Over the past few weeks I have been attempting to memorise Colossians. While this is proving harder than I first anticipated, it has shown immense quantities of goodness already. This attempt to memorise has triggered a few very important thoughts, some of which I thought would be good to unpack online, where people can show me where I am wrong or if I need to refine my thoughts. In particular, I am hoping to discuss an issue that so many modern day churches seem to chase after – professionalism. For some reason, a polished serviced and a perfect sermon seem to be extremely high up on the priority list, and volunteers seem to be the people taking the brunt of this 9-iron swing.
It is clear in the biblical narrative that voluntary work, serving and giving generously are all focal points of the Church – the Church being the group of believers who have responded to Jesus. Acts depicts people making hugely generous and selfless moves to sell property and livestock for the sake of the Gospel. The entire Old Testament seems to revolve around a sacrificial system. Most of Paul’s letters will indicate at some point or another that selflessness and the giving up of one’s self in service are of paramount importance to the Christian faith.
Why bring this forward? To indicate that I am a full advocate for service in ministry. It should go without saying that if you are a Christian you are serving in a church. This can be as simple as standing on a door greeting people, or as complex as playing lead guitar for the worship team. The debate will never be ‘should I serve’, but will always be ‘how can I serve?’ For the majority of my own church, this is definitely the case. However, I want to discuss the concept that Paul brings forward in Colossians 1:3-14. This whole section confused me at first, but the more I read it the more [I think] I understand what Paul is saying, and it is extremely relevant to today’s modern church.
How many of us can appreciate the professionalism of a good concert? Or the smoothness of a TV advertisement? I would argue that most of us love a great, professional presentation. I will never forget the first time I saw a band live – it was the Rogue Traders (don’t judge me), and it was seriously one of the most professional things I had ever attended. It was part of a Scout Jamboree over in Victoria, with around 12,000 people in attendance. The stage went dark, smoke came billowing out from somewhere, lights began to strobe and the crowd cheered, goosebumps formed and excitement grew. They started big, and started with a bang, and it was so clean, so polished, so professional that it is a moment I have never forgotten. This concert has set the standard for any and all musical presentations for me for probably the rest of my life. In reality, however, I shouldn’t have expected anything less. Every single person involved in that show was being paid, and every single person has trained, practised and learnt how to be the best at their chosen job – literally, the best.
This small anecdote may seem unrelated and a waste of time, but I have left churches and said to myself ‘Well that was pretty professional!’ The difference between these two scenarios, however, is the inevitable comparison between a response to stimulus (money, pride, excellence) and a response to the Gospel. Essentially, most church services will (and arguably should) happen as a result of responses to the gospel. Bruce, who mixes sound, does so voluntarily because he is responding to Jesus. Emily, who greets people on the door, is responding in service to Jesus. Anyone that is involved in any form of voluntary service (and paid) in a church is doing so as a response to the servant love modelled by Jesus Christ. Do I think that these responses should be done well? Of course. Do I believe that these volunteers should learn how to do their jobs better? Of course! But do I believe that their performance should be a means to grade their voluntary service? Not in the slightest.
This is the danger of modern day church professionalism. A community built on service needs to remember its foundation; namely Jesus Christ (Philippians 2). Jesus washed his disciples feet to prove that true leadership is service. And this is essentially what Paul is addressing in these verses of Colossians, and I think it is something that every modern church needs to understand. Paul does not thank the church of Colossae for their method of service, or for their fancy new auditorium, or their wonderful new sound system, or their beautifully professional church service – he thanks them for their response to the Gospel. He thanks them for their faith in Christ, and thanks them for their love for one another. I wonder if we will ever understand this to its full extent? Paul literally thanks them for the Gospel, thanks them for their faith in it, reminds them that the Gospel is powerful and that it is spreading.
If you are involved in church service, voluntary or paid – please understand this. The Gospel is the foundation, the Gospel is the origin and the Gospel is the reason for everything you do. While it might be nice to have a professional church service, the Gospel is more important. Moreover, the fact that you are serving to spread the gospel? That is literally the Gospel in action. You have heard the truth, you responded to the truth and you are now living the truth. So I would like to thank you, on the behalf of all Christians, for the hard work you put in, for the training you do, and for your response to the Gospel.
This post may appear to have little direction and little flow (which it probably does), but I cannot overstate the importance that we respond to the Gospel in love and faith. We are first loved by Jesus, in whom we put our faith, so we have hope for the future. Jesus Christ is the King of kings and the Lord of lords, and he exemplified and esteemed servant leadership to an entirely new level. If you are a Christian and not involved in service of some sort, please do so. Church does not happen without volunteers, so if your church is passionate for the Gospel, passionate for truth and mostly passionate for Jesus, get plugged in, get involved and start serving. As I said previously, for those of you that are, the Gospel is flourishing, people are getting saved, they are growing in faith – and your service and faith to Jesus is proof of this. Thank you for your response to the Gospel, thank you for your faith in Christ, and it is my hope and prayer that you truly believe that Jesus is alive, He is good, and He is saving people from their sin every single day. If you have never heard it before: we are grateful for your response to the Gospel.
innercity 