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First Assembly of God Newsletter May 2010 |
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A.W. Tozer said, "The service of the less gifted is as pure as that of the most gifted. God accepts both with equal pleasure." According to Scripture, every believer has been gifted of God and has something to offer. Every position in God's kingdom has its value, duties, and necessity. This means that you are to be faithful wherever God has called you to be or wherever He has placed you. The members of a person's physical body have no problems as long as they know and fulfill their place and function. But if a person tries to walk on his hands and write with his feet, he will have problems. Likewise, problems arise in the church when hands try to be feet and eyes try to be ears. When there is body ministry in the local church, there is health. Ephesians 4:16 explains it this way: "from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love." This means that every member of the church has something to contribute toward the spiritual health of the local church. When there is body ministry in the local church, there is unity and contentment. Someone said, "Teamwork divides the effort and multiplies the effect." When there is body ministry, the purpose for Christ's five-fold gifts to the church is being obeyed (Ephesians 4:11-16). During the reign of Oliver Cromwell, the British government ran out of silver coinage. Cromwell sent some of his men to the cathedral to see if they could find any silver. They came back and reported to him, "The only silver we can find is in the statues of the saints standing in the corners." Cromwell replied, " Good. We'll melt down the saints and put them into circulation!" Every saint in every church needs to be melted down in the fire of dedication and put into circulation. Leonard Ravenhill summed it up best, "An experience of God that costs nothing is worth nothing and does nothing. —Pastor Jeff |
BUSINESS
ADMINISTRATOR NOTES
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I am sure that most of you have seen geese flying over in their characteristic V formation. It is a sight that has fascinated me since I was a child. If you are close enough you can even hear their noisy honking. For years I have kept an article entitled “Lessons from the Geese.” I have no idea who wrote this, but I would like to share it with you since it has a lot of application to our lives and our Christian walk. By flying in a V formation, the whole flock adds 71% more flying range than if each bird flew alone. As each goose flaps its wings, it creates “uplift” for the bird following. Lesson: People who share a common direction, and sense of community, can go farther and get there quicker and easier when they are working together. When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to fly alone. It quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the “lifting power” of the bird immediately in front. Lesson: If we have as much sense as a goose we will stay in formation with those who are headed where we want to go. When a lead goose gets tired it rotates back into formation and another goose flies at the point position. Lesson: It pays to take turns doing the hard tasks and sharing leadership. The geese in formation honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their effort. Lesson: We need to make sure that our “honking” from behind is encouraging, not something less than helpful. When a goose gets sick or hurt, two geese follow it down to protect it. They stay with the goose until it is able to fly again or it dies. Lesson: If we have as much sense as a goose we will stand by each other in hard times as well as good. If we all demonstrate at least as much sense as a goose we will find that life goes better and our walk with Christ is enhanced. Hopefully the next time you see a V formation overhead you will be reminded of these “Lessons from the Geese.” —Steve Parsons |
