Would a perfect church allow us to be a members?

Often God wakes me in the middle of the night to share or to show me something and I was awakened with this at 3:45 a.m., so I figured that there must be somebody who needed to hear it. If this resonates with you then great, but please don’t internalize it – this isn’t directed toward any one person, it is something God laid on my heart, it’s about Him.

“In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, "It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the Word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the Word."

This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

So the Word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith” (Acts 6:1-7).

~The early church had problems just as we do today. No church has ever been or will ever be perfect until Christ and His followers are united at His second coming. All churches have problems. If your church’s shortcomings distress you, ask yourself: “Would a perfect church allow me to be a member?” Then do what you can to make your church better. A church does not have to be perfect to be faithful. ¹

The church does not consist of a building and a pastor. No four walls can contain the biblical version of the church. The church is comprised of people – human beings, flesh and blood, completely and totally imperfect. People are the church! Members, leaders and guests are what make up the church - that’s why churches are imperfect, because they are a compilation of a whole bunch of perfectly imperfect human beings, human beings who are going to fail, going to disappoint, going to be human – they come together to serve God, to worship and praise Him, to know Him better, to share Him, and to grow to spiritual maturity in Christ through ministry and missions.

~As the early church increased in size, so did its needs. One great need was to organize the distribution of food to the poor. The apostles needed to focus on preaching, so they chose others to administer the food program. Each person of the church has a vital part to play in the life of the church (see 1 Co. 12). If you are in a position of leadership and find yourself overwhelmed by responsibilities, determine your God-given abilities and priorities and then find others to help. If you are not in leadership, you have gifts that can be used by God in various areas of the church’s ministry. Offer these gifts in service to Him. ²

~The most important prerequisite for any kind of Christian service is to be filled with faith and the power of the Holy Spirit. By the Spirit’s power you can exercise the gifts God has given you. ³

We can't serve others based on our own power and strength, we must have the Holy Spirit's filling to serve. That's how we hurt people and hurt the reputation of our church, because we are trying to do it on our own! Don’t fall into the trap the average Christian does when they think that their first priority is God, their second priority is others and their third priority is themselves. That is NOT what the Bible teaches!

First, the problem with that priority list is that it assumes that God and I are two separate issues, when the Bible says they are not. And secondly, it is not really a workable priority list. What does it really mean to put me at the end of the list? A biblical priority list would be: first priority, my walk with God, second priority, my family’s walk with God and the next priority, serving others. It’s important to understand that this is an oversimplification, but it illustrates the priority of your relationship with God being at the forefront. It is only when you are spiritually healthy and your family is spiritually healthy that you are in a place where you can begin to obey the Lord’s command to deny yourself and serve others. ⁴

So don’t be fooled! Your church isn't perfect and neither are you and neither am I. We should never serve God out of duty or obligation nor for fame, but to know Him better, to love Him more and to share Him with others. Be blessed!

1 Zondervan NIV Life Application Bible

2 Zondervan NIV Life Application Bible

3 Zondervan NIV Life Application Bible

^{4 David Collins – OBC ES 101-10}