Служение Богу требует готовности и открытости: опыт миссионера Дэвида Ченси

Recently, Mark Karki, who served with me as minister of worship at Fayetteville’s McDonough Road Baptist Church for many years, appeared on WATC TV’s “Atlanta Live” show.  The host and hostess asked Mark about worship, and as he shared his thoughts, he said he often asked choir members on Sunday mornings before they filled the choir loft, “Who wants to be used of the Lord this morning?” Inevitably, the members raised their hands, and Mark would respond, “Well, guess what? The Lord is going to use you. He’s not going to say, ‘It’s not your turn today’ because God wants people who are available, real, and want to be used by Him.” God desires to use us every day, but we must make ourselves available and must demonstrate willingness to be used.  As I reflected on these critical keys to effective serving, I recalled a spiritually impactful experience I had as a college student involved in my school’s Baptist Student Union, now known as BCM. I felt God was leading me to serve as a summer missionary, but I wasn’t sure I qualified. I didn’t play the guitar and lead singing, I didn’t do magic tricks, and I wasn’t sure how I could contribute. Yet, I decided to fill out an application and make myself available. The summer missions committee invited me to interview, and, lo and behold, appointed me to serve as a Vacation Bible School worker in the Bahamas! It was a tough assignment, but someone had to do it! I was Georgia’s representative on a team of 12 students from across the country. We combined with Bahamian youth, divided into teams, and were assigned to work with churches throughout the islands. God taught me a lot about myself and about serving Him. In fact, God used this short-term assignment to plant a seed that eventually evolved into His calling me to vocational ministry. I never dreamed at that time that God was ultimately leading me to the pastorate. Along with availability and willingness, God taught the importance of flexibility. Leslie Davis, the International Mission Board missionary who hosted us, trained us and oversaw our work, said, “There are three requirements to be a good missionary. The first is flexibility, the second is flexibility, and the third is flexibility.” It wasn’t long until I had to apply flexibility. I wanted to teach youth in VBS, another teammate took children, and the other student taught preschoolers. Two weeks and two churches later, my teammates wanted to switch, and I ended up with preschoolers for two weeks! I’d never taught preschoolers, but I embraced it and succeeded with God’s help. God also taught me the importance of openness. I would’ve been miserable teaching preschoolers if I had not been open to stepping outside my comfort zone and allowing God to stretch me.  Openness says, like Isaiah, “Here am I, Lord, send me!” Openness expresses, “Wherever He leads, I’ll go!” In addition, God taught me there are tremendous spiritual growth benefits from serving. I experienced seven benefits then and continue to see these enriching benefits in my life as I serve God in my retirement ministry: *Serving the Lord lets us exercise our spiritual gifts (Romans 12:6-8; I Corinthians 12:4-11, 28; I Peter 4:10-11).  *Serving the Lord strengthens the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:11-13, I Corinthians 12-14).  *Serving the Lord is the natural overflow of appreciating God’s love for us and demonstrating our love for Him. *Serving the Lord is one expression of our spiritual zeal and fervor (Romans 12:11).  *Serving the Lord fulfills one of God’s purposes and His design for creating us. Paul, while emphasizing that works do not give us salvation, wrote, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works (for the purpose of good works)... that we may walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). A life of works follows our salvation experience.  *Serving the Lord shows faithful stewardship of God’s grace (I Peter 4:10-11). *Serving the Lord obeys God’s command (Galatians 5:13).  Finally, God taught me that serving Him is not so much about working for God. Serving is about allowing God to work through us.  Every morning, as we start each day with the Lord, pray, “God, use me today. Work through me to do your work as I strive to serve you.” (David L. Chancey lives in Fayetteville, Georgia, and serves as transitional pastor at Griffin Church, Griffin, Georgia. Check out his other writings at www.davidchancey.com ).