As I continue to read through the book I mentioned in my last entry, "Fresh Power", I find more and more to equip me for my new service in church leadership. We have recently started attending a very small, very intriguing church. My husband and I felt a definite call to leave our comfort zone of a large, well-established church with all the programs and activities one could ever want. We felt God was calling us to a place with very little to offer us. Instead of seeking to have our needs met, we are seeking to fill empty places in a church that needs us . . . desperately.
God called every believer to service. We are all to find a place within our churches, buckle down, and serve. Period. Regardless of whether our needs are met (only God truly knows what we actually need anyway), our feelings get hurt, or we "feel like it." (Which can entail a myriad of objections in itself). So why is it the modern western culture (read: United States) attitude to seek out a church for what it can do for me? I wonder how many of us are actually reading our Bibles? Because if we were, we would know that Jesus came to serve not to be served (Mark Chapter 10). Aren't we then, as followers of Christ, supposed to follow in His footsteps and serve? How can we justify such selfishness?
Allow me to share a few excerpts from this incredible book I am studying: "But just as there are people who watch from the bleachers and never know the challenge on the court, we have millions of churchgoers who sit in pews every week without entering the game." Later in the chapter, Pastor Cymbala goes on to say of the leaders of the Antioch church "These men were not sitting in a boardroom making strategic charts on a whiteboard. They were not huddled around their computers working on spreadsheets. Instead, they were having a time of worship, praise and prayer, all intensified by periods of fasting." Then he goes on to describe what I heard a good friend recently call a "Martha" type church (compared to a "Mary" type). "... if we are always busy working, doing, talking, handing out materials, and fielding phone calls, we miss the chances to listen and get our ears tuned to his voice. These men in Antioch quieted down enough to hear something from heaven. Samuel Chadwick said in the early 1900s, 'The church that multiplies committees and neglects prayer may be fussy, noisy, enterprising, but it labors in vain and spends its strength for naught. It is possible to excel in mechanics and fail in dynamics. There is an abundance of machinery; what is wanting is power.' "
Where has the power gone in our churches today? May I suggest to you that the power is within the people. It is called the Holy Spirit. But we're too busy, prideful and selfish to even realize our power source is completely cut off by our slothfulness and selfishness. I'm not sure about you, but I'm weary of the "me first" mentality in today's Christian culture. What happened to "God first" ? Brothers and sisters, I'm certain, based on authority of Scripture, that when our priority comes back to balance - God first - we will see revival in our nation. But it has to start within each believer's heart.
Saint, please know, that when I ask you this, I am including myself - where is God in your heart? This is a question I must ask myself daily. I hope you will too.
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Wow, Kim. Good post. I'm glad the Lord is working in your heart and spurring you on to service. I agree that we need to just go and do, instead of waiting for the "green light" from who knows where. If you see a need in your church family just go and do instead of waiting for someone to start a ministry so that those types of needs can be met. In my stage of life, it plays out like this: Taking meals to families who are going through stress or trauma, offering to watch kids so that parents can reconnect with each other or get things done, making an encouraging phone call or writing an email to edify and build up my sisters or brothers. It requires us to be tuned in to the needs of our brothers and sisters, to know what's going on with them so that in turn, we'll know what they need and how we can help. If we wait for an invitation to serve, we might never do it. Sorry to hijack your comments section, but you hit a nerve (in a good way!) and I wanted to respond. Have a great day. Good to "see" you again!
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