Yesterday was Sunday and I was excited to go to my church. I truly love going there and it is so exciting to be able to worship with this group of people every week! I looked around our congregation, we have a very diverse group of people. We have alot of older adults who are great role models for me, we have middle age adults who our church is reaching out to that have come from some rough backgrounds. We have alot of 20 somethings too. The problem though is that these younger people are not stepping up. The older adults are getting to the point that it is hard for them to teach the younger children and our youth pastor and children's pastor are having to do everything by themselves.
I am teaching children's church now on Sundays. I am not a teacher kind of person but I saw a need and I am stepping up. I had 8 very hyper 3-5 years olds and so I needed a helper. I asked 5 different students to help me and they all had a different excuse.
My generation is all about "what is good for me?" They are so selfish. God did not call us to go to church to warm the pews. Christians were called to serve to tell others about Jesus. What has happened to this teaching? Why are Scott and Derek having to beg people to help them when we have at least 10 students from BIBLE COLLEGE alone going there. I have a hard time believing that a person is called to be a pastor or in some form of ministry when they can't serve in a lay person role. I know not all people work well with children but there is a ministry in every church for every person! Before I went to Panama my professor had me read a book on servant leadership, leadership is not possible until you know how to serve God by serving others.
Acts 26:16-18 gives us a picture of what we are called to do. It is by being a servant and a witness that people are reached and souls are saved from a horrible eternity in Hell.
16But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, 17 delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles— to whom I am sending you 18 to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'
The older generation is moving on and it is our turn to get up off our behinds and do something. If we continue to become pew ornaments while the world all around us is going to hell then I have to question whether we deserve the right to go to Heaven... we should be willing to die for our Lord as the early Christians did, not be bribed to help out.
Think about it are you doing what you have been called to do? Are you truly being a servant? Are you sending people to Hell today?
