It matters not how small your gift — God will use it
Adobe
ChatGPTI often remind church members that every member is a minister. Every member has a gift or gifts that can be offered in the service of others.
Ministry is just a simple word that means serving others, and as members of the body of Christ we should always be on the lookout for ways to serve others.
When there is a need, some people will talk about it, others will do something about it.
When Jesus saw hungry people, He said let's feed them, and He did something about it. He fed them (Matthew 14:16).
As ministers and members of Christ body, we all have gifts and abilities that can be used to minister and encourage others.
Jon Courson in his New Testament Application Commentary on Acts 9 comments on a death in the early church. He writes, Everyone said, "Quick, call for Peter! We've got to pray for a miracle, a resurrection."
Who died? Was it John, the apostle? No. Was it James? No, he was already dead. Was it some important heavy hitter? No, not in the way you might suspect. The person the entire church was so upset about losing was not an anointed apostle or a dedicated deacon, but a woman named Dorcas.
Why was the whole church so upset about losing her? Was she a prophet? No. Was she a teacher? No. She simply sewed clothes—and in so doing, she demonstrated the practicality of love.
People who say, I can sow your shirt. I can tune up your car. I can bake you a cake—more than likely have the gift of ministry.
Many in the church fail to realize they have something to contribute to the ministry of the body. They don't realize how important they are to the church.
Recently, I shared a Leadership Thought that struck a chord with several people. I mentioned how blessed people were who possessed dogs for they provided such comfort and wonderful companionship.
A reader responded to the message and took the time to call and ask me if he could take my dog Maggie to be groomed. He told me the groomer was a single mom who was struggling financially and my friend thought he would help her out by providing her some much-needed business.
His thoughtful act of generosity not only ministered to the groomer, but to me as well. I was so touched by my friend's generous action that I plan to send the groomer a small gift that hopefully will be an encouragement to her while helping ease her financial burden.
Ministry is like that. Small but thoughtful acts of kindness can be multiplied, and in the process, people are blessed.
Not long ago, I closed my message by apologizing that it wasn't a typical spiritual message, and I felt a little apprehensive about how it would be received. My heart, however, was ministered to by an encouraging email from a reader.
My friend wrote, "I believe that the message today was all about the spiritual lesson of sharing love—and life does not get more important or more spiritual than that in my humble opinion. Sharing love with anyone, including a dog, is all about our spiritual connection with God and with others in our world.
Thanks, Leslie, for ministering to me through your kind words of encouragement, and thanks Brad for our thoughtful and generous gift.
As you go through your day today, let me encourage you to think of some small act of kindness you might do for someone. In doing so, I promise you will bless two people, you, and the person who receives your kindness.
 | Tom Crenshaw serves as Connections Pastor of the New Monmouth Baptist Church (non denominational) where he previously served as a three year interim.He has been married to Jean for almost 50 years, and they have four children, all of whom are teachers.Tom loves perennial gardening, umpiring high school baseball, coaching baseball and football, fishing for small mouth bass, rooting for his favorite team, the Cleveland Indians, and listening to ‘real’ country music, the classic kind. Learn More » |
More on Leadership Development & Discipleship
- The courage to take responsibility (by David Bowman)
- What C.S. Lewis said after landing his dream job (by Jordan Raynor)
- 9 signs your church is ready to reach unchurched people (by Carey Nieuwhof)
- 3 reasons your best employees leave and how to improve employee retention (by Christian Muntean)
