I recently had the opportunity to attend a Presbytery meeting in Temecula. The Executive Presbyter, Jeff Silliman, gave a sermon based on something he’d heard years ago that stuck with him. And it stuck with me, too.
The contemporary church, for the most part, is built upside down.
Think about it for a moment. The way most churches, and it’s especially true for most mainline churches, such as the PCUSA (my denomination), are leader-focused. That is, the vasy majority of the congregations are passive, while there are a few who use their gifts to do ministry, such as pastors, prophets, healers, teachers, etc.
That’s not scriptural.
7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men.” 9 (Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)
11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
It’s not the case that the believers, the saints, should be on the sidelines while ministry is done by the apostles, the evangelists, the pastors, the teachers. Yes, these are all important tasks that need help and support. But the purpose of these roles is not for ministry. The purpose of these roles is to equip the saints for the work of ministry, and to edify the body of Christ.
All believers are part of the body. It is up to all of us to do the work of ministry. Simply sitting in a church for an hour or two once a week is not enough.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and soul. Love your neighbor as yourself. Look after orphans and widows in their distress. Feed the hungry. Give drink to the thirsty. Clothe the naked. Welcome the children. Acknowledge Jesus before the world. Minister. This is the work of the believer.
Too often — and I am as guilty of this as anyone — believers have a “couch potato” faith. We go to church, give our pledge, sit in the pews, and epect that it’s enough. It’s not enough. Faith without works is dead. Being a Christian is hard. Typically, the 80/20 rule applies. 20% of the people do 80% of the work. That’s not how it’s supposed to be.
The church needs to change this pattern. The entire body of believers need to do the work of ministry, not just a small percentage. A body cannot function correctly if it’s missing parts.
I’m just putting my thoughts out there; I don’t know how to correct this. I wish I did. Any suggestions?
“Im not trying to be a nuisance/I just think we can do better than this/that was simply my two cents/you can take it or leave it.” –Nuisance, John Reuben featuring Matt Theissen
