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Today we’re looking at the fourth of six
“marks of disciples”—serve at and beyond Shepherd of the Hills.
Through our service we are also seeking God’s plan for us—again,
not only as individuals, but also as a church. How do we
discover and begin to live out God’s plan for us as a church, a
plan that gives us hope and a future? By praying daily. By
being involved in corporate worship weekly. By reading the
Bible regularly. By serving at and beyond Shepherd of the
Hills. By being in relationships with others to encourage their
spiritual growth and our own. By giving of our time, talents,
and resources. Committing to those things—as individual
followers of Jesus Christ and also as collective members and
participants in the particular church known as Shepherd of the
Hills Presbyterian Church. Those are foundational and why we’re
working our way through this series. Seeking God and finding
God, discovering His plan for our life, a plan that gives us
hope and a future. So, today the fourth mark of
discipleship—serve at and beyond Shepherd of the Hills.
Our Scripture reading for today is 1 Peter
4:8-11. (Read)
People new to Christian faith, or exploring
the claims of Christian faith, often ask, “Do I have to belong
to a church to be a Christian?” I don’t know that people were
asking that question 50 years ago or more when church was pretty
much accepted as the place where one lived out Christian faith.
So, the question may be more indicative of the “post-modern”
world we’re currently living in and the skepticism and even
cynicism toward the church that exists today. Anyway, the
question, do I have to belong to a church in order to be a
Christian? And the answer is…no…and yes. Each of the six marks
of discipleship can be practiced individually. Even corporate
worship can be practiced without “belonging” to a church…and
perhaps even practiced by a group of individuals but not
understood as a “church.” And, technically, one can serve at
a particular church, like Shepherd of the Hills, without being a
member. But, the expression of this mark of discipleship, serve
at and beyond Shepherd of the Hills, living out a life of
service cannot be done in the isolation of a “lone ranger
Christian.” Praying and reading the Bible can. But not
serving. Serving implies others being the beneficiaries of our
service. And the church is a great place to find opportunities
to serve.
The challenge with serving is that there
are two equal yet opposite errors committed. One is to not
avail one’s self of the opportunity to serve. And the other
equal yet opposite error is to commit to too much service.
First, the error of not being involved in
serving, both at and beyond a particular church. Every church
I’ve served as a pastor or been involved in as a member has had
in evidence somewhere within its membership a philosophy that is
best summed up this way: “I pay my pledge and occasionally
attend worship and that’s enough.” Well, actually, no it’s
not. Just a cursory glance at the six marks of discipleship
tells you that. Numbers two, “corporate worship weekly,” and
six, “give of my time, talents and resources,” are partially
being fulfilled in such a philosophy (corporate worship
but certainly not weekly and giving of resources but
certainly not of time and talents). And a person of such a
philosophy may be serving beyond their church, but certainly not
at their church and one might appropriately wonder how their
service beyond the church is an expression of their discipleship
in Christ. The clear teaching of Scripture is that such a
philosophy is not enough. Serving others is at the heart of
faith. The prophets repeatedly state that our worship, whether
occasional or weekly, and our offerings are meaningless to God
unless they are enveloped by a life of service for others,
particularly the poor and the oppressed. Not being involved in
a life of service is not an option for the Christian and for his
or her church.
The second, equal yet opposite error, is
too much service. Yes, it is possible to be involved in too
much service. How’s that for a recruiting pitch on service?
Yet, when our serving others intrudes on our ability to live out
some of the other marks of discipleship we’re involved in too
much service. When we don’t have time to pray, or to read the
Bible, or be involved in relationships with others, when we’re
too tired to make it to worship every week we’re probably
involved in too much service.
A Scripture passage that especially draws
my attention on this is Matthew 7:21-23 from the Sermon on the
Mount. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will
enter the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of
my Father who is in heaven. 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 in your name perform many miracles?’”
Sounds like an impressive list of acts of service to me. But
Jesus goes on to say, “Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I
never knew you. Away from me you evildoers.’” Does that
capture your attention like it does mine?
These two equal but opposite errors
regarding service are an affront to God…and definitely not a
part of His plan for any Christian or church. The lack of
serving makes our worship and offering irrelevant. And an
over-commitment to serving makes our relationship with Christ
irrelevant or effectively non-existent. Neither error leads to
finding God’s plan for our lives.
There is a popular way of defining church
life that reflects these errors. The church, it is said, is
like a football game. 22 people heavily engaged in an activity
and in need of rest, while thousands watch who are in need of
exercise. Or, another frequent way of describing the church is
“20% of the people doing 80% of the work.” Just a few days ago
I heard someone say exactly that in describing our church. And
that has never been God’s will for the church…and never will
be. God’s desire for the church is, as Peter puts it, each one
using the gifts they’ve been given to serve others. “Each of
you,” Peter says—not some of you, not 20% of you, but
each of you—“should use whatever gift you have received
to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its
various forms.” It’s a stewardship issue, Peter tells us,
the careful “stewarding” of God’s grace given to us.
To be sure, Christ does not call us to
something he wasn’t willing to do himself. His life was a life
of service. A central purpose to his life was to serve others,
model a life of service to others, and call his followers to a
similar life of service. Jesus said, “whoever wants to be
great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be
first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not
come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a
ransom for many,” (Mark 10:43b-45). And Jesus calls us to
such a life, not to take away our enjoyment of life, but rather
to provide us with the most fulfilling and meaningful life.
True joy, Jesus knows, comes from serving others…particularly
those who are poor and oppressed. That is something many, many
people have discovered in their life.
One such example is Millard Fuller. You
probably associate that name with Habitat for Humanity. What
you might not know—and I didn’t know until coming across a story
about Fuller this past week—is that Millard Fuller had become a
self-made millionaire by the age of 30. However, his commitment
toward that work was taking its toll on his health and his
marriage. In need of a vacation, Fuller and his family visited
a Christian community near Americus, Georgia called Koinonia
Farm (koinonia is a Greek word meaning “fellowship”). The farm
and its founder, Clarence Jordan, believed in simple living and
good works. That experience led Millard Fuller to give up his
pursuit of joy in life through his work and his wealth and
commit to a life of service. Fuller, along with the members of
Koinonia Farm established a “fund for humanity” the purpose for
which was to build adequate housing for the poor. The first
investment of those funds actually took place in Zaire—Fuller
and his family lived in Zaire for three years helping
communities there build houses for the poor. Eventually, of
course, the Fullers returned to the United States and began the
ministry of Habitat for Humanity. Millard Fuller, and many
others like him, discovered that true joy in life comes not
through wealth and self-indulgence, but rather in serving
others…just as Jesus said.
One thing that draws major attention of
your church staff is providing opportunities to serve. Yes,
we’re also constantly looking at ways to facilitate praying
together, worshiping together, reading and studying the Bible
together, being in relationships together, and giving of our
resources. But a significant focus is directed toward
opportunities to serve, opportunities to give of our time and
talents. Because that is a significant part of God’s desire for
His church—that we would be a house of service. Each one using
his or her gifts to serve others. Not 20% doing 80% of the
work, not 22 engaged in frenetic activity while thousands
watch. That’s never been God’s plan for His church…or for His
disciples. Rather, His plan for us is to engage in acts of
service for others, both here at Shepherd of the Hills (the
ministries of the church such as singing in the choir, teaching
a class, serving as a leader with Pioneer Club or youth
ministries) and beyond Shepherd of the Hills (the missions of
the church such as Moccasin Walk, Jeffco Action Center {now the
Action Center}, or Carpenter’s Helpers which is the ministry of
Habitat for Humanity in Denver Presbytery). Where is it that
you engage in acts of service as a disciple of Jesus Christ and
a member of his church? What are you doing so that at the end
of your life Jesus welcomes you with the words “Well done, good
and faithful servant!”
Let’s take a moment for silent reflection. |
