Last Sunday a Browncrofter walked up to me at church. She told me her car had been stolen, but then she shared about the outpouring of support she received from the church staff, volunteers, and her small group. And because the church served her, one of her family members had started attending services.
It can be tempting to treat the spiritual practice of serving as a checkbox. We either regularly serve, perhaps weekly, or we don’t. But Jesus offers us a grander vision of serving in Mark 10:45, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
During this month’s “Serve Like Jesus” series, we want to explore further the vision Jesus has for serving. This tangible practice connects the deeper values of the Gospel – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, forgiveness, and more — to real life. Serving people expresses God’s love in ways that words cannot describe.
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
Mark 10:45
Now my friend, Dr. Bob Rhoden, wrote a book titled The Four Faces of a Leader, and that book has a chapter called, “You Might Be a Servant If…” Here are the seven ways he outlines how you might be a servant:
- You walk into a room and say, “There you are!” rather than “Here I am.”
- You let someone else go first.
- You don’t care who gets the credit.
- Giving makes you as happy as receiving.
- You practice hospitality rather than entertainment.
- You are recognized more for your serving than your title.
- Your actions don’t require a rearview mirror.
Which one of those practices resonates with you the best? Which one do you struggle with the most?
However you answer those questions, I can tell you that the giving away of your time, treasure, and talents makes a difference. Not just because you’re filling a need, but because in a world that desperately needs to know the Gospel, people are seeing it expressed in real life.
I can tell you that the giving away of your time, treasure, and talents makes a difference.
As we explore serving during this series, allow me to give you a preview of where we are headed. I will talk about serving with humility this coming Sunday. Then Sherwin Damdar will share about serving our neighbors on July 16, Harry Gibbs will explore serving by giving on July 23, and Pastor Rob will close the series on July 30 focused on serving like a shepherd.
We want you take concrete steps to grow in serving during this month, so I hope you’ll check out these opportunities:
- Discover Your Gifts – Summer Study
- Flower City Work Camp Weekend Edition – Serve Opportunity
- Pedal For Life – Serve Opportunity
- Serve Like Jesus Fair
More information about these and other happenings are at browncroft.org/events.
For some of you, I believe God will use this month to stretch you to serve for the very first time. Others of you regularly serve already, but God might challenge you in this series to invite people to serve with you. None of us have graduated in terms of serving. I hope this month that all of us will feel a renewed challenge to live out the Gospel in this way.
