At one point in my church life, I was serving in three separate areas of the church: I was an Elder, I sang on a variety of worship teams, and I washed pots and pans after the Wednesday evening meal. Of the three, I now believe that only one of these is actually even close to the service that God requires of us.
Even though I was privileged to serve as an Elder at this time, and I was blessed to help our congregation move to a new facility, I am sure that there were many others who could have followed God’s leading on this one.
Secondly, I enjoy singing in church, and it is becoming more and more difficult to find a genuine bass voice. But the few times when I felt I was actually serving God were when I felt the Spirit speaking through me and the lyrics of the song. Unfortunately, this also made me tear up and lose pitch, but it also felt as if I was getting more out of this than anyone who happened to be listening, so I’ll let you decide on your own how successful this mission was.
Therefore, using deductive reasoning, you should be able to conclude that pots and pans may have been where I truly felt that I was conducting an actual act of service. But let me explain…
Stephen’s Example of True Christian Service (Acts 6)
In Acts chapter 6, we are introduced to Stephen as a model of true Christian service. Washing dishes was clearly the closest task to what Stephen was asked to do.
In Luke’s writing, we see that the expanding church was suffering from growing pains, and the disciples needed men to lead the local food pantry for widows, and Stephen was one of these seven men. This was not a position of power or authority and was actually created so that the disciples could continue prayer and preaching. So, was this a lesser ministry?
Wrong Reasons to Serve or Volunteer in the Church
Serving for Ourselves Instead of God
Before we get to the reasons why we should be of service, I want to take a peek at some of the false reasons we choose to serve.
The first one is pretty obvious; we should not serve to make ourselves feel better or make people see us in a more favorable way.
As I have noted, Stephen was clearly chosen for the B team of early Christian leadership. While the Peters and the Johns were putting together Holy Scripture, Stephen was asked to set up an early version of Meals on Wheels. But this apparently fit into the gifts that God had provided for him, and he appears to have succeeded.
So, of course, helping others makes us feel great, but that should never be anything more than a bonus. And if serving does not create at least some level of discomfort to your time, your feelings, or the way that you see the world, it may not even be service.
Paul’s letter to the Galatians claims that “for you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh (to serve yourself), but through love serve one another.” (Galatians 5:13)
Serving the Right People
We also need to question whom we have chosen to serve.
This is where my pots and pans were only of limited service. I do feel that this carried a very specific benefit. At that time in our church’s history, we held adult and children’s programs on Wednesday night, and by serving dinner (and my great skill in scouring pieces of giant aluminum), it made it easier for the families in our church to spend an evening out of the house when the entire family was able to find a greater understanding of their faith.
However, the primary audience for this act of service was members of our church.
In Matthew, Jesus tells us that in the final judgment, we will be asked whether we were of service to the hungry, the thirsty, the sick, or the prisoner. Though I was helping feed the hungry, nearly everyone who attended was already part of the church, so I did not reach out to those least able to do it themselves.
One of the often-overlooked aspects of Stephen’s service was the audience he was asked to serve.
“Now in those days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.” (Acts 6:1)
I have no idea whether this was intentional, but when we get busy, we tend to focus on the needs of those closest to us and most like us, to the point that we often miss the needs of those outside our own tent.
But we are clearly called to serve those most in need of whatever we have to offer.
Who Are Christians Really Called to Serve?
Oddly enough, we are not really called to serve the least of these in order to help the least of these.
Give me a minute, and I think I can make that last sentence make sense.
Most of the service we are called to do will never fix a problem. If we feed the hungry, they will be hungry again tomorrow. If we are able to lift a family out of addiction or poverty, there will always be others falling deeper into despair.
“The poor will be with you always.” (Matthew 26:11)
In 1 Peter 4, we see, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God … in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 4:10–11)
In other words, we are always in the service of God, and more specifically, we are called to do things that point others toward salvation.
We, as humans, are limited. It is always my hope that if you read one of the pieces I write, it moves you closer to God, but I am sure you will also find ones that anger you and make you question my salvation.
Returning to Stephen, once he started his service, we learn that “the word of God continued to increase and the number of disciples multiplied greatly… and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.” (Acts 6:7) Stephen was also doing great wonders and signs among the people.
Now I assume that he was doing more than this, but I have always liked to think that at least one of the “signs and wonders” he performed was effectively feeding the least in his community.
Because of the effectiveness of Stephen’s service, he was arrested and martyred. Please believe me that this is not the only conclusion to effective service, but it did allow Stephen to clarify why he did all of these things.
If you ask my opinion, in a rather wordy speech to the Jewish Council, Stephen argues that whenever God creates a new path for a wider range of people to enter into a loving relationship with God, it is often rejected and feared.
And one path that we have been given is service that glorifies the Father.
It is not your task to judge who is worthy of your service because all are worthy of the love of Christ.
It is not your task to question the skills that God has given you and wish for ones with more worldly acclaim because all of them represent the hands and feet of Jesus.
Therefore, if you choose to read any of my ramblings (or when I am able to hand you a lovingly scrubbed stew pot), I hope that you see them as a gift from me (a flawed follower) to you (a beloved creation of the One True Father), and nothing more and nothing less.
More from the author: Practicing Stillness in God
