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As usual, here is the rundown from last night’s service.  Honestly, Sunday night was kinda funky, huh?  There were just so many crazy things happening.  Sound issues, technical issues, and all kinds of strange things… I know that I was feeling like there was something going on under the radar…  With that in mind, can I challenge you to keep praying for the Five?  We would really appreciate your prayer…  

So, we were picking up in the series Raw Worship, where we take a look at what happens when worship and life collide.  We were in Psalm 130 last night and we were taking a look at what does it mean to worship God in and through the waiting?  As always we look forward to and encourage questions/comments, here are this weeks…

You mentioned that you are tired of all the “smallness”, referring to what we wait for God to do.  What encouragement and assurance do we give to those God calls to do the boring, unpopular, uncool, and truly small tasks?

This specific comment was made by me while we were discussing the concept of hoping in the Lord.  What I was referring to was how I feel that we as the Church for the most part do not expect God to do incredible things.  I think that instead what we expect from God is for Him to show up and do small things (as I mentioned); pay the mortgage, make sure that the budget is met… etc… See here’s what I mean… Why are we shocked when we hear stories about how God provides miraculously… As if this was like an unbelievable feat for God to provide?  I mean honestly, this is the God of the universe that we are talking about!  Why is the box that we think/allow God to operate in so stinkin small?  When we read verses like 1 Cor. 2:7-9, or Eph. 3:20. do we go, Man God is huge, or do we say, eh, God is pretty powerful I guess.   I realize that we can’t comprehend how HUGE God is… so, why then do we make Him so small?  Whew, I better stop here and actually answer the question before I turn this into a book…

The seemingly “small” tasks that we have the privilege to be responsible for are not just that: small and insignificant.  Those types of tasks may be uncool, unpopular, and even monotonously boring.  We would be sorely mistaken if we viewed God’s calling on our lives to be small and insignificant.  The gifts and talents that God uniquely gives each one of us are given to us in order that we can bring honor to God, and cause others to see God for who He is…  I don’t care if you are filling communion cups, or cutting the church lawn… Your role in this huge organization that God has established; The Church, is not insignificant.  You are vitally needed.  Paul was a hero for this cause… watch what he does here in Ephesians 4;

11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up

13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 
14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.

16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. 

To the one who feels marginalized, underused, unimportant, small, insignificant, negligible, frivolous, and peripheral: You are incredibly important.  Your work may not be cutting edge, it may not be flashy and all that attention getting…  In fact you may not be thanked or praised much, if at all.  However, we work not for the approval of man.  We work diligently, unswervingly, whole-heartedly dedicated to the cause of Christ!  We sacrifice our time, efforts, talents, money, and everything else we have in order that we may see the Gospel go forward to just one more person.  The part you play is vital in the ministry of the Gospel.  Don’t you for one minute think that you are unimportant, expendable, or peripheral.  Just because your task may be borin, unpopular, or uncool, I don’t believe for one minute that it is small.  As a pastor I praise God for people like you. You are the types of people that allow me to do what I do.  (Go do a study on Acts 6:1:7)

To the one who submitted this question: thank you!  It is conversations like these that get me charged up to keep doing what I do, and to help equip others to keep doing what they do!  It really is all about Jesus.  It is about introducing more people to Him.  We are all charged with that mission… 

To those who have a public ministry, a flashy ministry, a lot of responsibility, get a lot of thanks because of the publicity of your position: Find three people today who are behind the scenes people; i.e. The counters, the janitors, the lawn maintenance guy, the one who changes the sign out front, the one who folds and stuffs the worship guide… THANK THEM FOR WHAT THEY DO!  CHANCES ARE YOU WOULDN’T BE ABLE TO DO WHAT YOU DO IF IT WASN’T FOR WHAT THEY DO!  

Who do you see in your church that is a great example of an unnoticed servant?  Share their story!  Click on the comment button below and let it rip…  Let’s encourage one another…  

Thankful for those behind the scenes people…

~Peter