To Serve or Be Served

". . . the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve . . ." Matthew 20:28

There are "full-service" churches like Radiant in Surprise, AZ that provide everything for their worshippers from indoor playgrounds to retail shops to a drive-thru latte booth. A Car Show has been scheduled for the dads this Fathers' Day.

And then there are congregations like ours which serve with basic loving care. But sometimes people come through our doors with a disturbing sense of entitlement. Among the requests I've received over the years as a pastor, all with a sense that this is what I'm supposed to do for them:

- Could I run out to the store to pick up some aspirin for a parishioner at 11 PM?
- Could I find a babysitter for a church family for next weekend?

- (From the son of a parishioner) Could I pack up his mother's possessions and take what she didn't want to The Salvation Army before she moved to the retirement community?

And pastors aren't the only ones who receive such requests. I've known church officers who were asked to run errands, clean homes, and pay travel expenses for other members. The thought is that this is what the church is for: we join and people will take care of us.

Transients come through our doors and occasionally begin their conversation by asking, "Are you a church that helps people?" which is a bit of a trick question. And then they ask for bus passes, gasoline vouchers, grocery store gift cards, or cash.

Before you consider me a cold, heartless Scrooge, know that I believe there is a difference between loving service and entitlement. Elizabeth Steele wrote How Responding to People's Needs Hurts the Church which you can read here. She warns churches that trying to meet the personal needs of their parishioners leads to a trivialization of the church.

When people join a church to be served instead of to serve, the church's most basic identity is diminished. And already our congregations are confused.

• There are churches that are basically social communities offering great opportunities for meeting new people and nurturing friendships.
• There are churches that are basically wholesome values communities, teaching adults and children traditional civic values.
• There are churches that are social services communities housing the homeless and feeding the hungry.

While there is nothing wrong with nurturing friendships or teaching people to be solid citizens or caring for community needs, the church is a spiritual community in which we gather to support and equip each other to serve the world in the likeness of Christ.

There's nothing wrong with responding to people's needs in terms of the acts of mercy and kindness themselves. I find great joy in doing things for people.

The problem is in how people begin to understand the church as a service provider instead of a disciple-maker. Steele reminds us, rightly, that our congregations might indeed provide services to the community, but we "do it as an expression of (our) life as a community of faith."

A good question to ask ourselves is this:

Does my church serve my needs? Or does it make me a better follower of Jesus?

Painting is Christ Washing St. Peter's Feet by Ford Madox Brown (1852-1856).