The staff, along with the leadership team of MVC, has recently been discussing how we can encourage more people to step up and serve as volunteers in the ministry of the church. Several ideas have been passed around – all of which are great. However, as I talk to other pastors around the area, their churches are also struggling with keeping and maintaining committed volunteers. During my research I discovered an article written by Rick Warren that might address this challenge. He said, “Some churches have fostered this myth by making “excellence” an idol, which makes people of average talent hesitant to get involved. Many Christians never serve because they fear they aren’t good enough to do so. They believe the lie that serving God is only for superstars.”
You may have heard it said, “If it can’t be done with excellence, don’t do it.” Well, Jesus never said that! The truth is, almost everything we do is done poorly when we first start doing it—that’s how we learn.
In fact, the NLT translation of Ecclesiastes 11:4 says, “If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done”. That perfectly describes many churches today. We don’t allow the average person to get involved and as a result, nothing gets done. There are some churches that have the philosophy of: “If you’re not a professional, you don’t need to apply; we only want the very best.” That creates a congregation of consumer Christians - passive spectators.
Wouldn’t it be better if we simplified everything and accepted less than perfect performance so that more people can be involved in ministry as they use their spiritual gifts? I certainly know that you don’t have to be perfect for God to use you and bless you. Ministry also doesn’t have to be perfect. God is more interested in our availability than in our abilities. God is more than able to take the service of average, ordinary people doing average things, and produce extraordinary results. Think about it – That’s the philosophy behind Burger King’s success. They staff their restaurants with high school students and greatly succeed in serving food and generating huge profits. I firmly believe that if we’re going to make a difference in the world, reach the lost of our communities, minister to the family of faith, serve our communities, exalt Christ and share His love, it won’t happen by just mobilizing superstars or experts in those fields. We’ve got to mobilize everyone. God put the church together as “the body”. Each of us has a part to fulfill. If any of us fails to function, “the body” will get sick and dysfunctional. So get involved! God gave you the gifts and talents you have to be used for His glory. Let’s all get plugged in…
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