How Is Your Service?
There is perhaps nothing that differentiates Christianity from the rest of the world as much as service. Jesus set the example, in The New Testament, by washing the feet of His disciples, talking with the less desirables of society, healing the unfortunate, and showing concern for the lost instead of catering to the all important religious leaders of the day.
Jesus’ example is perfect. There is no way we could live up to Him, but I do know there is much more the vast majority of us could be doing. In his recent acceptance speech at this year’s Republican National Convention in Minneapolis, John McCain outlined several things people could do in order to be more service oriented. He suggested volunteerism, tutoring, coaching little league, even entering the ministry. One reporter commented after the speech that ever since John McCain was known only to the people of Arizona (his home state) back 25 or 30 years ago he has been sounding off on that same theme. He is absolutely right. By contrast, our society has come to be all about the almighty number ONE, and unfortunately it is not God!
I was intrigued by a recent article in the Oklahoma Baptist Messenger, the state Baptist weekly newsletter for the State of Oklahoma. Pleasant Hope Baptist Church in the Craig-Mayes Association, the same association as my first pastorate, honored Lewis Proctor for 60 years of service as an ordained deacon. That alone is quite a milestone, but I was even more amazed that he had earlier received recognition for 30 years of perfect attendance in Sunday School. Let me tell you something… casual Christians do not have 30 years of perfect attendance in Sunday School! In many ways, this gives strong clarification to the sort of deacon this man has apparently been. In many churches across America, deacons do not see themselves as servants, but as decision makers and directors of the church’s business, often leaving the Biblical work of deacons for the pastor and others! Servants come in all shapes, sizes, ages, locals, etc. The key thing is a heart devoted to actually serving.
The mainstream media has been extremely reluctant to report on this, but the people on the ground say that in the aftermath of storms like Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and more recent ones in the Gulf, Christians are the ones who have really come through. They have topped FEMA, and all other volunteer groups with their commitment to service. During the recent Democratic National Convention in Denver, volunteers united for what was termed “The Love Denver Project.” Meals, at no charge, were provided for officers and other officials during the days of the convention. This type of thing is exactly what it means to be Christ-like. We can hear a hundred messages on service and not serve one other person. We can read 20 books on service and still fail to do one thing for someone else. The conventional wisdom of our age is, look out for yourself and if you have an overabundance, then maybe give some away. Statistics even show that most charitable giving is done by poorer people rather than the wealthy. It comes down to the issues of willingness and compassion in the human heart.
Will you demonstrate service? Will you serve as a role model for others in that area? Would you serve if no one else ever knew about it except God alone? When we can answer that, yes that is enough, we have finally learned to serve!
In Christ,
Pastor Allen Raynor