” the first of June. I am a member of just such a church. For the last three years now we have added new classes and there is always plenty of excitement and anticipation when it comes time to seek out new teachers. God has always blessed us in this area and is faithful to those who are willing to serve.
Did you know that we are all here to serve? Even Jesus the King of Kings said He did not come to be served but to serve. What is that old expression, “20% of the people do 80% of the work in any organization?” Or maybe it is 20% do all of the work I am not sure how it goes. Have you ever stopped to think why this is? Does this even apply to churches! They say that the percentage may be a little higher in the church.
The dictionary defines the word serve as: to work for, to assist, to give obedience to, to wait on, to meet the needs of. These definitions all involve action or participation from people. Why is it then that our church rolls are filled with folks who are not involved? Maybe this is one of the reasons the church has lost some of its effectiveness today. You have the same small group trying to wear so many hats that people eventually get wore out. Now a person who is serving God in the area where He has called them to will not burn out or want to quit. It is that other entire load they have to carry on top of this that weighs them down.
Scripture says that the “body” has many parts each with a different function and that all are important. When God saves us He also calls us at the same time. There is an area or areas of service where He wants us to serve. No one is called to simply be a church member. In each local body the Lord has provided everything that is needed to carry out its purpose. Everything includes the people necessary to do the tasks. Now it seems that you will always have people serving in positions out of need and not calling. It will be almost impossible to totally eliminate this altogether. One reason may be that Christians are not all on the same spiritual maturity level. Ever notice have the level of commitment varies among people in our churches? This is where our leadership comes in. Now where we all have a personal responsibility to grow in the ways of the Lord, our leaders have the responsibility of helping us mature. Maybe they see potential within us they we do not even recognize.
Retirement in the Kingdom simply means moving to a different area of service.
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