“We are a candle in our home countries. We are being burned in order to bring light to our communities.”
~ An indigenous Christian missionary who recently visited Real Life Ministries and who would only give his first initial, last name, and general area of Southeast Asia as his community, on why he does what he does in such a highly persecuted area of Muslim and Buddhist influence.
If you spend time in volunteer ministry, do you ever wonder if that time is producing fruit? Do you wonder if your efforts are worth the . . . effort?
Exodus 17: 8 The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. 9 Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.” 10 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. 12 When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. 13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword. (NIV)
When I first volunteered in the Audio/Video Tech area of Real Life Ministries, one of the first things my supervisor did was to give me a small card with the above Scripture written on it. He let me read it then he said, “If you’re gonna participate in volunteer ministry, you’ve got to understand the role we all play, right? Now who all do you see in this story?”
“Well,” I answered, taking time to study the brief passage once again, “There’s Joshua, Moses of course, Aaron and Hur.”
“Exactly,” he said, “And as part of the A/V team, and especially us on the soundboard, taking all the roles that these men are playing within the context of that passage, what role do you think we’re playing here? Who do you think we are?”
I looked at it again, puzzled. “Umm,” I said, “not sure.” (I’m lousy at tests under pressure!)
He smiled, most likely knowing that’s exactly what I would say.
“Well,” he began, “Joshua is the focus of everyone’s attention at this point, so he’s basically center stage. Moses is . . . well, Moses. He’s the one running the whole thing. Aaron is both Moses’ voice and the voice of God, so he’s the one in communication with everyone else. And then there’s Hur.”
“The only part Hur plays in this whole ordeal with the Amalekites is to hold up Moses’ hand. That’s it. Not much. Yet, without him, Joshua would have failed. Moses would have failed. And the Israelites would have suffered a crushing defeat to a far superior force. Yet, here he is. A small part; most likely unseen by everyone but the three of them there on that hill: But crucial.”
“That’s us! We’re Hur. In fact, that’s volunteer ministry in a nutshell: Small, mostly unseen, yet crucial to the success of this, or frankly any, church.”
So here’s to all the Hur’s out there doing volunteer ministry!
The next time you pass out a bulletin, greet a guest, sing in the choir, or adjust the EQ on the pastor’s mic, remember: it may be a small part, unseen, unsung, soon forgotten; yet you play a necessary and crucial role in the success of that service, of your church and ultimately of Jesus’ mission to us all!
The unseen hands. The unsung heroes! The Hur’s!
Thank you!
photo (c) Natalia Maks
It’s eerie to walk into church on the National Day of Prayer. The place is normally bustling, serving dozens if not hundreds of people most every day. But today it’s quiet; soft and soundless. Not in a creepy, unnerving sort of way, but almost reverent; respectful; like even the people who work here are differing their normal conversations to an acquiescent hush and honor.
I walk into the expansive, upstairs room designated as a central gathering place of prayer for the community and I’m given a small, discreet packet full of material: From a short historical background of the National Day of Prayer to suggestions and outlines of prayer opportunities for our nation, our families and our community. I was happy to see this and it was most helpful because, in all honesty, I had no clue what I was doing.
If I may get a little personal and transparent here: I’m not a devoted pray-er. My wife? That’s another story. We’ll often be talking about a certain situation going on in our family, or our home group; decisions that need to be made, priorities that need to be set, and so on, and she’s the type of person who stops in the middle of our discussion and says, “You know what? We need to pray about this.” Then she grabs my hands and we do. Right then! It’s maddening! Not because we ALWAYS need to pray about stuff in her eyes (which we do), but that I didn’t think to do it as well. I’m just not wired that way . . . yet.
So, this National Day of Prayer, and being personally involved in it?
Wwwwaayyyy out of my comfort zone.
As I look through the material, I’m struck by the thoroughness and breadth of prayer suggestions held within; prayers for our government, military and churches as well as our business community, educational community, the media, and of course, our families. What also strikes me is the non-judgmental tone of the prayers.
“Pray for our local, state, and national leaders. Ask God to grant them wisdom, discernment, and hearts that are open to His leading.”
I can do that.
“Pray for God to grant courage, protection, and strength for our Military and their families.”
I can do that, too.
Before I knew it, an hour had gone by and I’d prayed. I. Had. Prayed. The funny thing was that even I felt better. Prayer is a praise to God; a thank offering; and a request for supplication—either for ourselves or someone we love, know, or are concerned about. And in praying for our leaders, our military, my family and community, I felt rejuvenated within my own walk, and I hadn’t even asked for anything toward myself. It was as if God went, “Thank you for your concern. I’m aware of all those needs, and the voices of all those who are asking in unison with you. And here’s a little something for you as well.”
I may try this praying stuff again sometime soon. After all, another handy item in the material I was given was a 40-day prayer guide for family and nation. How convenient is that?
It was like they knew . . .
What does “joy” mean to you? If you’re a follower of God, is that a “joyful” experience? If you’re not, can you still say your life is “joy-filled”? What does the term “joyful” even mean?
From a Christian perspective, I’m taking “joy” as from the fruits of the spirit described by Paul in Galatians:
From a Merriam-Webster perspective, “joy” is described as:
1 a: the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires. b: the expression or exhibition of such emotion.
2: a state of happiness or felicity; bliss
3: a source or cause of delight
The Amplified version of the Bible also uses the word “gladness”:
1: archaic : having a cheerful or happy disposition by nature
2 a: experiencing pleasure, joy, or delight. b: made pleased, satisfied, or grateful.
3 a: marked by, expressive of, or caused by happiness and joy. b: causing happiness and joy; pleasant
4: full of brightness and cheerfulness
Would others use these descriptors of you? Does that sound like your walk with God? Does that sound, in general, like your walk through life? Why, or why not? Take a moment to examine your reaction to those definitions in light of scripture. Substitute a few other words; delight, pleasure, grateful(ness), cheerfulness.
Go ahead . . . I’ll wait . . .
Does your walk with God, your life following Holy Scripture, evoke those particular adjectives? Apart from God, does your life reflect gratefulness, or “the emotion evoked by well-being”? At what?
Personally, I think these definitions fit nicely into the idea of peace that I touched on within my post entitled “Question: Why Do I Need Something Else?”, namely;
I think it’s quite an achievement to find peace, or joy, or gladness, or “the emotion evoked by well-being”—whatever you want to call it—despite your circumstances, not because of them; to have “well-being, success . . . or the prospect of possessing what one desires” regardless of the “stuff” you own, the title after your name, the money in your I.R.A.
Living outside of yourself, your own needs, your own wants, frees you to see the world with a whole new perspective. Not necessarily to feed all the starving children in Africa (although, if that’s your call, more power to you), but to see, and be able to respond, to the needs of your own family, your immediate circle of friends, your co-workers, and on and on.
Seeing—and most importantly being able to respond to, and fulfill—those needs will soon make you realize that what you’ve got is often . . . enough. To be able to help, or at least have the willingness to try, is often where the “source or cause of delight” emanates from. After all, how do you feel being able to do something that someone else appreciates? How does it feel to be able to provide something that someone else needs, that it’s “no big deal, I had an extra one.”? Could it be that that feeling is, “the emotion evoked by well-being (in being able to do the right thing), success (at being able to help), or good fortune (at having the means to help) or by the prospect of possessing what one desires (that “one” not necessarily meaning “you”)?
. . . just a thought.
Overall, I think the key to it all lies in the Amplified versions additional definition of the fruit of the spirit, “[the work which His presence within accomplishes]“: A work, or a change, that comes from within, that lets you be filled with a joy in knowing all that you can do without.
Again, just a thought.
At Real Life Ministries here in North Idaho, we’re what you’d call a “disciple-making” church. Our mission statement reads, “Reaching the world for Jesus, one person at a time.” Our role is focused around “disciples who make disciples”. And, though we have upwards of five services a weekend, our primary focus on the discipleship process lies within the home group setting.
We’ve got a great couple who lead our particular Wednesday night home group. We’ve also been blessed with an amazing, rotating cast of several couples and singles who participate. And then you have my wife and me. We’re what you’d call the “apprentice” couple: we are the ones being directly discipled by the leadership. We will occasionally co-lead, and we’re being groomed to branch our group at some time in the future to facilitate a group of our own.
And that thought scares the bejeebers out of me!
If it were as simple as presenting curriculum given to us by the church, following along with the sermon series of the lead pastor . . . well, that would be one thing. But have you seen what home group leaders actually DO??
Leadership requires a certain level of responsibility. They don’t show up late. In fact, they’re often early in order to help the host home set up for the group. They help set up the chairs, make the coffee, hand out the curriculum. And speaking of curriculum; they don’t simply read up on the material the afternoon of the meeting day, they actually study, sketch out the lessons, and prepare appropriate questions for the peculiar personalities within their group.
Leadership requires a certain level of emotional commitment. They’re invested. They actually care. About us. About you. About your teenage son that refuses to take off the earbuds and engage with the rest of the family. About the spiritual well-being of your alcoholic father. About your Aunt Edna’s goiter that they swear they prayed for last week. Even about your cat Mrs. Flufferknickers and that mysterious bald patch on her tummy where she’s overgrooming herself due to stress caused by that ugly tomcat that moved in next door.
Leadership requires a certain level of time commitment. In addition to the actual reading and prep time involved with the curriculum; and lifting up the prayer requests for Dad, Aunt Edna and Mrs. Flufferknickers; they take the time to meet with people from the group outside of the confines of the host home: for coffee, lunch and, most importantly, conversation and the all-important answer to that universal ice-breaker, “How ya doin’?”
Leadership requires a certain level of “thick skin”. We started too late. We started too early. We go too deep in the Word. The discussions are too shallow. We follow too many rabbit trails. Conversations never go to the heart; it’s almost like we stick to a script. They never serve good coffee. All they ever offer us is coffee. Some people talk too much. Some people never participate. “I can’t believe he said that!” “I can’t believe he didn’t say anything!”
Leadership requires a certain awareness of spiritual attack. Everything from sicknesses to job losses; internal tensions within the group; external influences that take precedence or shift focus; the difficulty in diving into, or staying in, the Word; burned dinners and dead batteries just before you leave; family fights on the way; all random, all out of the blue, and all keeping members, and leaders, away from gathering in the Name.
Leadership requires a certain level of privacy. Leadership implies a certain level of responsibility and trust. People are trusting leaders with their spiritual growth and well-being. Therefore, people will trust leaders with many aspects of their personal lives, struggles, addictions and weaknesses that other group members may not know of, want to know, or need to know. It comes with the territory. It comes with the role.
Leadership requires a certain level of discretion. Unless you yourself are a leader, you may not be aware of any of these other responsibilities and commitments. These obligations, both big and small, that the leader of your home group defers to on a daily basis. And, that’s okay; you’re not supposed to. As much as their human/emotional/worldly side wants to, leaders won’t boast, won’t whine, won’t brag and won’t grumble.
And that’s what scares me. I am Romans 7:19 to a fault. (For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. ) Still, when the time comes, I will graciously receive my role in spiritual leadership, because I know that somewhere there’s someone just like me that’s looking for that person just like them—warts and all—to look up to; to see the perfect imperfection and see what Christ can do with it anyway. After all . . .
Leadership requires a great deal of submissiveness:
Romans 7: 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it . . . 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Proverbs 3: 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord and shun evil.
As does participation by all group members . . .
Hebrews 13: 17 Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.
