Wait...So it's NOT all about me?

We were challenged yesterday to not make church about me, my preferences, or my desires. This isn't easily done regardless of whether you are an attender, member, staff, or church leader. There's something in each of us that wants to make it about ME. I read a blog from Aaron Gloy entitled "5 Really Bad Reasons for Leaving Your Church." Every excuse listed, at its core, has the same thing: ME. So what is the answer? The Apostle Paul shed some light on this in Philippians 2:

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,  not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature  God,  did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing  by taking the very nature  of a servant,  being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man,  he humbled himself  by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:3-8)

We are told to make our attitudes the same as that of Jesus Christ. So what did he do?

• He did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage.
• He emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant.
• He humbled himself.
• He became obedient to the point of death.

 This is an example for us to follow. We are to serve. We are to be obedient. We are to put others first. We are to do whatever it takes to keep the unity in our church. These are easy things to write down, but challenging to put into daily practice.

For Further Thought:

1. Describe someone in the church that best fits the description of having the mind of Christ and servant attitude.

2. Go verse by verse through Philippians 2:5-11. Explain how the attitude of Christ in each verse becomes a pattern for us as church members.

3. How would you describe a servant as it applies to being a member of a church?

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If you missed some of the points of the 10 dominant behavior patterns of members in self-serving churches (from a Survey conducted through Lifeway Research), I have relisted them below:

1. Worship wars. One or more factions in the church want the music just the way they like it. Any deviation is met with anger and demands for change. The order of service must remain constant. Certain instrumentation is required while others are prohibited.

2. Prolonged minutia meetings. The church spends an inordinate amount of time in different meetings. Most of the meetings deal with the most inconsequential items, while the Great Commission and Great Commandment are rarely the topics of discussion.

3. Facility focus. The church facilities develop iconic status. One of the highest priorities in the church is the protection and preservation of rooms, furniture, and other visible parts of the church’s buildings and grounds.

4. Program driven. Every church has programs even if they don’t admit it. When we start doing a ministry a certain way, it takes on programmatic status. The problem is not with programs. The problem develops when the program becomes an end instead of a means to greater ministry.

5. Inwardly focused budget. A disproportionate share of the budget is used to meet the needs and comforts of the members instead of reaching beyond the walls of the church.

6. Inordinate demands for pastoral care. All church members deserve care and concern, especially in times of need and crisis. Problems develop, however, when church members have unreasonable expectations for even minor matters. Some members expect the pastoral staff to visit them regularly merely because they have membership status.

7. Attitudes of entitlement. This issue could be a catchall for many of the points named here. The overarching attitude is one of demanding and having a sense of deserving special treatment.

8. Greater concern about change than the gospel. Almost any noticeable changes in the church evoke the ire of many; but those same passions are not evident about participating in the work of the gospel to change lives.

9. Anger and hostility. Members are consistently angry. They regularly express hostility toward the church staff and other members.

10. Evangelistic apathy. Very few members share their faith on a regular basis. More are concerned about their own needs rather than the greatest eternal needs of the world and community in which they live.”

Excerpt From: Thom S. Rainer. “I Am a Church Member.” iBooks. https://itun.es/us/nbxQL.l