Remaining to Serve

I was talking with Walt Brouwer, who works for our classis helping pastors and churches be better pastors and churches (he has a better title, but I like the way that sounds better). He says there are four habits that we as preachers, congregations and individuals need to follow to make us healthy churches. And having heard them I found them to be very helpful to me and hopefully to the whole church.
The first is what we do each Sunday. We need to be at Sunday worship. But more than just attend we need to take part. In the music, in the prayers, in the preaching. We should not come in and just passively receive. We should come in actively engaged and ready to worship God and receive from his here as well. That I wrote of last week.
The second thing is that we need to be involved in small groups. Look at the church in Acts and see the tremendous growth. It grew out of the fact that they were meeting together in their homes. Small groups began in the early church and are a source of contact with the whole church. They should be our primary source of pastoral care as we share with others, pray together and stand with each other in need.
Small groups can also be a great source of growth for those involved in them. People speak of the fellowship, but also of the closeness the group develops in God. They are drawn close to God and are changed by him as they gather. Whether it is daily, weekly or any other pattern of meeting.
Then from these we go to serve somewhere. It is important that what is happening in worship and small groups be translated into service. Note that when Jesus calls the disciples it is not an intellectually journey that he calls them to. He does not say to them that they will learn these things, memorize certain sections of scripture or recite creeds and confessions. Those can be helpful things and he modelled a knowledge of God’s word and God’s will and plan for the world. But he called people to act.
John 15.8, you will bear much fruit. Verse 10, if you obey my commands. Verse 14, you are my friends if you do what I command. Verse 17, this is my command, love one another. All actions. We can find more as we take time to read more of God’s word.
There are many ways to serve as a member of a church. Teaching ministry. Serving ministries. People need to be involved in different parts of the church to make it a working organism.
There are opportunities to serve outside of the church. The schools need people to help out with serving in their lunch programs. Stop at the elementary school office or call them. They’ll be happy to have assistance. They are often looking for people to help with other things in the schools as well. Local food banks need people to bring food in and work in distributing. Many local groups need volunteers and the church can offer those to help outside of ourselves.
Then Walt disappointed me. He had Sunday worship, Small groups and Serve somewhere. All “S’s”, but then he lost his alliteration. The fourth thing is bring it home. Don’t just get a bit here, in a group or in serving. Take it home and speak of it with your family.
So, when we pick up education ministries in the fall, young people should tell their parents what they are learning and make sure that the parents remember it as well. Teach your parents while they are still able to be formed.
Parents, think about how often you have challenged your kids to live what they have learned, or let them know what you have learned and helped them to see how to live it. There are many opportunities, such as how the kids treat others, how they do with their school work, respect for authority. We can live those out as we speak of our co-workers and bosses. We can live it out in front of them as we assist our neighbors. Opportunities are endless.
Christ tells us to remain in him. He remains with us, yet we see are to remain in him and do what he commands. Know what he commands, but do it as well and be the church that God has called us to be, do what he has called us to do.