Serve 1 – #2

Since I last posted, so much has gone on in my life.  Been a roller-coaster ride the last couple of weeks.  My children are all back in school, and believe it or not, we’re all on a 9 month track.  No more year round school.  Yeah!!!

I wanted to continue stretching all of us in this area that I’m calling “Servership”.  I know, it’s not a Webster word, but it will be one day.  “Servership simply is:  Servant Leadership.  How many of us know people in positions of leadership, that never carry a server’s mentality?  From my experience, the best leaders are those that model selflessness, and willingly serve anybody and everybody as necessary.  I don’t just want to be a leader, I want to be a server.  “Servership!”.

www.epicchurchlv.org, has been on a journey of stretching people to grow out of their comfort zones, get out of the bleacher seats, get in the game, and actually start moving the ball down the field (advancing the kingdom of God), through serving.  It was so cool Sunday, to see more new faces serving, than I’ve seen in a long time.  Game on!

A little over a week ago, I spoke on some common misconceptions of serving.  I’ll give you one today.

One of the greatest misconceptions I hear from people about serving is this

#1.  I’M NOT NEEDED.

Nothing could be farther from the truth.  I believe we’re an Acts 2 church.  We gather corporately, in homes privately, we grow personally (self-feedership), we watch as signs & wonders accompany our lives daily, and there will be a sense of awe.   If the church really lives the above things out, #’s will be added daily, hence, more “servership” is necessary.

Being with church staff members for years, one of our callings as staff members is to find servant leaders, and I’ve called up so many people over the years.   I call & go, “Hey, would you be willing to do this?  And would you be willing to serve here?  I would love for you to try out this!”.  And what I’ve gotten often times is what I call “The Spiritual Head Fake from People”. Here’s what people have told me….”Well Jason, let me pray about it”.   Now it’s OK to pray about it, but 9 times out of 10, that person is giving me the brush-off.  They’re not praying about it!!

Question: If I asked you, “Would like to take another breath?”,  would you say “Well Jason, let me think about that?”  No!  You would breath because it’s a natural part of your existence.  Your body requires air, and so you don’t even think about breathing, you just do it.

SERVING IN THE LOCAL CHURCH IS THE SAME!!! When asked to serve, it’s something you really don’t need to pray about, you just do it.  Because when you plug-in and serve in the local church, it helps to keep you spiritually alive.  It helps you to grow in your faith.   It’s a vital part of your spiritual existence!! Yes, you’re needed!!

Here’s the truth behind that misconception of “I’m not Needed!!”  The truth is, that……

******Serving Is A TEAM Effort!!!****** It takes every Christ follower to serve in the local church.

“But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.” 1 Corinthians 12:18

Question: What part of the body are you?  Are you an eye, an ear, a nose, are you an elbow?

You see, the thing that doesn’t matter, is there is diversity in the body of Christ. We’re all different, but the key is……….that we’re all needed!!  Every body part is vital to the functioning of the local church.  God has you in His kingdom for a reason!!!

I love to watch football!!  Tis the season!! Go Pack!!!  It’s one of my favorite sports.  It has always been fascinating to me, about a particular injury that occurs in football, and that is the turf-toe.  It’s amazing to me, how many athletes, and I mean highly conditioned athletes, miss playing because of a bad toe.  And I’m thinking…….”How important could a toe be?”  We’re talking about a little toe.  But when an athlete suffers from turf toe, they become immobile.  They can’t move!  They can’t function!!

Note: If people refuse to serve, they’re like the turf-toe.  Rendered ineffective to the Kingdom of God!

Our mission at www.epicchurchlv.org is: “To Relationally Lead People To Christ”.  As that happens, all local church’s must be ready to have people in place, to step-up and make sure that on game day, turf toe does not lead to a loss in the Kingdom of God.

So, if you’re not serving in the local church at some level, how come??  What is holding you back?  Life will never slow down, and we’ll always have excuses.  Stop making excuses, get out of the bleachers, and get in the game.  After all, the game matters for eternity, not just Sunday afternoons.