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Begin by reading 1 Peter 4:1-11

A number of years ago, I served as Pastor of a small church. I didn’t have much experience or training, and I was unprepared to spar with the big personalities. My wife and I left the church bruised and jaded. We swore we would never return to a pastoral role. I remember saying, “In the future, my goal is to say to my pastor, ‘what can I do for you to help your ministry along?’” I thought that was pretty humble and generous of me, offering to give my pastor a boost in his ministry.

I’m not alone in my thinking. There was a study in the mid 1900s given to 12,000 members of the Methodist denomination, in which they were asked to choose among four options that represented their idea of a layperson.
1. Laypersons are members of the people of God called to a total ministry of witness and service in the world.
2. Laypersons are those who are ministered to by the clergy who are the true church.
3. Laypersons are people in part-time Christian service.
4. Laypersons are non-ordained Christians whose function is to help the clergy do the work of the church.

59.4% chose option 4. Needless to say, I would have been one of those.

Yesterday, we discussed how the Bible never makes a distinction between clergy and laity as classes of Christians. It’s important to note that this isn’t to say that there aren’t various leadership positions in the church with different functions. Ephesians 4 lays out a number of them: apostles, pastors, teachers, evangelists, etc. However, the way we use clergy generally is used in a professional sense. Thus, we distinguish between a professional minister and a volunteer minister.

What’s the difference? Generally, a professional minister is one who is paid by the church, serves on staff at the church, and thus is held to a higher standard because there is money involved. Often times that person earns that position based on a level of education and experience. It would be awfully difficult for a professional minister to wake up on Sunday morning and say, “I don’t feel like teaching today. I think I’m going to take a sick day.” But a volunteer may not have nearly as difficult of a time doing so. Consider a church that has a volunteer pastor. They might get off the hook for neglecting the body. Whereas, if a professional pastor were to do that, he might be out of a job. Thus if we were to call the professional minister clergy and the non-professional laity, what we are saying is that there are different standards or expectations, based on payment.

An illustration might serve to make this point. Imagine an elementary school where there are teachers for every grade. There are ways that a 5th grade teacher may go about teaching differently than a kindergarten teacher. They, in a sense, have different functions, but the standards of teaching are the same. Maybe it’s show up to work on time, dress professionally, have lesson plans ready, etc. We can see what might happen if we brought a volunteer into the mix. If a school was not upfront with a volunteer regarding expectations, maybe different standards would be applied. Or perhaps the volunteer might say, “I don’t get paid so why should I have to show up on time?”

This is what Paul is combating in Romans 12:6-8 when he says, if your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. He is applying a standard to each gift and function within the church. Thus, he is teaching us that there is no distinction or different level of expectation between a clergy and a layman, one who is paid and one who isn’t. We have a standard that we must follow. What’s that standard? Paul tells us in Colossians 3:23-24, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” This was also the point Peter was making in today’s reading.

My heart has really been moved in recent months to encourage the Body of Christ in this regard. I want each person not to see themselves as a warm body in the pew. I want them to see themselves as an integral part to the Body of Christ. Your role in ministry is not to help the pastor build his church. Your role in ministry is to help God build His church. Of the survey I mentioned earlier, I think the Biblical answer is to say, “Laypersons are members of the people of God called to a total ministry of witness and service in the world.” To this regard, you are no different than one who carries a title of clergy. You may not be called to be an apostle, elder, teacher, pastor, or deacon. You may be called to stand at the door and pass at bulletins as people enter. Your role, your standard of expectation, your importance in the ministry is no less than the one who gives the sermon.

Your call to the ministry is serious. It’s not something you do with your leftover time and energy. God has entrusted you with gifts, empowered you by His Spirit, and He is saying, “come build my church.” Let me challenge you that as you seek to become a living sacrifice to find out what God is telling you specifically. When you find out what role He is calling you to, take it seriously. God is watching. God is testing to see if you are faithful. And there is a reward for you in heaven.

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Begin by reading Colossians 1:1-14

A friend of mine who is a Pastor carries a special card in his wallet. It is a card given by a Major League Baseball organization that allows him entrance into their ballpark for free. It’s a clergy pass. I imagine the light bulb just went off in your head, and now you’re wondering how you can get one of those too. Well, I’ve got good news for you, but if you’re like I was, this news may shock you. Ready? There’s no Biblical basis for a distinction of clergy and laity among Christians. In other words, the Bible does not teach that there’s a special class of Christians that enter the clergy and the rest are the laity. So, go ahead and apply for your cards!

Well, if the Bible doesn’t teach this, where did this idea come from? Well, it’s a long story, but it began in the early church. There is evidence in post-apostolic writings, beginning with Clement I, of teachers making a distinction between the qualified and the unqualified. The qualified became known as the clergy and the general population of Christians became known as the laity. By the 300s, this idea was taught and practiced in churches, and today, we can see how that has developed. In the Catholic Church, there is a very distinct hierarchy, and to become part of that, you have to make some very intense vows. And if you aren’t willing or “called” to do that, then you are, by default, part of the laity. However, this idea is still in place in many Protestant churches as well, where there is a distinction between the called and the unqualified, the pulpiters and the pewsitters.

So, what does the Bible teach? The Greek word for laity is the word laos. Whenever that word is used in the New Testament, it is used to refer to the entire Church. Because it is a word often associated in ancient Greek with a nation of people, this would have been revolutionary to the Jewish converts to Christianity. Whereas, the people of Israel were a laos or nation in and of themselves, now this term was being used to cross borders and ethnicities, bridging the gap between Jews and Gentiles, giving a unified identity through the Person of Christ. The word laos or laity is never used in Scripture, as we often hear it used today – to talk about a general population of Christians who are not called to an elite league of ministers.

Likewise, the word Clergy is never used in Scripture to reference an elite group with a special calling. This word comes from the Greek word kleros, which means a share or portion. It is used in Colossians 1:12 when Paul says, “the Father has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people.” This share of ministry is something that God entrusts to every Believer. While the Bible talks about the importance of training and discipling, it does not suggest that only those with a certain level of education can obtain a kleros. While the Bible does talk about specific offices and leadership in the church, it does not identify two separate classes of Christians. As Paul states in 1 Corinthians 12:25, “There should be no division in the body.”

Today, we use the word clergy to designate those who are employed by a church, recognized on a pastoral staff, or we may even go so far as to say that missionaries fall under this classification. But I believe there is harm in making this distinction. Over time, we can see what has happened. As we have emphasized the elite and special calling of the pastor, the general congregation has lost its sense that they are equally called, equally qualified, and equally responsible to exercise their gifts in the church. Instead, it becomes easy for us to say, “we pay the pastor to do the ministry,” and pass the buck on him. Likewise, many churches have pastors who want to take control, using the “clergy card” as a way of lording over the people.

I feel both extremes sadden the Lord greatly. Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, Colossians 1, and other passages never speak of such an attitude as one the church should have. Instead, we are encouraged to see the church as a body working together, each part equally important and necessary. And who’s the head? It’s not the pastor, or the main teacher, or the patriarch who sits on the elder’s board. No, it’s Christ and Christ alone.

Being a living sacrifice compels us to understand this important point and to fight off hundreds of years of tradition that I believe violates some vital Biblical points. We are the laos – the people of God. As Peter points out, “We are a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s chosen people.” We, by God’s grace, have been entrusted with a portion of ministry. It’s not my ministry. It’s not your ministry. It’s God’s ministry.

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Begin by reading Matthew 25:14-30

As most engagements go, my cousin bought a ring for his fiance and asked her to be his wife. Later, gathered as a family, we asked them about the proposal, and they shared with us the details. When we asked her about the ring, she laughed. “Oh, it’s so ugly!” she exclaimed. “I don’t even wear it.” She turned to my cousin. “What were you thinking when you bought me that hideous ring?”

Ouch! I couldn’t imagine my wife saying that about the ring I gave her when I proposed. It was custom made with every penny I owned (which really wasn’t much at all). I had dipped into the savings account I had started as a little kid and gave it to her as a humble offering and token of my love. It makes me so happy that she wears that ring with pride. She confirms and esteems me by adorning herself with that humble gift.

God has given you spiritual gifts. He has poured grace and mercy out on you. When we put down, deny, or bury our gifts, we, in a sense, do what my cousin’s wife did. But when we accept God’s gifts and use them, we are honoring our Lord.

As we have talked about during the past couple of days, there is a difference between humility and low self-esteem. Putting yourself down, whether verbally or in your thinking, undermines the grandeur of God and His ability to make something out of your life. Remember, we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength. When we fail to realize that, we place ourselves above and before God. We make ourselves bigger than God, and thus we become our own idols and are displaying an attitude of pride.

The Parable of the Talents in today’s reading gives us insight to help us have the right attitude. All these three men were given gifts. They couldn’t say, “Look at me,” because what they were given was a gift or a loan. The first two had a right to be pleased with their work, only inasmuch as their Master was pleased. Of this point, C.S. Lewis notes in Mere Christianity, “Pleasure in being praised is not Pride. The child who is patted on the back for doing a lesson well, the woman whose beauty is praised by her lover, the saved soul to whom Christ says ‘Well done,’ are pleased and ought to be. For here the pleasure lies not in what you are but in the fact that you have pleased someone you wanted (and rightly wanted) to please. The trouble begins when you pass from thinking, ‘I have pleased him; all is well,’ to thinking, ‘What a fine person I must be to have done it.’ The more you delight in yourself and the less you delight in the praise, the worse you delight in the praise, the worse you are becoming.”

In utilizing our gifts, let’s remember these points. First, we are Living Sacrifices; our purpose is to be a pleasurable fragrance to the Lord. Secondly, we are using our gifts to please our Master. Thirdly, when we use our gifts, we honor God because it is really God’s amazing grace that is on display. And lastly, when we use the gifts God has entrusted us with, we can expect to be given a greater measure, just as the faithful servants were given.

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Begin by reading 1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Playing sports, my father always gave us incentives to do well. Score a goal, and it was a $5 reward. Score another, and it meant $10 on top of the previous $5. If we scored a hat-trick, he gave us $15 more. Three goals earned us $30. I think if I had understood the value of money, I would have tried a lot harder to get those three goals.

Depending on your job, you may have experienced merit or incentive pay. First, you may have received a salary based on your experience, education, and expertise. Then, you may be set up to receive bonuses or incentives based on how well you do the job. At the end of the year when you get that raise, you can pat yourself on the back for how well you did. The paycheck proves it.

Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, this is very different than how God works. We are told in Romans 12:3-6 that we have been given three gifts. First, we know that we have been given spiritual gifts. These gifts are outlined for us in today’s reading. In 1 Corinthians 12:4-6, we are told three times that it is the Lord who gives us gifts. These are not our personal abilities based on our experience and expertise, these are gifts from the Lord.

How are these gifts distributed? Are they given to you based on your good looks or your height? Nope. They are given in accordance to grace. What is grace? Ephesians 2:7-8 tells us that grace is a gift. It’s not based on who you are or what you’ve accomplished in the past; it’s a gift. So, we’re given a gift based on a gift.

And lest we should boast, Paul tells us to think soberly about ourselves in accordance to the measure of faith given to us. What is faith? Faith is also a gift. When Peter declares that Jesus is the Messiah in Matthew 16, Jesus says, “Blessed are you Peter, because the Father has revealed this to you.” Not only is grace a gift but so is faith. Basically, Paul is telling us that we’ve received a gift, based on a gift, in a measure that’s also a gift.

So before you boast about what it is you can do, remember, it’s all a gift. There’s really nothing about you to boast about. Secondly, because we’ve been given not just one gift but a whole bunch of them, spend some time today thanking God for what He is doing through you.

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