Dear Friends,
I heard about a woman who was visiting church one
Sunday. The sermon seemed to go on forever, and many in the congregation fell
asleep. She liked to meet new people, so after the service she walked up to a
very sleepy looking gentleman, extended her hand in greeting, and said, “Hello,
I'm Gladys Dunn.” To which the man replied, “You're not the only one ma'am, I'm
glad he's done too!”
When you and I walk out of the service on Sunday
morning our service is not done. In fact, our service has only just begun as we
walk through those doors.
We are fond of reminding people at our church
that every member is a minister, and every saint is a servant. You and I are
called to serve, to be contributors, not just consumers. Your job is the same
as mine: we are called to connect with people and share Christ’s love in word
and deed.
We often distinguish between clergy and laity,
but in the early church there was no such distinguishing difference. In the
Book of Acts, the story of the early church, everyone saw themselves as
ministers. It was during the Dark Ages that the difference between clergy and
laity crept in.
One of the rallying cries of the Reformation was
that every member of the Body of Christ is a minister. Peter wonderfully
describes our role as believers when he writes, “But you are a chosen people, a
royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may
declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful
light.” (1 Peter 2:9)
How many ministers do we have at our church? We
have around 250 ministers and 3 equippers. We are all in this together.
As pastors we are called to “equip the saints
for the work of ministry” (Ephesians 4:12). The word “equip” is the same word
used to described what James and John were doing when they were preparing their
nets in Matthew 4:21. They regularly repaired their nets, in order to make them
effectively useable. Their nets were being prepared for future service; not just
stored away to be forgotten.
Every member in the family of God is a minister
and every servant is called to serve. Every Sunday service should be a meeting
of the Ministerial Association.
What would your church look like if every member
served the way you serve? How would your church be different if everyone was
eagerly seeking to be equipped for ministry and was looking for opportunities
to serve?
Servants serve, members minister, and when this
happens the church becomes the New Testament Church with a sanctuary filled
with sold out servants looking and longing for ways to fulfill their calling as
His ministers.
Yours in faith and friendship,
Tom
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