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The Nominating Committee has begun its work for putting together our 2014-2015 Leadership Team. If you get a call from someone asking if you would be willing to serve our church in the coming program year, please prayerfully consider. It is a joy and an honor to serve the church in leadership.
I would like to say a little more about the joy and honor part. Sometimes I get the impression that serving feels more like a burden. When I make those leadership inquiries, I can almost hear the silent groan on the other end of the phone when you realize what I’m calling for. Believe me, I understand this. It’s a time commitment, and for many of us, time is in short supply. I’m as territorial about my time as you are. We have all packed our days and our weeks with activity after activity. The last thing I want is for you to burn yourselves out because you are burning the candle at both ends.
On the other hand, something has gotten lost along the way. We have lost sight of how extraordinary it is to give of ourselves. How humbling it is to be the hands and feet of Christ tending to each other’s needs and seeing that the work of the church goes on. From the earliest days of the Christian faith, it has been an honor and a joy to be those serving hands. We have forgotten this.
I want to say a particular word about the role of Deacon. Something has happened to our understanding of Deacon. Instead of being seen as the tender, loving hands that prepare our Body for worship, I think a lot of us now see the role of Deacon as grunt work. This is a shame and a misunderstanding. Deacons welcome people into the sanctuary for worship. Think about what a great joy and honor it is to be the first ones to say to someone on a Sunday morning, “Welcome. I’m glad you’re here.” Deacons prepare the bread and the juice for communion. This is not grunt kitchen work. This is sacred work. Setting the table, preparing the feast, doing your part in nourishing our Body.
Deacons serve communion. I love looking out in the Sanctuary when the Deacons are passing the trays of bread and cups. Sometimes, when I am in the right frame of mind, it brings me to tears—this gentle, humble bowing as the trays are sent down each pew. The Deacons don’t necessarily bow on purpose. I think it’s simply what happens when a standing person passes a tray to a seated person. But the effect is beautiful. Bowing all over the sanctuary, echoed in row after row. Christians bowing to each other, “The Christ in me greets the Christ in you.” How beautiful indeed is the Body of Christ.
No doubt all of us have busy, filled schedules. That’s just a side effect of our current culture. But there is also no doubt that leadership in the church is both a joy and an honor. We just have to have the right frame of mind.
