257 Kendall Street
Burlington, WI 53105
(262) 763-3021
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We have purchased land on Highways A & W and are planning to build soon! Drive by and take a look at our future home!
“Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you ever can.” John Wesley
June 6th, 2010
Stuart Briscoe shared an incident that happened the first week that he was the pastor of Elmbrook. A woman came up after the service and asked if he would find the answer to a technical question that she had about a particular Bible text. Briscoe replied, “No, I will not.” Looking shocked, as if she didn’t hear him correctly, she exclaimed, “What?” “No,” Briscoe repeated, “I will not find the answer to your question.” She looked at him as if to say, “Well, what are we paying you for?” He continued, “But here’s what I will do. I’ll show you how to find the answer for yourself.” And, he proceeded to do exactly that for her. In that exchange, Stuart Briscoe was following a vital biblical philosophy of ministry. Rather than doing the ministry for that woman, he was equipping her to do the ministry herself, so that she would grow to maturity in Christ. One of the most crippling ideas to pervade the church is that there is a special class of Christians, called “clergy,” who do the ministry, while the rest of the church sits back and lets them do it.
Immediately after that wonderful passage on God’s amazing grace in Ephesians 2:8-9 is this powerful verse about the responsibility of those saved by grace, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph. 2:10). We are saved to serve, not to earn salvation but because we are now part of God’s forever family. It’s also one way that we communicate our love and gratitude to God for the gift of His Son. That’s why today’s Ministry Fair is one of the most important Sundays on our church’s calendar. It’s a time to thank the Lord for how He has allowed us to serve Him during the past year, to rejoice in the victories and growth. It’s also a time of soul-searching and evaluation, as we look for new opportunities where we can serve our Lord.
I’m sure that many of your homes, like our home, have a continual conversation about “the division of labor.” Schedules and priorities continually change. Jane and I believe that every member of our family needs to commit to the family responsibilities. Obviously, when our children were smaller, their responsibilities needed to be age appropriate.
Our New Testaments contain some tough love verses that we rarely talk about, 2 Thessalonians 3:1-13, “For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: ‘If a man will not work, he shall not eat.’ We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat. And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right.” What is true in a family and socially, as well as culturally, is also true in our church family. Idleness is unacceptable in God’s family. Every one of us has been gifted by the Lord and He wants us to use the gifts that He has entrusted to us for His glory, the benefit of the local church and our good.
Most of us would agree that for the most part, our Welfare program has been one of the worst programs in American history. Some have even gone so far as to say that, “Welfare has often been worse than slavery.” What they mean by that is that too often our government’s social programs discourage individuals from work, industry and using the abilities that they have been endowed with by God. They become dependent upon government handouts at the sacrifice of personal responsibility. To be sure, there are those who the government (and the Church) should help. But it should help, not hurt. It should, if possible, help them become independent and contributors themselves to society. Keeping capable people dependent is wrong! Too often we have failed to see the correlation to the Church. Many believers, who are nauseated by an entitlement mentality in the general culture, fail to see that they have the same attitude when it comes to the local church. They come to be served, not to serve. The late James Montgomery Boice quotes a remark of Sir John Lawrence to this effect: “What does the layman really want? He wants a building which looks like a church; clergy dressed in the way he approves; services of the kind he’s been used to, and to be left alone.”
As a result, most churches look like the description of a football game that Bud Wilkinson once gave. He was the coach of the Oklahoma Sooners when they were a football powerhouse. A young reporter asked, “Coach, how has the game of football contributed to the health and fitness of America?” To the reporter’s shock, Wilkinson responded, “It has not contributed at all!” “What do you mean?” stammered the reporter. Wilkinson said, “I define football as 22 men on the field, desperately needing rest, and 22,000 fans in the stadium, desperately needing exercise!”
At Grace, we believe that God has gifted every believer. Without apology we hold that every member should be involved in ministry and that a member without a ministry is a mystery that violates our understanding of stewardship in the New Testament. It is when we are involved in ministry that we glorify God and grow. As your leaders, we are biblically responsible to equip you for ministry, to provide opportunities for you to use the gifts that God has entrusted you with, to admonish and encourage you to not settle for spiritual mediocrity but to serve and grow! That’s why we have the Ministry Fair.
I find that most pastors have the same burden that I have. When it comes to service, it’s not the new Christians that we’re concerned about. They typically step up and find a place to serve. The greater concern is for those of you who have been Christians for quite a while, yet are either barely involved or not involved in ministry at all. Christian friend, perhaps you’ve become stagnant in your walk with Christ. Start there, by recovering your first love for Him. God has a retirement program but it’s out of this world! So, please, get out of the stands and into the game. Christianity is not a spectator sport! Use the abilities entrusted to you to serve the Lord Who gave His life for you! As we do, this church will grow to maturity in Christ. His kingdom rule will be extended through us. And, the world will get a glimpse, however imperfect, of the glory of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
