3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.. (Philippians 2:3 – 4, New International Version)
Theme: The Local Church
Context:
Today we turn our attention to the Discipline of Service, and we will begin by considering questions about the role of service in your local church.
Before considering the questions, it might be helpful to reflect on the fact that some local churches don’t get excited about this discipline. It is hard to reconcile this phenomenon with the love of God poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). God’s love cannot be contained and one of the manifestations is service.
Primary Questions:
- Does your local church teach biblical principles about service?
- Is service a part of the culture of your local church?
- Does the service culture extend to interactions with the external community?
- Do your local church leaders model a life of service?
Optional Secondary Questions (if you have the time):
- Is your local church committed to local and foreign missions?
- Does your church recognize those who work ‘behind the scenes’?
Your Feedback:
While you are not expected to share your answers to the questions above, we would still love to hear from you. Based on your answers to the questions, what are your general observations about how local churches relate to service?
March 28, 2022 at 7:18 am
My local church is committed to and encourages this discipline. We are. a small church in the North Georgia but have identified several areas of need and partner with organizations with time, talent and treasures.
There are opportunities for member to service each other. Please join me in prayer as I explore service opportunities to find my place. Next Sunday is my first Sunday to serve as a greeter.
March 28, 2022 at 7:48 am
Praying – and confident you will do a fantastic job.
March 28, 2022 at 8:06 am
My local church here in Houston, encourages members to serve thru many ministries. Same for my local church in Japan. The one thing I was surprised with my church in Japan, the new pastor can just dismissed the service of a long time member just because he sided on some leaders (deacons) of the church when an issue on covid came up. It was not very encouraging situation but sometimes issues like that happened and the only thing you can do is to pray for your church and its leaders. Also, as member of church, the discipline of service takes a great deal of humility and perseverance for one to be able to fully serve the Lord. The focused should be in pleasing the Lord, not the people or even the leaders at church. Likewise, pastor and leaders of church should avoid favoritism or giving more attention/ favor to one member or deacon/leader whom he thinks can serve better than others or someone the pastor really rely on (for example a deacon or helper who brings people to church and eventually becomes member of the church). I know for some pastors increased in membership means the church is growing. But that’s not the case always. Favoritism especially when it comes to evaluating how each member serve at church is not healthy. It causes division and frustration at church.