Posted by • Jan 11, 2021
It was always mind boggling before we finally arrived at the decision of serving in a formal ministry at church. I recall those days when my spouse and I were sorting through all the possible options at DUMC and putting them into a continuum of low to high time commitment e.g. Foodbank and First Touch are on the lower end and Resonate and DEW on the other extreme. We started forming a mental list of criteria that each ministry had to meet before we would even consider being a part of. It was almost like finding a life partner! Does it allow both of us to serve? Can it be done just once a week? Is there one that minimizes us stepping out of our comfort zone? The list went on and on.
We decided in the end to join the First Touch Ushering ministry because it was one that we had some experience from our previous church and it was in our view, a very low commitment of just 2 hours every two weeks. Perfect!
The sermon this week has made me realise that we need to recalibrate our mindset about serving. My spouse and I were having the wrong posture where we felt we were doing the church a favour by volunteering our time in service of the church. This manifested in many ways that we are not proud of and are today repentant. Firstly, it meant we turned a blind eye to areas that could be improved. Coming from a consulting background, it was always easy for me to see how things can be done more efficiently but I held back because it would involve more time commitment and I consoled myself with thoughts such as “Relax, it is just volunteer work…”, “The Leaders will figure it out…”, “I don’t want to work on weekends..” and so on.
I held back when there were healthy discussions on tricky topics such as “Do we open doors for members?” and “Should we have performance metrics?”. I told myself that “I am here to just be a volunteer for 2 hours. Let’s not rock the boat and make enemies in the process. We will faithfully submit to church authority..”
I now realise that we have a bigger role to play in Christ’s local church. God has given us the opportunities and giftings to better support the Leaders of DUMC in achieving the vision that He has imparted to them. I also realise that we are not saved BY serving but we are saved FOR serving. Through serving, we offer gratitude to our Father in heaven for saving us and that each moment now we strive to be more like Christ.
Lord Jesus, forgive me for all the times I have chosen to play the Pharisee instead of the good Samaritan. I turned a blind eye to the needs of my brothers and sisters that you have presented before me. I confess my sins and ask that you give me more faith to step out in full dependence on you. Amen.