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But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift (Ephesians 4:7, ESV).
During the past year, I’ve had dozens of conversations like this:
OG*: “Where do you go to church?”
Dozens**: “We’ve been drifting; sometimes we attend, but often we don’t. We’re having trouble feeling a purpose in our lives with the church.”
My conversations include faith leaders in the community, stalwart members of local churches rethinking their relationship with their churches, and just sitting-in-the-pew types. The Barna Research organization recently reported that 76 percent of practicing Christians want to help the church refocus on what’s truly important.
With 76 percent of believers (those attending and not attending church) desiring the church to focus on what’s important — the church should figure out what’s important! Otherwise, in the next few years, I’m going to have a lot of conversations like the ones I’ve already had.
Ephesians 4:7 helps us understand what’s important — the grace given to each of us!
We all have a portion of grace for serving. The church’s purpose is to release this grace, not leave it pent-up and unused. Ephesians 4:12 teaches that church leaders should “equip the saints for the work of ministry.”
How? By releasing the gifts and talents that God has given to each believer.
Each individual member of the body of Christ has a portion of grace uniquely given to help them serve others. The Apostle Peter says, “As each has received a gift [grace], use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace” (1 Peter 4:10).
Are churches today releasing individual members (according to their grace) and allowing the vision of the church to be directed by these gifts, or do church leaders encourage members to conform to organizational practices from top-down vision and mission statements?
With members excited at first to be born again but directed to serve in various ways (not necessarily according to their grace), and after years of stuffing their gifts into someone else’s vision, it’s no wonder that I’m regularly talking to frustrated and purposeless church members.
Instead of fitting, according to our gifts, into the body of Christ, we serve outside our grace to eventually become burned out, having a lessened commitment to the local church and developing an ambivalence toward serving others.
Grace should abound in an exciting and growing fellowship as we age in Christ, but not if the leaders of churches consume and use our grace instead of releasing it!
Below are two scenarios. Which of the two releases grace?
First: In this church, you must go to our beginner’s classes to learn the vision and mission, what we do in this community, and how you can serve here.
Second: In this church, we discern our mission by knowing the grace given to individual members and then develop our plans accordingly.
Becoming a releasing church is the only way to reform the church today.
*OG (Old Guy)
**Dozens (Many Believers Today)