As many of you know, we have six core values at Praise, all centered in the theme of humility; they are devotion, diligence, honesty, serving, generosity, & training. Each of these character traits have to do with humility in one way or another. When we’re able to decrease as people, as humble people do, we give God a freeway to increase. That’s the logic behind each of our foundational tenets.
I’d like to talk about two of our core values briefly. They are diligence and service. These two closely align with one of our prized possessions at Praise: VOLUNTEERING. When you give of your time in service, you’re inviting God’s grace. When you combine service with diligence you’re laying down your time AND you’re doing your best, as if you were volunteering for the Lord himself. Who wouldn’t want to combine these two (service & diligence) knowing that it’s the best possible recipe for humbling ourselves, serving God & others, and effectively inviting His grace?
We have great volunteers at Praise, and we have a lot of them. It’s one of our strengths as a church. However, that doesn’t mean we don’t have room to grow. One area that we can stand to mature in is following through with our volunteering commitment, OR, in the case of an emergency, vacation, etc., finding a reliable replacement to fill in when we’re absent. This is where diligence really applies quite nicely. Diligence wouldn’t keep a jumbled and confused calendar. Diligence wouldn’t cancel a commitment at the last minute (save an emergency), and diligence wouldn’t be casual or low energy about finding a replacement or switching weeks with someone.
Here is what I believe happens when we casually cancel our commitment and fail to find a replacement:
1. We let our team down – a short staffed team can’t do as good of a job as a fully staffed team
2. We miss an appointment with God – we know that when we humble ourselves through service, we invite His grace. When we don’t show up, we don’t get to enjoy this promise.
3. We limit what God can do – because God chooses to do ministry through us, His joint heirs, we actually limit what He can do when we aren’t there.
4. We communicate that whatever else we’re doing is more important than serving
Here are a few questions I often ask myself in the area of volunteering.
1. If it was Jesus who I was serving in my volunteering role, would I not show up?
2. If it was Jesus who was leading the ministry in which I was volunteering, would I be late?
3. If it was Jesus who was being affected by the quality of my volunteering, would I do anything less than my best?
4. If eternity was at stake right now with the people I’m serving in my volunteering position, would I show up, regardless of how busy I am?
You guys are great and I don’t want to minimize that. So many of you volunteer and so many of you pour your hearts out when you do it. All I’m saying is that there is more. There is room to grow. Humility acknowledges this much. There is a place in Christ where everything we do, in diligence and service, is being done as if unto the Lord himself. (Colossians 3:23) Let’s strive for that place together.
-JF D'Orsie