God’s Fellow Workers
TCF Sermon
September 14, 2008
When you get your newspaper delivered to your home, is the newspaper carrier the one responsible for the whole thing?
If you’re a football player, and you score a touchdown, should you get all the glory? All the credit? If you’re a businessman who sells a successful product, should you get all the credit and all the profit?
Of course not. When we take a moment to think about it, we realize that each one of these things takes many people, to make the end result possible.
The newspaper carrier is just the final step in the process. There are the reporters and editors and printers and truck drivers and office help, and advertising salespeople to support all these things – and that’s not even taking into account those who make the machines or equipment to make it all possible, or harvest the trees, and then those who make those trees into paper and get that paper to the newspaper to print.
If you’re the businessman who sells, let’s say widgets, you can’t take all the credit. Someone had to make the widget for you to sell. Someone had to design the widget to make it worth selling, and someone had to determine the proper marketplace for widget buyers.
Then there were those who supported that sale with public relations and marketing. There’s a whole support structure surrounding any successful product.
If you’re Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings, as talented as he may be, you don’t gain 200 yards in a game unless the coaches design good plays, unless the team practices and learns those plays, unless your offensive line clears at least a bit of a hole for you, unless your quarterback gets you the ball in a good spot to make a good gain.
These things are all common sense, and with just a little thought, we’d all say, well, sure I realize this – I know it takes a team effort to make almost anything of worth happen. But if we truly realize this, why is it that we sometimes seem to get this idea all out of balance when it comes to the results of spiritual things like church, missions or evangelism?
Paul chided the Corinthians about this very idea. There were factions forming in the church in Corinth, and we read about it in 1 Corinthians chapter 3. The people in that church were looking at the important roles that some filled, in forming and sustaining that church, and were taking sides.
If this was happening at TCF, some might say, “I’m a Jim Grinnell fan. He’s a gifted worship leader and preacher and counselor. He’s my favorite – I’ll follow him.”
Others might say, “I love how positive and joyful Joel is. His preaching is always inspiring. He’s the one I follow.”
We looked at this idea in a different context a few weeks ago when we were talking about your work and your faith. Remember we noted that there’s no hierarchy of service in the Kingdom of God. Missionaries are not more important than pastors, and pastors are not more important than children’s church teachers, and teachers are not more important than custodians, and custodians are not more important than those who have a ministry of prayer, and those who are in, quote unquote, “full time Christian ministry” are not more important in the Kingdom of God than those who work a secular job.
Here’s how Paul put it in his letter to the Corinthians.
1 Corinthians 3:5-9 (NIV) What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe--as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.
Now, this morning, much of our Sunday service has been focused on missions. And rightly so. Missions is the calling of this church.
But most of us are here. In Tulsa. We’re not missionaries. We’re not called to be missionaries. We’re not supposed to go to India or Nepal or Burma, like Cindy Perry is supposed to.
We’re not supposed to go to China, like the Places are supposed to. We’re not supposed to live and work in Kazakhstan, like the (name omitted) are supposed to.
We’re supposed to stay here. This is our place of service. But does that mean we’re not part of the team? Do we have a role in missions?
Absolutely – an important and vital role. Paul told the Corinthians here that the Lord has assigned to each his task. Whatever your task, it’s just part of the team effort, whether you’re Cindy Perry or Sarah King.
God is the one who enables us to score touchdowns – that is, to see results from the team effort. Paul tells us that whatever we do, whatever role we fill, in the Kingdom of God we have but one purpose.
Verse 8: The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose…
Paul also tells us that we cannot sit back and say, well, missions, ministry is not my job. We must ask not whether or not we fit into the Kingdom purpose of this church, but how we fit into the Kingdom purpose, that primary purpose, for which the church exists.
That can be difficult. It’s a little easier to see what Cindy does as Kingdom work, than to see what Sarah King does. But without what Sarah does, as our church accountant, and as a member of the missions council, the absolute truth is that Cindy could not do what she does.
But even Sarah’s role is a little easier to see than the role most of us have. What if you’re not helping administer the finances, or deliberate missions strategy and policy? You might say, “well, all I can do is pray.” I can tell you that Paul, the first recorded missionary in scripture, certainly didn’t take the role of prayer lightly.
Ephesians 6:18-20 (NIV) And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
Any missionary you speak with will tell you that prayer is absolutely the most critical and vital job in the whole missions machine. Without prayer, not a one of our missionaries could do the work they’re doing.
No, prayer may not be glamorous – in fact it’s often drudgery and difficult. No, it’s not visible. You don’t get up here to give a report with slides like Cindy did, about your half hour of prayer for Burma last week.
But it’s vital. It’s critical. It’s absolutely essential to the work of missions.
Of course, giving is critical as well. Not a one of our missionaries can fully support themselves without the financial support of this church. Giving to support our missionaries is vital as well, and a crucial component of the work.
Back to the letter to the Corinthians. In verse 8: Paul says, “each will be rewarded according to his own labor.”
And then in verse 9: for we are God’s fellow workers.
Now here’s Paul, a church-planting missionary, telling those Christians in Corinth that they are part of the mission, part of the outworking of the purpose. My guess is that many if not most of those Corinthians never left Corinth their entire lives.
They couldn’t jump on a plane and go to a foreign land, like Joel went to Iraq and Afghanistan the last few weeks.
But Paul is also telling them that they’re still part of the team, even though they don’t go to the exotic places he’s been going. And as part of the team, they have a responsibility for which they will be held accountable, and for which they will be rewarded.
Sometimes we think of missionaries as the superstars of the Christian endeavor. And certainly, in some ways that seems true. I don’t mean this morning in any way to diminish the work, or the sacrifice, that our missionaries make, to do what God has given them to do. They are worthy of our honor and respect.
But let’s note this. Superstars don’t win championships – at least until they’re truly part of a team.
Wilt Chamberlain was a basketball player like no one had ever seen before his time. He was huge, he was strong, he was mobile, he was talented. There had been other big men before him, but no one who could do all the things he could do.
Michael Jordan was probably the most individually-talented basketball player ever.
Barry Sanders ran the football like no player before and no player since. He was fast, elusive, strong.
Hank Aaron hit more home runs than anyone before him. He was a feared hitter at the plate.
But here’s the interesting thing about each of these. The first two I mentioned, Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan, despite being arguably the best players of their eras, could not win a championship until the right teammates were gathered around them, and the right coach was hired to put it all together. They both played in the NBA for several years before they won a title.
All of their amazing, individual talent didn’t get them to the top, until they were part of a good team.
Hank Aaron won one title in 21 seasons, again because, despite his consistent individual greatness, he didn’t have teammates to help put him over the top.
Barry Sanders never played on a championship team, despite being arguably the best running back ever, because he never had the essential components of a team around him.
The truth is, in almost every example you can think of, from business, to sports, to the church of Jesus Christ, everybody’s a role player – even the so-called “superstars” – i.e. the ones who are most visible, who get the most acclaim or attention.
We tend to glorify certain tasks – in basketball it’s scoring. In football it’s passing or running for touchdowns. In soccer it’s scoring goals, or maybe keeping goals from being scored. In baseball it’s hitting home runs or pitching shutouts. In business its sales. In the church, it’s missionaries, pastors, evangelists.
We’re talking about identity here. Are we all part of a team, or do we think some are the most important members of the team? Or not part of the team at all, because we don’t have the so-called glamour of the superstars?
Of course, all the things we’ve said about this team approach also clearly apply to outreach in our community, Good News Club, or any other ministry of the church.
But whether we’re looking at world missions, community outreach, or anything else, the message is the same. Paul tells the Corinthians, and us, that what we are, is servants. Servants fulfilling different roles, yes, but servants nonetheless.
My identity is not a pastor or elder. My identity is a servant of Jesus Christ, God’s fellow worker, whom God is choosing to use as his tool, and that tool happens to be pastor.
Chris Place’s identity is not a missionary, or even a doctor. Chris is a servant of Jesus who has found his role in Christ as a missionary and a doctor, for this season of his life. Chris will be a servant of Christ even if he can no longer serve as a doctor or as a missionary.
Chris is on the same team that Karl Eason is on. That Dorothy Obrochta is on. That Hal and Mary Reed are on. Chris may be a quarterback, and Karl may be an offensive lineman, and Dorothy may be a strong safety, and Hal and Mary may be defensive linemen, to continue with the football analogy, but winning, or in this case, reaching the goal, is a team effort. It takes all of us.
Let me use the example of my favorite NBA team, the Boston Celtics. This past season they signed two superstars to join the team. The team already had a superstar in Paul Pierce. But the other two superstars, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett, had also never won a championship. So Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett worked hard to fit themselves into a team, with all of them sharing the superstar role. They fit together so well, each one giving up some of his personal achievements for the good of the team, that they won an NBA title.
That’s a good picture of how the church is to look, too. Jim Garrett preached a message in 1989, and again in 1996, that touches on this theme in a different way. Jim recounted the story of a battle in 1 Samuel, where part of the army of King David went and fought a battle, and part of the army stayed behind with the supplies. Those who went into battle wanted to keep the spoils of that battle, but David wouldn’t hear of it.
David said in:
1 Samuel 30:24: The share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle. All will share alike."
Staying with the supplies, with the stuff. That’s part of a team approach. That’s a TCF approach. We’re all part of a team.
For us, what does it mean to be actively involved in staying by the stuff? Is it a passive thing? Does it mean those of us who are called to be here get to sit back and just watch?
No, we’re to be actively involved in these ways:
1. prayer
2. giving
3. relationships
4. building for the future (our children)
5. maintaining a firm foundation – in our own spiritual lives
6. being open to going ourselves
Those of us who are here in Tulsa, are the foundation for what our missionaries do. The way TCF does missions is rather unique. All of our missionaries are part of us – they’re not some unknown – they sat among us, served among us, laughed among us, cried among us, lived among us – we know them and they know us.
This should give us more impetus to take seriously, and be faithful in the ministry of staying by the stuff, because we’re not doing this for some picture and names we see on the wall, but for the Lord, as part of a team, a team which includes people we’ve sat with and related to.
For people who are part of us – people we truly love. For people who have specific roles to fill as part of this team. Ask yourself as we close this morning, what role do you play as part of the team?
Pray
