Most people intrinsically know that they are destined for more than ushering. Most people know they have more to contribute to the world than leading a small group. That our entry level opportunities for service are just that—entry level—and that the most meaningful service our friends are called to are outside the doors of church buildings, not inside.
Serving on Sundays is so limited, isn’t it? I mean, if we’re not ushering, doing setup or tear down, on stage, backstage or playing with kids, there aren’t a lot of options. Also, none of those opportunities are very scalable. It only takes so many people to setup or tear down. It only takes so many people to usher. Only so many people to play with the kiddos.
Now, a master recruiter could probably get a hundred people to help setup … but they don’t really need that many people. And if you could get a hundred people to do anything … setup probably wouldn’t be that thing. It’s important … but not “a hundred people” important.
Also, those activities don’t really challenge a person’s capabilities. You don’t see most people realizing their full potential doing that stuff. Yet so much of paid staff time goes into recruitment and development of these roles.
During the week doesn’t get much better. Some of you already know the answer: Oftentimes the only way to “get involved” outside of Sunday is to start a small group or participate in whatever mid-week thing people are doing.
But all of this makes religious programming the center of our lives, rather than a community that encourages us to have a life.
Now, there is nothing wrong with any of the activities mentioned above, so save your comments for the crazies at FOX News.
But most people intrinsically know that they are destined for more than ushering. Most people know they have more to contribute to the world than leading a small group. That our entry level opportunities for service are just that—entry level—and that the most meaningful service our friends are called to are outside the doors of church buildings, not inside.
When I look at the amazing people who serve on Sundays, who lead small groups, who play with the kids, I marvel. Not because they’re doing those things, but because I can’t wait to see what they do next.
What if we began casting vision for people’s lives, not just for the roles we want their lives to inhabit? What if people couldn’t wait to be ushers, work with kids, do setup and tear down, for a time, in order to be around us because they knew we would challenge them to take the step towards whatever was next?
Could that be the future of service?
