We make a really big deal about serving at GENESIS. We mention it every single week and even have an entire team dedicated to helping people get connected. But have you ever stopped to ask why we mention this so often? Is it simply because we need more volunteers to pull off an event? Or is there something more behind it? Let me show you what God reminded me of today in my daily Bible reading.
I was reading in the book of Romans this morning, and I was struck by how clearly Paul articulates the heart behind serving. He says:
“When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.” - Romans 12:13 NLT
First, notice that does not say “if” the people of God are in need. He says when. Why? Because God's people are constantly in need. We are a very needy kind of people. We constantly need God, His grace, His mercy, His love, His favor, His blessing, His kindness; we need more of Him every moment; we always need less of ourselves. We even need other people in our lives because we do not do well in isolation. In fact, we were created out of community (the Trinity) for community with God and others. We are not really self-sufficient. Everything about who we are screams need.
So how does all of this apply to serving? Paul tells us to help, love, and serve all of God’s people who are in need. And if every single one of us is in some kind of need, then we must all be loving and serving each other! The Biblical vision for serving within the church is not just a few people who are doing the most of the work, but an entire community who is loving and serving one another - a community who is imitating Christ, who came not to be served but to serve others, who were in desperate need.
In fact, when we serve we are simply imitating our Lord!
If that is the Biblical vision, then we want to honor God’s Word and do everything we possibly can to create that culture in our church. We do not want an army of a few who do everything; we want to see every man and woman in the community loving others by serving them so that all of us can get our needs met in the context of community! What a vision!
To accomplish that vision, we want to make it possible for every single person in our church to serve, which is why we start lots of new serving teams and why we throw big events like SERVTASTIC. So if you are ready to begin living out Romans 12:13, then come to SERVTASTIC on September 24th. It will be held after each service, and it will be a place where you can find the serving opportunity that fits with your gifts and passions and where you can begin meeting the needs of others with the purpose of continually striving to love and serve each other.
