At Work in the Church

At Work in the Church

Working in your local place of worship is supposed to be fulfilling and enjoyable. However, many find it difficult in finding a niche in which to serve. I’m convinced that many of those experiencing displeasure in the church where they attend are unhappy simply because they either are not serving or have not yet found their niche. It is somewhat like asking a high school graduate what they want to do in life or which college they will attend. Many simply don’t have a clue.

   I personally believe that working [perhaps the better term is serving] in the church ought to be fun, exciting, and challenging—though often it is not. To the contrary often one may find themselves bored, overworked, disgusted, and frustrated. To be sure the task of serving may, at times, be daunting and laborious, if not tedious.

   When speaking with young people about their choice of fields of occupation, I often tell them to do both what they are good at and what they enjoy doing. Most often this is the place they will be most fulfilled at and the most effective both in their life’s career and in serving in their church.

   I’ve met frustrated school teachers who long to be professional golfers, or veterinarians. Moreover, I tell them that no matter how many years they put into college their education is never wasted, even if and when they switch professions as their education and skills are transferable to other professions. The same is true with serving in the church.

80/20 Rule

There is an unwritten rule in churches called the 80/20 Rule, which has a twofold meaning:

1.    80% of the work is done by 20% of the people.

2.    80% of the tithes and offerings are given by 20% of the people.

   I have no idea why this rule is true, but church statistics have proven it time and again, that’s why so many burn out in such a short period of time. It also accounts for churches pleading for money time after time. Both are necessary for a church to operate and grow properly. The only exception to this rule, that I’ve found, is found in Exodus 36:4-7 when Moses had to instruct the people not to bring any more supplies for the building of the sanctuary of the Tabernacle for they had brought too much, because of their generosity. Oh, that it would be like that today!

Note: that their giving was the result of the Lord God had stirred their heart to give and to work. (Ex. 36:2) Perhaps the key lies within this lesson: the Lord has to stir up the hearts of the people to work and to give.

Note also: their work was according to their God given talents: goldsmiths, silversmiths, seamstresses etc.; everyone operated within their God given talents and abilities. To attempt to operate outside of one’s talents or skills would be to invite disaster. For example to have a seamstress attempt the work of a gold or silversmith or vice versa would certainly be the wrong move. Given, however, that there are so many tasks in the local church it is not uncommon for one to have multiple skills. It is also true that one might train for additional skills within the church.

   It is also a proven fact that churches depend heavily on volunteers as a fledging church has too much to do for one pastor or a staff and must rely on its volunteers. Sadly, this often means overworking the 20%.

Edification of the church:

   Romans 12:4-8; 1Corinthians 12:1-31; 14:4 and other passages let us know that whatever our talent or gift it is for the edifying or building up of the church body and not for self-edification. Sad to say many are serving for self gratification.

Unused talent:

   Matthew 25:14-30 records the parable of the talents, whereby Jesus admonishes the use of whatever talent given you, for the advancement of the kingdom, not regarding the size in comparison to someone else’s. To do so is to invite rebuke and reproof from the master. Here a talent is used as a representation of monetary value; however it is often used as a metaphor of a physical talent, as recorded in Rom.12:4-8 and elsewhere. It is also emphasized that every talent is important and of great value in the kingdom, no matter how insignificant it may seem. Better to use that which you have than to hide your talent and risk losing all in the end.

Definition talent verses gift: for simplicities sake, I define talent as those natural given virtues whereas a gift is attained from the Holy Ghost, and are therefore termed spiritual gifts. Both are for use within the church for its edification. The talents listed in Ex.36:4-7 speak primarily of natural talents as opposed to spiritual, but were used to edify the church, not any one individual.

Right priorities

The following is a list of priorities. If your life feels like it’s running on one or more flat tires, or upside down, your priorities may be out of synch. Many a relationship has been destroyed because of upside down priorities.

1.    Relationship to God [most often confused with service to God]

2.    Relation to your spouse

3.    Relationship to children

4.    Relationship to extended family

5.    Relationship to employment

6.    Service to God [don’t substitute for your relationship with God] working in the church is easy to get your priorities out of line.

   Many a marriage and family has been destroyed because one spouse or the other has their priorities out of line. It may also happen outside the church when one or the other pursues their career and jeopardizes their family in return.

   The key is to find your place or niche to work within the church, give it your best, and let others take up the slack. For to be overly burdened with several tasks is to do a disservice to all areas, as it is impossible to spread yourself so thin and still do a satisfactory job in all areas. There are so many worthy ministries within a church that cannot be fully satisfied by a few so new comers must be recruited to fill such positions.

Faith Building Practice and Review

1.    Are you part of the 80% or the 20%?

2.    Make a list of your talents.

3.    Are you putting them to use in the church?

4.    Are you involved in multiple ministries in the church?

5.    How do you feel about that—be honest?

6.    Do you often feel like giving up altogether? Do you feel burnt out?

7.    Being honest—are you in the correct ministry for your talent?

8.    Do you feel inadequate or like you’re not serving in the right place?

9.    Are you serving for the edification of the church?

10. Or for self-edification?

11. In order to be fulfilled make the appropriate changes.

12. Honestly review the priorities and pray to get them in the proper sequence. It may take major changes to get them straight.