Putting the “You” in Church
Eph 4:11-16; Heb 10:24-26
Dr. Roger W. Thomas, Preaching Minister
First Christian Church, Vandalia, MO
Introduction: I remember the words like they were spoken yesterday. I can remember exactly where I was sitting in my eighth grade social studies class as I watched the events unfold on television. One line in particular seared itself into my memory. I wasn’t the only one. The young president’s words of challenge in his inaugural address stirred the nation. Those of you who are old enough will never forget those lines from John F. Kennedy’s famous speech. “Ask not what your country can do for you, rather ask what you can do for your country.”
I would that I were eloquent enough today to stir each of you with similar words. I would say to you, “Ask not what your church can do for you; rather ask what you can do for your church.”
Every one of you is here on purpose today. You chose to come. You didn’t have to come. You are not here by accident. Something about this place, this church, this people drew you here today. Most of you came because you knew you needed something that this place has to offer. That’s OK. In fact, that’s quite good. We ought to come to church because of what it can do for us. But for just a few minutes today, I would like to ask you to turn that around. Just for today, I am asking you to forget what the church can do for you and instead ask what you can do for the church. Can we do that just this one time?
Today we begin the third week of our 40 Days of Purpose. We are exploring God’s answer to the question, “What On Earth Am I Here For?” Our source for this journey is God’s Word. Surely we should settle for nothing less! But we are using Rick Warren’s bestseller The Purpose Driven Life as our roadmap. I encourage you to keep reading the PDL. Warren wrote the book to be read a chapter at a time for forty days. Even if you have charged on ahead in the reading, I hope you will go back and read the daily reading again for each of the 40 days.
I want to say it again so you don’t miss the point. We are using Rick Warren’s book as our roadmap but our search is really about God’s Word. No matter how helpful this (PDL) or any other book may be; it must never become a substitute for this book (Bible)! We must never lose sight of that principle in this place!
Using Rick Warren’s terminology for what the Bible says, God put each of us here for five purposes. Walk through them with me again. 1) We were planned for God’s pleasure—that’s worship. 2) We were formed for God’s family—that’s fellowship. 3) We were created for Christ-likeness—that’s what the Bible calls discipleship. 4) We were shaped for God’s service—that’s ministry. 5) We were made for God’s mission—that’s evangelism or spreading the Good News about Jesus.
Today I want to explore that second purpose—we are formed for God’s family—as simply and straightforwardly as I can. I don’t want to tell you why you need the church. You all have your own answers for that. Instead I want to outline what you can do for the church. If we had our big screen available today, I would put these letters up there—CH__CH. I would then ask, what’s needed in this church? The answer—UR! Because you are! What can you do for the church? I can list them on one hand.
First, the church needs you to STAND UP. This church is not, first of all, a community service agency. Though hopefully we do serve our community. We are not a family help organization or a place primarily designed to rescue vulnerable youth. Though I hope we do both. We are not in the entertainment business, the financial business, or the counseling business. Though this church is involved in all of that to one degree or another. We are in the gospel preaching, soul-rescuing business. So before you can do anything for this church, you must let Jesus Christ do something for you. We cannot talk about anything else until we talk about your personal decision to follow Jesus Christ.
Ideally no one becomes a member of this church without first becoming a fully devoted follower of Jesus. That is not to say that somebody may not have fallen through the cracks, gone through the motions, but never really taken a stand for Jesus from the heart. I say to all of you who are members and those who are not yet. Jesus first! Until you stand up for him, claim what he did on the cross as your own, you are not ready to ask, “what you can do for the church.”
Jesus leaves no room for “secret agent” followers. That’s people who claim to believe but refuse to own that before others. We must believe in our heart and confess with our lips (Rom 10:10). Standing up for Jesus is a must. Jesus said, “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my father in heaven” (Matt 10:32-33).
In the New Testament baptism is also a part of that standing up. The Bible says baptism is the “answer of a good conscience toward God (1 Pt 3:21). It is a part of standing up because it always involves at least one other person, usually more. That’s why it is also the last step between coming to faith and becoming part of the church, the family for which we were formed. Standing up for Christ is first. But right after that you need to stand up with the church. If you are baptized follower of Jesus but not a member of this church, you should be. You need to stand up and be counted.
What can you do for the church? First you need to stand up for Jesus. Secondly, you need to show up. Did you catch that last text I read? “Let us not give up meeting together.” It matters that we show up when the church is gathered. A lot of us have done that all of our lives. For the most part, our society makes that easy. We don’t have to sneak through roadblocks, hide in caves or darkened buildings, or fear persecution just for showing up. Many brothers and sisters in the past have. Some still do.
Showing up is easy, but it is important. Knowing that we are not alone matters. Seeing and hearing the faith of friends and neighbors is a huge incentive to keep on following when it gets tough. The solidarity of our faith when we gather encourages. It pours courage into our lives. Not seeing those we expect discourages. It drains courage out of us.
Look around at the people who showed up with you this morning. These people are here because they want to. They are no different than you. They are young and old, tall and small. They come from all kinds of backgrounds. Many have faced some tough struggles this week. Others have had a great week. Some are down. Some are on top of the world today. But they all have come to reconnect with God and their spiritual family. Surely that encourages you to do your best to follow Jesus this week. Showing up matters.
Standing up comes first. Showing up matters. But your church also needs you to speak up. That passage that talks about showing up makes this clear. “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. … Let us encourage one another.” Showing up provides encouragement, but it is no substitute for a word of encouragement. In part that’s what our singing and praying in our assemblies is all about. “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs,” the Bible says (Eph 5:19). That’s part of it. But we also need to speak personal words. We need words of appreciation and positive reinforcement and we need to give them. We also need to speak bold words of conviction when some one begins to stray from the Lord. Those words of correction, as unpleasant as they may seem at the time, provide a part of God’s safety net for believers who live in a world filled with temptations and dangers.
Speaking up is one of the greatest things you can do for your church. Younger folk, listen to me now. Everyone of you here today who is under fifty owes a tremendous debt to the older folk here, especially those who have worked and labored and showed up at this church for decades. Most of you wouldn’t be here today, if it weren’t for their faith and devotion. They need to hear you say that. They need your appreciation and expressions of gratitude. They won’t ask for it. But they need it. They need you to speak up.
Now all of you who are over that half-century mark, listen to me. Most of you have done a lot for this church for a long time. But the church needs one more thing. It is more important than anything else you have ever done. The church needs you to say a good word to the younger. Let a teenage know you believe in them, that you are pulling for them. Find someone your children’s age and give him or her a big “atta boy.” Encourage younger leaders and workers with your words of support. Tell young parents how proud you are of them.
Mark Twain once said, “I can go several hours on a good meal, several days if I have to. But I can live several months on one good compliment.” What can you do for the church? Speak up!
Stand up, show up, speak up—that’s a good start. But the church also needs you to step up. When a call comes for volunteers, step up. When a leader needs help, step up. When opportunities present themselves to be trained and prepared for leadership responsibilities, step up. A healthy, vibrant church cannot stay that way with a few doing for the many. We don’t all have to do the same things. The Bible says the Lord gives different gifts and abilities to different members. We are all different but we are all important. Ephesians 4:16 says the church “grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” The church needs you to step up.
What can you do for the church? One more thing. You can make up. Here is where I am going to get very personal for a minute. Jesus said, “they will know we are Christians by our love” (Jn 13:35). He said our unity with one another speaks volumes to a watching world (Jn 17:21). How we get along with one another matters.
For the most part, this church is a great family. There are folk here who have known one another for years; in some cases their whole lives. The spirit of love and kinship is as great here as in any church I have ever known. But I also know everyone here is human. I am confident there are few folk who may not be on the best of terms. Somebody may have hurt someone else. Maybe the wrong thing was said at the wrong time. Maybe nothing was said when it should have been. No doubt there may be a few folk who just get on one another’s nerves. Maybe your personalities clash. Maybe you just come from totally different walks of life. Maybe it’s a lot worse than that. In a church this size, there is bound to be a few grudges that have been nursed and cultivated for far too long.
If you are in that boat, this church needs you to make up. Listen to how the words that come just a bit after that call for “each part to do its part.” “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Eph 4:29-32). The church needs you to make up.
Conclusion: UR needed in the church. When you’re missing, it’s just not the same. This church needs you to stand up for Christ. We need you to show up. Showing up matters. But we also need you to speak up with words of encouragement. We need you to step up in service and leadership. And let’s make no bones about it. If there is something between you and someone else, the church needs you to make up.
You were formed for God’s family! That’s why I will say it again, “Ask not what your church can do for you; ask what you can do for the church!”
***Dr. Roger W. Thomas is the preaching minister at First Christian Church, 205 W. Park St., Vandalia, MO 63382 and an adjunct professor of Bible and Preaching at Central Christian College of the Bible, 911 E. Urbandale, Moberly, MO. He is a graduate of Lincoln Christian College (BA) and Lincoln Christian Seminary (MA, MDiv), and Northern Baptist Theological Seminary (DMin).
