Servants of All
Following the Model of Jesus
“Service” tends to be a buzzword in Christian circles. Many churches emphasize stories of service and deploy language of giving back. I understand why we do this and have myself advocated for it. Genuine acts of giving should be celebrated. As the leadership maxim says, “what gets celebrated gets repeated.”
Though, there are times when this messaging and these stories strike me as inauthentic. The messaging can feel either self-congratulatory or a means to some other end. For whatever reason, at times it feels off. Perhaps in enthusiasm service gets pitched as another program or check box to pat ourselves on the back. Service should be a cornerstone value for any community claiming Christ. With anything that one does long enough, it’s not difficult to drift from the intended purpose or posture.
So, where could popular messaging about service miss the mark to which God calls the church? How can churches refocus and reclaim the posture and position of service to which Jesus invites His followers?
First, here are a few things Christian service is not…
Christian Service is not Penance
Service does not cover sin, because only grace can do that.
Ephesians 2:8–9 states,
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast”
The writer continues in verse 10 connecting the work of God in the lives of believers to the good work they are to accomplish in the world. Work done on God’s behalf does not and cannot make up for sin, and to try to earn God’s forgiveness, only diminishes the work of God’s grace.
Instead of repaying a debt, God invites Christians to give back out of abundance for what God has done for them. God freely gives love, mercy, and grace to all who would receive it. Those who have received can give to others generously knowing there is no end to the love, mercy, and grace of God.
Christian Service is not a PR Strategy
The Church does not serve to look good in the community.
In today’s culture, those who invest in their communities are increasingly looked upon favorably. Consumers more and more seek out brands and companies that give to causes. This attention to benevolence and philanthropy is positive, and as a result, businesses large and small have helped many people through donations to community causes or service days working with local service agencies. For their generosity, they often receive positive publicity, and they should. These practices have accomplished a lot of good in many communities.
Churches giving back to their community in this manner may have the same effect, but this is not the call to Christian service.
Jesus warns his followers about the public practice of spiritual disciplines such as prayer, fasting, and giving. When made into a public display, that is the extent of the reward (Matthew 6:1–18). Jesus explains that God sees what is done when no one is looking and rewards these actions because they are good and not for recognition.(Matthew 6:4, 6,18).
If churches only show up in spaces where they will be publicly applauded, they have missed the heart of God for Christian service and will miss out on the greater reward.
Christian Service is not a Growth Strategy
The Church does not serve to attract more members.
The Church is a “sent” community. Jesus commands his followers to go to all nations sharing the Good News, making disciples, and baptizing people into this new way of life (Matthew 28:18–30). Jesus never intended for the Church to be confined to a building, a space, a day, or an hour a week. We are a people on the move. Churches should be active in their communities, and Churches with no presence in their communities are unlikely to experience growth.
While showing up and helping the community may lead more people onto a church campus, the call to serve is about so much more than the number of people who cross the threshold on Sunday morning. Churches have misplaced their priorities if their commitment to serve is only a strategy to fulfill their desire to grow. Jesus modeled the life of a servant all the way to the end, even after the crowds began to leave his following (John 6:66).
General distrust in institutions, which includes the Church, renders many skeptical and looking for the angle. Engaging in service with anything other than an authentic concern to follow God’s command and to do good will ultimately push people away.
So if not for these reasons, then why should followers of Jesus serve?
God’s Command
Christians serve because it is commanded by God throughout Scripture. Passages in both the Old and New Testament call the people of God to take up the cause of the poor and the needy. In one instance, Jesus deems neglect for those in need both unrighteous and damnable (Matthew 25). In that same teaching, those who care for the the least of these are counted among the faithful and welcomed into the Kingdom.
God cares for all creation. Love for God entails love for those things and people that God also loves. In Matthew 22:36–40, Jesus connects love for God with love for our neighbors showing that these are inseparable.
Love is more than just good feelings and well wishes, but it is actively seeking the best interests others. Authentic love will not remain confined to words but is always expressed in action (cf. 1 John 3:18). We embody love for both God and others in acts of service. This is God’s command for every Christian.
God’s Model
Christians serve because God serves. From beginning to end, Scripture paints a picture of a hospitable God who in the first pages of Scripture forms creation into a hospitable garden teeming with life. In the end, he remakes creation tainted by sin into a garden city* where all may flourish.
There is no being more loving, generous, and hospitable than God. All of existence is predicated on God’s hospitality. This theme continues in the life of Jesus whose ministry consisted of more than preaching and attracting crowds. Throughout His time on earth, Jesus made a difference in people’s lives through healings, mass feedings, and on occasion, he helped catch fish. He came so that the world “… may have life, and life to the full” (John 10:10). His concern was for the flourishing of holistic beings, not just disembodied souls.
In Mark 10, Jesus corrects his disciples for seeking positions of prestige and power. He tells them that greatness in the Kingdom is not authority in the way the world wields it, but it is instead becoming a servant of all(v. 43). Jesus Himself demonstrates that his mission was to serve (v.45). To show how far this goes, we read that Jesus washed the feet of his disciples as they were gathered to share their last meal together before his death. No doubt, this was an uncomfortable experience for them as their teacher and master assumes the lowest position in the room and preforms the task of a servant. When he finishes, he instructs them to follow his example (John 13:13–17).
When we obediently respond to God’s command to care for others, we follow God’s example and align our lives with the mission of Jesus. Christian service mirrors the hospitality given to us by God in Jesus. Today, the Church with the Holy Spirit continues the work of Jesus on earth by proclaiming the gospel and engaging in acts of service to its neighbor.
God’s Presence
In service, we open ourselves to encountering God in new and fresh ways. Everyone bears the image of God, meaning in some way each person reflects God and has the capacity to reveal something about God. As we engage others in acts of kindness and hospitality, we can encounter God in a unique way. In Matthew 25:36–41, Jesus says that when we feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and visit the lonely, we do these things for Him.
For a time, I worked with college students fulfilling their service-learning requirements for graduation. Part of that process was reflecting on the work done, what can be learned from it, and what will be different for the student because of the experience. Many recounted to us experiences of clarity about God’s love for others that they otherwise may never meet. Often students would share how they showed up to serve but in the end received far more than gave.
What if serving others becomes so ingrained in our spirituality that we reach a place where we reach out to the stranger in service as if they are reaching out to Jesus himself? Ultimately, service is more than a mandate for the Christian; it is an invitation to participate in the mission of Jesus and in so doing to encounter God in a unique way.
Serving to increase circles of influence, to gain clout, or to make ourselves feel better are such shallow reasons to help others. In each, the focus remains on ourselves so that we will miss out on God and what God is doing all around us.
It’s okay if Christians first entry point into serving others is the command of God. If nothing else, they are helping others and that’s a good thing for the world. But there is so much more to be found when we open our eyes to see the invitation we have to work alongside of God to make earth look a little more like heaven. When we can approach serving others as partnering with God, we can begin to recognize that God is already at work in the people we meet and places we go to help. Once we come to terms with that, we are ready not only to bear witness to God in our going, but to find and experience God already at work there.
- “Garden City” is how John Mark Comer describes the vision of the new Jerusalem in Revelation. See John Mark Comer, Garden City: Work, Rest, and the Art of Being Human
