Just a few years ago, Larknews.com carried the following fictional piece of satire on its website. In the form of a news release, it reported:
Julie and Bob Clark were stunned to receive a letter from their church in July asking them to “participate in the life of the church” – or worship elsewhere. “They basically called us freeloaders,” says Julie. “We were freeloaders,” says Bob.
In a trend that may signal rough times for wallflower Christians, the Faith Community Church of Winston-Salem has asked “non-participating members” to stop attending. “No more Mr. Nice Church,” says the executive pastor, newly hired from Cingular Wireless. “Bigger is not always better. Providing free services indefinitely to complacent Christians is not our mission.”
“Freeloading” Christians were straining the church's nursery and facility resources, and harming the church's ability to reach the lost, says the pastor. “When your bottom line is saving souls, you get impatient with people who interfere with that goal.”
Faith Community sent polite but firm letters to families who attend church services and “freebie events,” but never volunteer, never give, and do not belong to a small group or other ministry. The church estimates that only half of its regular attendees have volunteered in the past 3 years, and a third have never given to the church.
“Before now, we made people feel comfortable and welcome, and tried to coax them to give a little something in return,” says a staff member. “That's changed. We're done being the community nanny.”
Surprisingly, the move to dis-invite people has drawn a positive response from men in the community who like the idea of an in-your-face church. “I thought, A church that doesn't allow wussies—that rocks,” says Bob Clark, who admires the church more since they told him to get lost. (Joel Kilpatrick, "Mega-Church Downsizes, Cuts Non-Essential Members," Larknews.com (September, 2006; www.PreachingToday.com)
Now, I’m not for a minute suggesting that we dis-invite all the freeloaders in the church. This is satire, and like all good satire it exaggerates reality to make a point. It makes you think! What would happen if every member of the church took seriously the call to true service? What would happen if every one of us would stop coming to church with the question, “What’s in it for me?” and start asking, “How can I Give?” or “How can I serve?”
There is no telling how effective we could be in reaching our community and our world with the love of Jesus Christ if we came with that attitude.
The question is: What kind of servants do we need to be to help our church be all it can be for Jesus Christ? What does a true servant look like, one that makes a real difference in people’s lives.
Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to 1 Timothy 3, 1 Timothy 3, where the Bible talks about the kind of servants the church needs. 1 Timothy 3:8. You’ll notice that the text talks about “deacons,” but that’s simply a word which means “servant.”
1 Timothy 3:8 Deacons, likewise, are to be men worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain.
If you want to be an effective servant, then 1st of all you must be serious. You must be serious about the task God has given you to do. Verse 8 says, good servants are “men worthy of respect.” In other words, they are serious men of honor, not clowns.
Now that doesn’t mean you can’t have a sense of humor. You have to be able to laugh at yourself sometimes; otherwise, you’ll just go crazy.
Larry Moyer tells the story of a woman who woke her husband in the middle of the night, and said, “Henry, wake up. I just had this terrible nightmare. I dreamed I was at an auction for husbands. One husband brought $10,000 and others sold for sums in the millions.”
That's all it took to get him awake. He asked, “Well, Honey, what were husbands like me bringing?”
She said, “That's what was so disgusting. They were taking ones like you, tying them in a bundle, and selling them for a dollar a bunch.” (R. Larry Moyer, “Right Smack in the Middle of Sin,” Preaching Today, Tape No. 148; www.PreachingToday.com)
In and of ourselves, none of us are really all that indispensible. So we better not take ourselves too seriously. But if we want to be effective servants, we will take the Lord and the task He has given us to do very seriously.
You see, the life of the church is not all about me. It doesn’t revolve around me and my desires. It revolves around Christ. It’s about honoring Christ. So if we want to help our church be all that it can be, then we must be serious about Him.
2nd, we must be sincere. That’s what verse 8 says. The Greek word for “sincere” here literally means not double tongued – i.e., not saying one thing out of one side of the mouth, and something else out of the other side. To put it bluntly, we must be honest.
One Sunday, Louise Day of Mount Holly, Virginia, was teaching her young Sunday School class the story of Jesus visiting Mary and Martha. She carefully explained how Martha had hurried to clean the house and cook a special meal. Then Mrs. Day paused and asked, “What would you do if Jesus was going to visit your house today?”
One little girl quickly responded, “I'd put the Bible on the table!” (Louise Day, Mount Holly, VA, “Heart to Heart,” Today's Christian Woman; www.PreachingToday.com)
An effective servant doesn’t have to do that. He doesn’t have to pretend he loves Jesus on Sunday when he could care less about Him the rest of the week.
You see, that kind of person is detrimental to the testimony and witness of the church. So if you want to really help the church be all that it can be, then don’t put on a show. Just be serious, be sincere.
And 3rd, be sober. Or as verse 8 says, “not indulging in much wine.”
And 4th, be straight forward. Again we look at verse 8, which says, an effective servant is “not pursuing dishonest gain” – i.e., he is not greedy for money. In other words, if we want to serve Christ and his church effectively, we cannot serve with ulterior motives; we cannot serve with the idea that it will look good on our resume, or that we’ll get some good business prospects out of it. NO! We must serve out of love and with a genuine desire to help.
There is an old legend about Jesus and His disciples. They were walking along a stony road one day when Jesus asked each of them to choose a stone to carry for Him. John chose a large one while Peter chose the smallest. Jesus then led them to the top of a mountain and commanded that the stones be made bread. Each disciple, by this time tired and hungry, was allowed to eat the bread he held in his hand, but of course Peter's was not sufficient to satisfy his hunger. John gave him some of his.
Some time later Jesus again asked the disciples to pick up a stone to carry. This time Peter chose the largest of all. Taking them to a river, Jesus told them to cast the stones into the water. They did so, but looked at one another in bewilderment.
“For whom,” asked Jesus, “did you carry the stone?” (Bible Illustrator #3897; 10/1989.20)
Sometimes we serve the Lord with ulterior motives. The best servants, though, serve out of love for the Lord and with a genuine desire to help.
A visitor to one of the mission hospitals overseas saw a nurse tending to the sores of a leprosy patient. The visitor said, “I'd never do that for a million dollars!”
The nurse answered, “Neither would I. But I do it for Jesus for nothing.” (Bible Illustrator #603)
She was a real servant.
Do we want to be effective servants, people who really helps the church be all it can be? Then we must be serious, sincere, sober, and straight forward.
In a word, if we want to be effective servants, we must be genuine. We cannot be hypocrites.
Verse 9 says, an effective servant “must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience.”
In other words our conduct must be consistent with our professed beliefs. Our conscience must be clear. Our walk must match our talk. We cannot be like a pin – pointed in one direction and headed in another.
Major Osipovich, an Air Force pilot for the former USSR, planned to give a talk at his children's school about peace. That meant he would have to take some time off during the day to give his talk, so he volunteered for night duty. That's how Major Osipovich found himself patrolling the skies over the eastern regions of the Soviet Union on September 1, 1983, the night Korean Air Lines Flight KE007 strayed into Soviet air space.
Soon the Soviet pilot was caught in a series of blunders and misinformation. In the end, Major Osipovich followed orders and shot down the unidentified aircraft. The actions of an air force major preparing to talk about peace plunged 240 passengers to their deaths and sparked an international incident that pushed world powers to a standoff. (Leadership Magazine, Vol. 15:3, Summer 1994, p. 48; BI# 2994-2995; 6/1995.30)
Our talk is important, but our actions carry far more weight. That’s why the best servants, the most effective ones are without hypocrisy; they’re genuine people through and through.
When Fred Mitchell, chairman of the China Inland Mission, died, one of the speakers at his funeral said this about him: “You never caught Fred Mitchell off his guard because he never needed to be on it.” (George Duncan, Living the Christian Life; BI# 2994-2995; 1/1991.27)
Do you know, that’s the greatest reputation anyone could ever have.
Do we really want to help the church be all that it can be? Then let’s be genuine believers in Christ! Be serious, sincere, sober, and straightforward.
Then we’ll be honored. We’ll be recognized as good and effective servants.
1 Timothy 3:10 They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons. (NIV)
Let them serve as servants in the church, but only if they pass the test, i.e., only if they are proved genuine and are found blameless. If we want to be effective servants, then we must be free from any legitimate accusations. Because if people have any reason to doubt our sincerity, if they have any cause for blame, then those same people will not welcome our service.
Somebody had this to say about some so-called servants of Christ:
I was hungry, and you formed a humanities club and discussed my hunger.
I was imprisoned, and you crept off quietly to your chapel and prayed for my release.
I was naked, and in your mind you debated the morality of my appearance.
I was sick, and you knelt and thanked God for your health.
I was homeless, and you preached to me the spiritual shelter of the love of God.
I was lonely, and you left me alone to pray for me.
You seem so holy, so close to God, but I’m still very hungry, and lonely and cold.
This is not what serving Christ is all about. No! If we want to be effective servants, then we must be genuine people who serve without hypocrisy and blame. In other words, we must be serious, sincere, sober, and straightforward.
This is true of the men who serve. It is also true of the women who serve, as well. Effective servants, both male and female, are sincere, genuine people. Look at vs.11
1 Timothy 3:11 "In the same way, WOMEN” – not “their wives,” as the NIV translates it. The Greek simply says, “WOMEN are to be worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything. (NIV)
This verse is not talking about the wives of the deacons. It is talking about the women who serve the church along with the men.
That means like the men, they must Be serious or “worthy of respect,” as the text says.
Furthermore, they must be sincere. “Not malicious talkers” – i.e., not spreading false rumors, but honest in their speech.
On a windswept hill in an English country churchyard stands a drab, gray slate tombstone. The faint etchings read: Beneath this stone, a lump of clay, lies Arabella Young. Who, on the 24th of May, began to hold her tongue.
A woman with that kind of a reputation doesn’t help the church and is certainly not an effective servant. Ladies, if you want to serve with excellence, then watch your tongue; be careful of gossip.
And be sober. vs.11 says, “Be temperate.”
Along with that, ladies, if you want to be effective servants, be straightforward – or “trustworthy in all things.” Ladies, just like the men, in order to serve well, you cannot serve the Lord with ulterior motives; you cannot serve the Lord in the pursuit of “dishonest gain.”
All who wish to serve well must be serious, sincere, sober and straightforward. Men and women both must be genuine people, serving without hypocrisy especially in the home. Look at verse 12.
1 Timothy 3:12 A deacon must be the husband of but one wife and must manage his children and his household well. (NIV)
A good servant in the church demonstrates genuine service in the home. He is faithful to his wife and a good father to his children.
I remember what Howard Hendricks, one of my professors at Dallas Theological Seminary, often said to us, his students preparing for ministry. He said, “Gentleman, if your Christianity is not working at home, then please don’t export it.”
In other words, before you try to serve God’s church, make sure your Christianity is working at home. Effective servants are genuine people. They serve well not only in the public arena, but also in the privacy of their own homes.
As a result, such servants become true leaders. They gain influence far beyond their own families. Look at vs.13
1 Timothy 3:13 Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus. (NIV)
Literally, they gain a good status, rank or standing, along with great courage or boldness in their faith. Good servants become good leaders. Let me say it again. Good servants become good leaders. They gain the respect of those they serve.
Jesus put it well when He said, “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all” (Mark 10:43-44).
A long time ago in Greece, some politicians decided to play a joke on a fellow politician in their group. They got him appointed to the post of Public Scavenger. It was a dirty, lowly post. But instead of being humiliated, the man decided he would show everybody what he could do with such a lowly assignment.
He eliminated the unsanitary conditions in the city, which had bred infection and disease for decades. He promoted habits of cleanliness and stimulated civic pride.
This man did such a good job that people began to look at the office of Public Scavenger with respect. And after his term expired, those same people appointed only the best men with exceptional ability to that post.
My friends, with God’s help, let’s be that kind of a servant. Instead of freeloading on the church, let’s be serious, sincere, sober and straightforward in our service for Christ. Let’s be genuine people, serving the Lord without hypocrisy.
Then, like that public scavenger of old, we will find true greatness. We will gain true respect from the people we’re trying to serve, and we’ll help our church be all that God called us to be.
