Daniel Block, Wheaton Prof & OT Commentator was guest speaker at Winterim at The Master's Seminary last week. Concerning the use of spiritual gifts (particularly in worship music), he stated, “The life of the person is more important than the performance.”
How true this should be for ALL ministry. God is NOT looking for “talent”, He's looking for obedient faithfulness. Shouldn’t churches seek SS teachers, Youth workers, etc. based upon their faithful walk before a holy God, rather than looking at ability alone or attempting to “fill holes” with whoever can be talked into doing the job? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if people concentrated on their Christian walk to the point that they would feel “honored” to be considered qualified enough to be asked to serve some way in the local assembly?
I've heard people complain that their “gift” is not appreciated, nor utilized by their assembly… and so they become church jumpers. Isn't it better to be concentrating on your walk before the LORD and on being sensitive to His leading into a particular area of service?
Over my first year as church secretary I’ve received multiple calls from people wondering if we could use their “gift” in our church… yet never asking a single question about what we believe or preach! I’m serious! The second most asked question is, “What kind of music do you have?” or “Do you have contemporary music?” In the past year I’ve never had a SINGLE question concerning whether we have expository preaching, if we stress Missions & Evangelism, asking to see a Statement of Faith or wondering how many Prayer Services and Bible Studies we offer.
Putting the emphasis on your “gift” instead of on your walk with the One who GAVE you that gift is tantamount to serving yourself and not God.
1 comment:
And not once have I had a person ask if our church needs someone to dry coffee pots or take out dirty diapers from the Nursery! Now that’s a question I would LOVE to have someone ask!
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