Find a Table and Start Serving
God can use your talents. God can use your passions. But God will always use your willingness.
Years ago, I pastored a guy who was constantly fussing about our greeters.
And to be fair, he wasn't completely wrong.
He would tell me that our greeters weren't friendly enough. We weren't doing a good enough job welcoming people. Somebody needed to be in the parking lot. Somebody needed to make sure visitors knew where to go. Somebody needed to fix it.
Finally, after hearing him complain about it enough, I looked at him and said, “Have you ever thought about becoming a greeter?”
He did.
And as far as I know, he's still greeting today. In fact, he became one of the best greeters I've ever had.
I've thought about that story a lot because sometimes God uses the things that excite us to lead us into ministry.
But sometimes He uses the things that annoy us.
Sometimes the thing you keep asking, “Why isn't somebody doing something about this?” is the very thing God is asking you to do something about.
“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace.”
1 Peter 4:10Are We Waiting for a “Goldilocks Ministry”?
I think we've accidentally made serving too complicated.
We tell people to discover their gifts. Find their talents. Identify their passions. Figure out their personality. Determine what energizes them. Then, once all of those things line up perfectly, find a ministry that fits.
There is certainly wisdom in knowing how God has gifted you. But sometimes I wonder if we're waiting for a Goldilocks ministry.
We're waiting for something that's “just right.”
“That one requires too much time.”
“That one isn't really my passion.”
“I'm not very good at that.”
“That doesn't fit my schedule.”
“That's too far outside my comfort zone.”
But then I read Acts 6.
The early church had exploded in growth. Thousands of people had come to Christ, and with all that growth came a problem. Some widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.
There were people who needed bread.
That was the need.
So the apostles called the church together and essentially said, We need some people willing to serve these tables.
And one of the men who stepped forward was Stephen.
Here's what is fascinating about Stephen: Acts 7 shows us that this guy was a phenomenal theologian and preacher. He delivers the longest sermon recorded in Acts. He clearly knew the Scriptures.
But when we first meet Stephen, he isn't standing behind a pulpit.
He's serving tables.
Why?
Because tables needed to be served.
God can use your talent.
God can use your passion.
God will use your willingness.
Quit Asking, “Who Is Going to Do That?”
This may be the easiest place to start.
You've heard the questions
- Who's going to work with those teenagers?
- Who's going to volunteer in the nursery?
- Who's going to check on that widow?
- Who's going to visit that person in the hospital?
- Who's going to help that family?
- Who's going to welcome the new people?
- Who's going to reach out to that neighbor?
Sometimes we spend so much time asking “Who?” that we never consider that God's answer might be:
The next time you catch yourself saying, “Somebody really needs to…” stop.
Maybe you just found your table.
Quit Waiting for the Perfect Place to Serve
This is the Goldilocks ministry problem.
We want something that fits our schedule, matches our talents, excites our passions, doesn't require too much from us, and preferably happens at a convenient time.
We want it just right.
But sometimes tables simply need to be served.
Stephen was capable of preaching one of the greatest sermons recorded in Acts, but when widows needed bread, Stephen didn't say, “That's really not where I'm gifted.”
He served.
Ask, “Where am I needed?”
Sometimes God will use your talent. Sometimes God will use your passion. But God will always use your willingness.
If there's a need you can meet, start there.
Start With What Is Right in Front of You
Serving doesn't always mean joining another church program.
Look around your life. Who is already in front of you?
Pay Attention
- An elderly neighbor may need help around the house.
- A coworker may be walking through a terrible season.
- A kid on your child's team may never have anyone cheering for them.
- Someone in your Life Group may have disappeared for three weeks.
- A widow may need someone to check on her.
- A family with a new baby may need dinner.
- Someone may be sitting alone every Sunday.
- Your spouse may simply be exhausted.
- Your child may just need your undivided attention.
We can become so obsessed with finding our “calling” that we step right over the needs God has already placed in front of us.
Do Something Small Without Needing Recognition
Not every act of service needs to become a ministry.
You don't need a logo. You don't need a committee. You don't need a budget. You don't need your name announced.
You don't even need anybody to know you did it.
Just Serve
- Make the phone call.
- Take the meal.
- Send the card.
- Pick up the trash.
- Stack the chairs.
- Visit the hospital.
- Sit with the person who's hurting.
- Help the new family find their way around.
- Pray with somebody.
- Take someone to an appointment.
- Show up.
Stephen's first ministry wasn't glamorous. He made sure widows got their bread.
Some of the most Christlike things you'll ever do will be things almost nobody sees.
Let Your Annoyance Become an Assignment
Go back to my friend who complained about the greeters.
He saw something that wasn't being done well. He could have continued complaining.
Instead, he became part of the solution.
What do you keep saying?
- “We need to do a better job reaching young people.”
- “Somebody needs to check on our older members.”
- “We need to be more welcoming.”
- “There are so many hurting people in our community.”
Great.
Help us reach young people. Start making calls. Stand at a door. Go serve somebody who's hurting.
Sometimes your frustration isn't permission to complain.
It might be an invitation to serve.
Serve Outside the Walls of the Church
Your table isn't necessarily inside First Baptist.
Your table might be a ball field. A classroom. An office. A neighborhood. A hospital room. A restaurant.
Your own kitchen table.
We need people serving inside the church, absolutely. But if all of our service happens inside the church building, we're missing the mission.
Jesus didn't call us merely to serve church programs. He called us to serve people.
Tomorrow Morning
- Walk into work asking, “Who can I serve today?”
- Walk through your neighborhood asking it.
- Go to the ball field asking it.
- Walk into school asking it.
- Walk into your own house asking it.
You'd be amazed at what you begin to notice when you stop asking, “Who's going to serve me?” and start asking, “Who can I serve?”
Remember: Your Service Is Part of the Sermon
There is one detail at the end of Acts 6 that I can't get away from.
“And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.”
Acts 6:7Think about that.
These priests had already heard preaching. They had heard Peter. They had heard the apostles proclaim the resurrection of Jesus.
But now they weren't simply hearing a sermon.
They were seeing one.
They saw Christians taking care of widows. They saw people putting others before themselves. They saw believers willing to do unnoticed work because somebody needed to be loved.
And brothers and sisters, Mooresville needs to see that sermon too.
They'll See You
- They'll see you at work.
- They'll see you in your neighborhood.
- They'll see you at school.
- They'll see you at the ball field.
- They'll see how you treat people.
- They'll see how you respond when somebody is hurting.
They'll see whether Christianity is merely something you talk about on Sunday or something that changes the way you live on Monday.
Find a Table and Start Serving
Don't make this more complicated than it needs to be.
You don't need six months to pray about whether God wants you to serve people. Jesus already settled that.
So here's my challenge:
Find One
- Find one table.
- Find one need.
- Find one person.
- Find one place where you can say, “I can help.”
Don't wait until you're more talented.
Don't wait until you're more passionate.
Don't wait until your schedule clears.
Don't wait for a Goldilocks ministry that's just right.
And please, don't keep asking who is going to do it.
Maybe God has already answered that question.
Be Willing.
God may use your talent.
God may use your passion.
But when you look through Scripture, over and over again God uses ordinary people who are simply willing to say, “Here I am. Use me.”
The church doesn't need more people sitting around waiting for the perfect ministry opportunity.
Mooresville doesn't need more Christians asking why somebody isn't doing something.
We need men and women who see a need and say, “I can help.”
Find the need.
Find the person.
Find the table.
Start serving.