In college, there was a great frozen yogurt place right down the street from where I lived with all my buddies. As we all filed in, each person would take one or two samples of the yogurt and make a decision (because frozen yogurt flavor is an important decision when money is tight). Several of the times we visited this shop, one of my buddies made his meal off of samples. We laughed about it in pity, but this led to an in-depth conversation. Is this really the point of the service they offer?
Many times, I talk myself into believing that City Life exists to give me free samples. But we all know; free samples make for an inadequate meal.
If we live off Sunday samples, service to the church will feel optional. If we’re really committed, but don’t sit down to feast on the Word regularly, service will feel like a chore. In both cases, service becomes a threat to a life of sampling…and we miss the point of it all.
Your service at City Life is vital, not only to the life of the Church but also to your spiritual growth. In service, we identify with the suffering Servant; we express our gratitude for grace; we demonstrate his worth. But when I live a sample-the-kingdom life, I fail to enjoy its riches through service. Don’t get me wrong, setting up and tearing down can be frustrating, loving whiny, distracted kids can be hard, but that’s exactly why I need to do it. Serving surfaces my selfishness in a way that few things do…and it can drive me to Christ. It reminds me this is Christ’s kingdom, not mine.
I’m realizing more and more that serving doesn’t tie me down but frees me up from selfish ambition. It dials me into glorifying the Kingdom of Christ, not my kingdom of comfort. Plus, those whiny voices come from eternal souls that need the gospel; those frustrating objects create an environment of worship. It’s really pretty awesome if you stop to think about it.
If you are not serving, and feel like Christ is calling you to, here are some great ways to serve where we need help on Sundays and through the week:
- Create & Restore: Set up and Tear down on Sundays
- Kids Life: Help teach and care for children during the service on Sundays
- Music & Sound: Help write, lead worship, or play during services on Sunday.
- Sunday prayer team: Praying for those who may be needing prayer after services on Sunday
Visit austincitylife.org/serve if you are interested in any of these:
With you, for the Kingdom.