Healthy, Growing Church (2)

As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 4.10, 11

Catena
Andreas (ca. 7^th century)
“It is not merely that the rich man is obliged to meet the needs of those who are less well off than he is but also that each one of us must use the gifts which we have received either by nature or by the Holy Spirit, so that no one may say that we are keeping these things to ourselves and refusing to share them with our neighbors.”

Paul explains that all members of the Body of Christ have received gifts for serving others for the building-up of the church (1 Cor. 12.7-11). So why is that, in most congregations, 20% of the people do the work – those who are looked upon as rich in gifts and skills – while 80% of the people regard themselves as the objects of the church’s ministry, being less well off in such matters? The apostles envisioned every member of the local church seeking, identifying, developing, and putting to good use whatever spiritual gifts had been entrusted to them. The shepherd’s role is to equip the saints to seek and receive spiritual gifts, cultivate their proper use, and put them to work serving others with the love of Christ. The health of a local church can be determined more by the percentage of those members who are doing what Paul, Peter, and Andreas taught, than by the numerical size of the 80% who seem to believe that the church exists for them, but only as much as they decide they need it.

Why do you suppose most pastors are content with having so few of their members involved in works of ministry?

T. M. Moore

The Work of Shepherds
In case you missed our series on shepherding and the work of shepherds, you can receive a free PDF of 28 morning and evening readings, in which we unpack the Biblical teaching concerning the work of shepherding, guided by great shepherds of the past. Simply write to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., and ask John to send you a copy of The Work of Shepherds.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Quotations from Church Fathers are from the Ancient Christian Commentary Series, published by InterVarsity Press.