Last week during our team meeting we were presented with an interesting challenge as part of our worship… to serve each other.  The challenge seemed a simple one.  How hard is it to make someone a coffee or to pass the veg?

It turns out serving someone isn’t the difficult part.  Being served is much harder.

But I like my milk in first.

Not so much broccolli.

I wouldn’t do it like that.

Being served means giving up power.  It means allowing someone to help.  It means reviewing your ideas of what is ‘right’ and ‘good enough’.

It made us uncomfortable.  It made us think.

What if you serve all the time?  Do others have the chance to serve?   Is being served all the time disempowering?  How does that manifest itself?

I asked the same question about ministers so it seems only right that I ask the same question about members / people who attend church / adherents / punters (delete or insert as necessary).

What are church members for?

Is their role to turn up on a Sunday morning, sing, close their eyes at the appropriate time and put enough cash in the offering to pay for the minister / roof /organ repair (delete or insert as necessary)?

Is their role to listen to the well prepared and inspirational / rambling incoherent (delete or insert as necessary) sermon?

Or is there something else that the punters in the pews should be up to?

When you ask a congregation to bring a friend to church next week some of them look like you have asked for one of their kidneys.  Some looked as though they’d rather give you the kidney!  I don’t think they are unusual in that.

What does mission mean in your church community?

What does it look like?  Who does it?  Who organises it?

Or would you rather give me a kidney (delete or insert as necessary)?