Every Member is a Servant | A Three-Part Article Series | Part 2: Debunking

Josh Pool

Last week, we defined serving. Serving is maintaining our church’s unity by deploying our diversity of gifts for building up one another. And who wouldn’t want to help with that?!

A Misconception

But there is a common way of thinking about serving in the local church that can often hinder us. It’s that little word calling. It can work in either direction:

•   On the one hand, let’s say that I am convinced that God has called me to a particular area of serving in the local church. Therefore, I must be given that position. God has called me to it after all.

•   On the other hand, let’s say that I am convinced that God has not called me to a particular area—maybe not now or not ever. Therefore, I don’t feel the burden to meet that need right in front of me.

            Both of these impulses may be well-intended, but they can also be misguided. We live in an age that trains us to think primarily in terms of personal fulfillment and self-expression. (See Carl Trueman’s Strange New World for more on this.) Rather than ask, “What are the needs in front of me?” we ask, “How does this feel?” “What is it doing for me?” Our hearts turn inward rather than move outward. This often happens in the church as well. It’s easy for me to evaluate needs in front of me through a lens of personal preferences rather than serving others.

The Solution

            But that’s the opposite of how Scripture talks about serving. We’ve already seen how Paul is clear that serving is for the building up of the body. And we’ve seen how God gives each of us gifts to accomplish that serving. But where we can go awry is when we consider spiritual gifts as the ultimate trump card to faithful service in the church.

            We should not wait for mystical guidance before we begin serving. We don’t need those special callings or signs. We already have the Word. Remember 1 Cor 12.7? To each is given a manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. We must give each phrase in that verse equal weight. While we discern what those ‘manifestations’ are, we also need to simply meet the needs that contribute to ‘the common good’ around us. If the question is, ‘Where is God calling me to serve?’ Paul’s typical answer would be, ‘Wherever you can reasonably meet the needs in front of you.’

            Can we meet all of them? Surely not. Nor should we. That’s what the body together is for. But the point is, don’t let our pursuit of spiritual gifts become an excuse for neglecting obvious opportunities to serve.

            Spend less time looking inward for a personalized calling, and spend more time looking outward for needs to be met.

            In a very real sense, those needs become the calling for each saint in the church.

            Are there exceptions to this? Of course. To be sure, Scripture does recognize particular callings and qualifications for those callings. Think: elders, deacons, etc. But most of the time, serving in the church won’t require a special calling or aspiration. It often simply requires selfless willingness. We’ll do well as a church to trade a hyper-individualized approach for a simple willingness to serve where we find needs. Don’t just ask, What has God called me to do? Also ask, What needs can I meet?

Reflect

            Here are some opportunities to reflect. Consider walking through these questions with a fellow member:

• When I think about serving, do I first ask, What am I interested in? or What needs can I meet?

• Are there opportunities to serve that I have dismissed because they don’t fit my preferences?

• Is there a need in our church that I have noticed repeatedly but assumed someone else would meet?

• Do I spend more time looking for a specific calling or looking for ways to build up the body?

• Is there an area of need in our church that I have been avoiding because it falls outside my comfort zone?

            In the end, we can trust that God will give us all that we need to see to our church’s spiritual maturity, fellowship, and tangible needs. Continue asking, Where can I step in? Where can I help? Next week (June 29th), we’ll go from principle to practice by highlighting several opportunities where our members can immediately strengthen and build up the body.