Churches need volunteers. This isn’t exactly a secret. At Encounter, volunteers brew the coffee, play instruments and sing, teach children, host Bible studies, collect the offering, and so much more. Without the many people who do all these things, the day-to-day operations of Encounter would look very different—arguably, Encounter as we know it would cease to function.
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| Photo Credit: Flickr User Anton Sim, Creative Commons |
As crucial as volunteers are, though, I think there are some compelling reasons why you should not volunteer at Encounter:
1) You should not volunteer out of guilt.
2) You should not volunteer if you feel obligated to.
3) You should not volunteer if you’re trying to earn grace.
Galatians 2 tells the story of when Paul and his companions Barnabas and Titus went to Jerusalem. Some false believers had infiltrated the ranks there, trying to, as Paul puts it, “spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves.” These false believers were telling Gentile (non-Jewish) people that they had to be circumcised in order to follow Christ. They were stuck on the rules, and were trying to insist that others follow their rules as well. Paul goes on to rebuke the Galatians, saying, “After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?”
The Galatians were coercing people to act out of obligation, guilt, and the false belief that they had to act in order to receive grace. In reality, the Christian faith is built on the idea that we are incapable of saving ourselves through anything we do, which is why we’re so in need of a Savior.
What can be done is to freely give of our time and energy as a response to his grace. Outwardly, the actions may look exactly the same, but the inward attitude makes all the difference. If we’re continually serving only out of obligation or guilt, we’re not living into the grace God has freely given us. We’re taking a good gift and trying to pay it back—which we not only don’t have to do, we can’t do. There is no magic number of hours volunteered that will “pay God back” for grace. It can’t be done. God doesn’t want his people serving out of obligation and guilt, but out of freedom as respond to what he’s done.
This doesn’t mean there won’t be times when it feels like we’re serving for the wrong reason. After a stressful week, getting to church early may not be first on the list of things we want to do. But if it’s a persistent feeling of obligation, guilt, or (perhaps even subconsciously) trying to earn grace, it could be time to step back and re-evaluate. Hopefully, with some prayer and reflection, God will change our motivations to what they should be—a response to what he’s already done for us.
So I don’t think all the volunteers at Encounter should send in their resignation this week. There are a lot of really wonderful reasons to volunteer at church. You should volunteer at Encounter if:
1) You are looking to respond to the work God has done in your life by serving others.
2) You have gifts that can benefit the community and you want to share them.
3) You are thankful for the grace God has given and want to give back as an expression of that thankfulness.
What other reasons would you add?
[Brianna DeWitt believes in Jesus, surrounding yourself with good people, and that desserts are best when they involve chocolate and peanut butter. She writes about faith, growing up, and whatever else pops into her head on her own blog, and tweets (largely about food) at @bwitt722.]
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