People Spots
Online
Produced by James W.
Moss, Sr., and Church Consultants
Provided as a service by New Life Ministries
More than Sitting in the Pew
by James W. Moss, Sr.
Someone once said, “Making the simple profound is not creative, but making the profound simple is.” I am constantly asked, “How can we find workers in the church?” It is by far the most frequently asked question I have heard in my years as a pastor, conference staff person, seminar leader, and consultant. There isn’t another question that is even close to being second. Simply stated, people are too busy for busy-work. If you want to claim the time of busy people, you have to offer them something meaningful to do that has the potential to make a difference in the Kingdom and in the lives of people. I believe talented people want to do more than sit in the pew. We just have to find significant things for them to do.
As Christians, we are not called to privilege but to serve. “After that he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him”(John 13:5). As clergy, we aren’t called to hang a shingle but to be servants. This concept is foreign to the way the world thinks. Have you ever asked a child, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Have you ever heard a child respond, “I want to be a servant.” Yet Jesus calls us to be servant leaders. In fact, a servant leader will earn the right to lead by serving.
“So in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others” (Romans 12:5). It takes a whole variety of gifts for a church body to function to its fullest. I believe this is so now more than ever before. The person who cleans the floors is as important as the one who preaches. The one who stuffs envelopes is as important as the one who teaches. The one who cooks is as important as the one who sings. We are all one. Our roles may differ in appearance, but they are all still important. And the people doing them are important. My Mom and Dad were janitors at my home church. They loved the Lord and did all they could to keep the church attractive. They saw what they did as their ministry. They were truly servants of the King. “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms” (1 Peter 4:10).
Try this exercise: Name a volunteer job in the church you really enjoyed. Why did you enjoy that job? Name the least satisfying job you have ever done as a volunteer in the church. Why was the job unpleasant?
Elton Trueblood wrote, “The fellowship of weak and unworthy men and women can eventually be world shaking provided it is centered in the life of Christ.” There is such power at our disposal. However, it seems that too few people are carrying the load. Mary Johnson volunteered for something and suddenly she had seventeen jobs to do. Mary was overwhelmed. Finally she left the church to escape the abuse. John Henry volunteered to do a job. John was ignored and not asked to do that job or any other. John left the church disappointed and hurt. He was never given a chance to make a difference. Regardless, they both left hurt and wounded. For the church to experience the power Trueblood was writing about, many people have to find meaningful tasks in the life of the church beyond the routine of keeping the machinery oiled.
I feel a sense of achievement when I do a job well. Frankly, that is a good feeling and a motivator to do another job. Our people need to be given jobs they can do so they can feel that same sense of achievement. Different people are given different jobs. I coached a Little League baseball team for a number of years. I pitched my own batting practice for a reason. I threw faster to the good hitters and slower to those less accomplished. I wanted them to hit and have the thrill that came from achievement. It built their confidence. Nearly every child I coached could hit better at the end of the season than before it began.
We need to be stretched significantly. A rubber band has no value unless it is stretched. Volunteers need to be given tasks that have the potential to increase their capacities to function. Did you ever do a job and then say, “Wow, I didn’t know I could do that”? We need to help our people find meaningful jobs then permit them to be challenged and stretched.
Volunteers don’t receive a cash salary, but they need to be paid. How are volunteers paid? Sometimes it is as simple as a kind “thank you!” At other times there is public recognition for a job well done. Ivan Brubaker was a very fine elder in a church I served in Ohio. Ivan’s car wouldn’t start. A neighbor came to help and gave him a jump. After the task was finished, Ivan asked, “Can I pay you?” Ivan said, “The neighbor was hurt.” The neighbor responded, “I’m your neighbor, just say thanks!” Be sure your volunteers are appropriately thanked.
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Read about Jim's seminars and books.
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February 24, 2005. Volume 8, Issue
4.
People Spots Online
is prepared by James W. Moss, Sr., and Church Consultants. It is provided as a service by New Life
Ministries, www.NewLifeMinistries-NLM.org.
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