Do Something

Starting this morning and going for the next several evenings, we
will be having our fall renewal services. The focus is on the importance
of serving! Each year the board picks a theme and verse, this year's
verse is Philippians 2:1-8 (NIV), which I will reference throughout. This
passage is a great example of how we should have an attitude of serving
just like Jesus.
I have been asked to start us off by talking a little about the
commissions we have at our church, how they are meant to function,
and how you can serve in, or alongside them. The commissions we have
are Personnel and Nominating, Buildings and Grounds,
Pastoral Ministry, Worship, Legal and Finance, Evangelism and Missions,
Fellowship, and Christian Education. I think their names explain what
they are responsible for, but if you have any questions please feel free
to ask me more about them after service. Also if you want to know who
is currently serving on them, that information is on the church website
and located on the large bulletin board in the fellowship hall.
When first coming to Mohican, I was not a big fan of commissions.
I thought they restricted the pastors, and prevented people not on
commissions from serving in these areas. After getting involved by
serving on a commission and then Board Chair, I was able to see how
they are truly designed to function. They are meant to assist the pastors
with the needs of the church, and also to encourage others to serve
alongside them. Each commission has 3-4 people who have stepped up
to the call of serving, and we are very grateful to all of them.

Their job is to oversee the area they are in charge of, but it is not solely
on them to do everything that needs to be done.
For example…Buildings and grounds are not expected to do every
repair. They need to make sure the job gets done, but that doesn’t
mean they have to do it themselves every time. Christian Ed is in charge
of Sunday school, and nursery, but they do not have to teach every
class. Fellowship and Worship also organize their commission’s
responsibilities, along with finding others to help serve in these areas. If
the commission is not able to find help, then it is part of their duties to
step into those roles and make sure they are covered.
It’s so important to make sure we have greeters so people feel
welcome when they enter this building, coffee hour helpers for time of
fellowship in between services, and Sunday school and nursery teachers
to aid the children in growing their relationship with Christ. There are so
many more opportunities to serve here, and each one could only take
an hour of your time, one Sunday a month, and have such a big impact.
I know it is nice to sit and learn in a Sunday school class or be in
service, or to leave right after church, but if we are to live like Christ, we
should want to do our part for the church body. We need to see it as a
blessing, and I know many of you do. I encourage everyone of you to
reach out to a commission member, and see how you can get involved
in doing God's work! As Philippians 2:2 says, “make my joy complete by
being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and
purpose.”
Now I would like to dive a little deeper into what serving can look like.

I came to know Christ at a young age, but as I grew into my high
school years and into my 20ies, I began to start living a lot more like the
world, living for myself, and less for Christ. I have gotten much better
about striving to live my life more for Christ and less for myself, but
sometimes I am not as successful as I would like to be. That is probably
true for all of us.
Sometimes I think we can even have this worldly mindset of
putting ourselves first when it comes to serving. We have this image of
what we think serving should look like. Now I am not saying we
shouldn’t know what our spiritual gifts are, I think that can be
beneficial, but I do think sometimes we take the spiritual gift test and
then we feel that is the only area we can serve in. It is like we are
saying, “Okay God, I am ready to serve as long as it is in this area.” We
are putting our worldly restrictions on a God that has no restrictions.
Philippians 2:4 says,“Each of you should look not only at your own
interest, but to the interest of others.”
I do not believe God will only use us in one area of service. Yes, we
may be better right now in a certain area, but God can use and grow us
in different ways to serve as well. Me standing before you today is a
great example of that! This is not at all an area that I am gifted in, and it
is only by God's work through me that I am able to stand here. It is so
important that we step out in faith and serve in different ways. If I just
serve in areas I am good at, then I am taking away the glory God could
have by using me in other ways. Philippians 2:5 says, “Your attitude
should be the same as that of Christ Jesus”, and Philippians 2:7 says,
“He made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being
made in human likeness.”

Another way I think we bring our worldly view to serving is we
have the mindset that serving should always be fun, easy and enjoyable.
That serving should never be hard or uncomfortable. I know we spend
all week working and doing things that aren’t so fun, and when we
come to serve we just want it to be enjoyable, but not all things that
need to be done for God’s Kingdom are going to be that way.
We often have an idea of how we think something should go, and
when it doesn’t turn out that way, we decide we don’t want to serve in
that area anymore. Just because it didn’t go as you had planned, that
doesn’t mean it didn’t go as God had planned, and just because you
didn’t enjoy yourself, that doesn’t mean you’re not supposed to serve in
that place. God brought you into this situation and he still has a reason
for you to see it through.
God uses these moments to help mold and grow us. We have
numerous scriptures that talk of things not going as planned, and
people being put into hard situations, but they always work out for the
glory of God. So let’s change our mind set about serving. Let’s not
always shy away from the things we don’t enjoy. Let’s step up and lean
into the areas that are hard. We need to remember Philippians 2:8 and
how Jesus was obedient to death, death on the cross. No matter how
we are called to serve, it will probably not be near what Jesus was
called to do for us!

-Todd Holsinger