Preparing to Serve

How Leading is really Serving

Whose Team Are You On?

Springtime is one of my favorite times not only because of the amount of blooms that show winter is over, but because one of my most favorite pastimes comes back around. Baseball! When Cassie and I first met, we would watch games together. I grew up watching the Cincinnati Reds play on both of my grandmother’s TV’s.

When we got the chance to go to a live game, it was so exciting to see who would get a hit and what awesome play would be turned in the field. Those professionals made it look easy.

As many young kids find out, hitting, fielding, and playing any sport takes an extraordinary amount of practice.

It does not matter what talent you have, if you don’t put in the time for practice, you will not be your best on game day.

I know I hear often of the players who get fined for not showing up to practice. Or, their character outside of the organization deems them unacceptable from representing the organization further and they are let go from the team.

But, how exciting is it to see a team wholly devoted to the same goal, united together understanding they are all working together having fun during practice and when it comes time to play the game.

We are all on some team in life

Whether it is work, school, church, or sports, our lives are filled with opportunities to live alongside of others to accomplish goals. Have you recognized the various teams you have in your life?

We have our families as our immediate teams. If the leaders within the family do not set forth goals, ambitions, and drive then the whole family will suffer. Just like the head of any organization, family leaders must be organized, not be swayed from their paths, and devote their times to building up others in the family to see that goal.

We support our families through our work teams. The body, or organization that comes together under the leadership who clearly defines the path going forward is most successful if they continually repeat that information.

Being clear defines the goals necessary for people to understand how their roles fulfill the organization’s overall goal.

“As more decision-making authority is pushed down the chain of command, it becomes increasingly important that everyone throughout the organization understands what the organization is about.”

Marquet, L. David. Turn the Ship Around! (p. 161). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 4

And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,

God is the one giving people out as apostles, prophets, and evangelists. His calling for these people are for the service back to the church. His intention here is that those who recognize their gifts use them according to the talents and direction for which the head of the church, Jesus Christ, leads them. In service to equipping the places where Jesus leads them.

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 4

for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;

Any position within the body of the church is not given to edify itself. It is given as a gift from God to build up the church only for the glory of God. In times past, when people forgot this, their times of competing with each other within the organization to achieve something for their own good becomes detrimental to the success of the organization.

When the disciples asked who was the greatest, Jesus reminded them they were to serve one another, love one another, and the greatest among them would become servants first (Matthew 18:1-Matthew 18:5,Luke 9:46-Luke 9:48,Mark 10:35-Mark 10:45).

Again, Jesus cautions the leaders in the church to not expect great things placed their way just because of position (Matt. 23:1-12). Neither should we who are given gifts for teaching, edification, or any other gift enabled by the Holy Spirit to aid in the building of the body of Christ.

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 4

until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.

Goals within this from Paul’s perspective here is to grow up into a mature Christian. The maturity will be realized when the person becomes a “little Christ” or one who the world would recognize by both belief and action as imitating Christ.

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 4

As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;

Doubts come our way all the time and it is the reason we continue to attend services, read our bibles, pray, and encourage one another to understand the faith better. There are those on the outside of the church body who believe differently. If we are not mature in our faith, then we can be easily lead, like a child who is not able to understand the differences in belief.

While there are many different interpretations, religions, secular thoughts which pervade our body, reasoning through these thoughts with open discussion is needed to maintain a healthy body.

If you take your body and introduce a small amount of something foreign to it, you may become ill and then the body would fight off naturally whatever sickness there were invading the body. If the body was prepared, healthy, and understood how to protect against these things.

Just the same occurs in the church when ideas are brought up which do not reflect the teaching of the head of the church, that is Jesus Christ, and the church body begins to suffer.

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 4

but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ,

If the body is taught how to respond in respect for all people as people who God sees as valuable, then growth can occur. When we rebuke, admonish, or correct others, it should be done in love. Look at how Christ corrected those who were with him.

We have a method that we are to use that involves this application in our work environment. Comply, Intervene, Respect. We wish people to comply with the beliefs we have to maintain this body. If we do not those inconsistencies in a respectful way, then we do not allow a chance for conversation to allow each person to think of the other’s perspective.

Intervening respectfully allows the person to know they are loved, know that there is a goal for the church to grow together in, and learn how to do this in their own lives as well.

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 4

from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

When the whole body works together under the same goal, you have a healthy body. If the body is prepared ahead of time to understand how it works and the reasons it has certain defenses in place, then when it is attacked with foreign ideas or outright attacked, then the healthy body can repair itself.

Growth occurs over time as the organization learns to communicate with one another in love. Correcting gently as Christ did and to continue to learn more about the gifts God has given them.

What Are Your Gifts?

Where Best Can You Aid the Body of Christ?

You must think of how you are gifted to join together with others. God has given you a body, given you life, and given you talents for His glory. The principles of this are not just for the body of the church. God knows that these principles of working together for the building up of His body are to build better families, better relationships at home.

When people set out together and decide on marriage, if they place God’s design for marriage at the forefront of their relationship, then they understand what the goal is of raising children.

Even when people set out and decide to live a single life, their identity is not wrapped up in their singleness, but their gifts are then not divided in time.

How can your commitment to building up the body of Christ carry out of these walls into your home, your family, and your work?

Do you correct those around you in love? Does your words build others up for greater strength or do you tear others down to build yourself up? Often when we do this, it tears the body down, the organizations we work with down, and divides the body.

Jesus reminds us, “And knowing their thoughts Jesus said to them, “Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself will not stand”

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Mt 12:25.

How the Church Grows Together

How we grow together as a church body is to first understand what our core beliefs are. What are the core beliefs God has given us in His Son, Jesus Christ that we must adhere and be willing to recognize as crucial for maintaining this body?

We also must look at how each individual is capable of becoming part of the body of Christ because each one is God’s creation. While they may be lost in unbelief, that is not the work of God, but the enemy who deceives them (2 Cor. 4:4). Therefore, it is with respect, gentleness, kindness, and love that we correct our own thinking before correcting the beliefs and actions of others (Matt. 7:5).

Our church team has many positions but one leader, and that leader is Jesus Christ. We work together to understand His mission for us in this congregation. As we embrace this working together in love, we will enable our local community to witness this as well. When you do this in your family, your children witness this. Your belief becomes action and your action transcends your life as you become a witness for Christ to the world.

People who embrace the goal of building up the body of Christ and not themselves will accomplish together many good things because of Jesus Christ.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Jn 14:12.

Whether you are head coach, a starting pitcher, the leading score runner for your team, ball boy or girl, ticket usher, custodian, concession stand employee, outside recruiter, find your place in the organization and perform that well as your gifts have been given.

What we will accomplish is building a healthy body, organization, and family as we saturate ourselves with Christ’s methods of growing His church.