The unsung hero of the church

Last night was the first night of vacation bible school at my home church. It is always fun to get together with a group of kids and teach them about Jesus. It’s also a lot of stress and work to get everything together for vacation bible school. You have to paint signs, decorate the church, prepare lessons, decide on stunts and skits, and fix snacks. With all these things on my mind I laid in bed last night thinking about the workers in our church and all they do.

Over the last twenty years I have been a part of a local church. My opinion of church works has been cultivated somewhat. Let me explain what I mean. When I was a younger Christian I was very enamored by those men and women in the church who seemed to be giants. These were men who preached great sermons, groups that sung great songs, and individuals that seemed to always be doing something that you could point to and say, “Wow!”. I would look up to these people, and many times rightfully so. They were my heroes.

In the last several years I have changed some of my opinion. In the last several years I have started to notice, and look up to those church members that silently work in the church without ever getting attention or glory. It has become my opinion that the backbone of the church is a group of silent Christians who love God and faithfully serve Him. These are men and women that do things that never get noticed by others, but without their work the church would fall apart.

I thought about my own ministry. God has allowed me to lead the youth program in my church. Each Wednesday night we take the children and teach them separate from the adults. This is a wonderful blessing, but it is a job that I do not do alone. Every Wednesday night three other adults go down stairs with me and the kids. These three individuals don’t ever seem to get the pat on the back, but they are invaluable. Without them the work could not be done.

It has become my opinion that we will be shocked when we stand before God on the Day of Judgment. I think we will be shocked because there will be men and women who the world has never heard of, but God has heard & saw their faithful labor. While they did not receive the pat on the back for their labor here, these men and women will receive rewards at the hand of Christ.

Jesus taught this principal in Matthew 6. He taught us to give, pray, and fast in secret. Those that work in the open receive their reward when everyone sees them, but those that work in secret will receive their reward from Christ. I can also think of a few Christians who think that they have to be in charge of everything that takes place, and makes sure everyone knows that they are the one that did it. According to Jesus in Matthew 6 that person receives their reward at their own hand.

So if you are the silent church member, who cleans the church, prays for the preacher, fixes a snack for a child, or paints a sign for VBS this blog is for you. You are more important than maybe you realize. God notices your labor of love, and one day will reward you for your labor.

Heroes

I’ve been thinking a lot today about heroes. Not the Superman, Batman kind of hero but the real life hero. A real person that you look up to, try to model yourself after, and think “If I could do it like they did it that would be awesome.” I’ve been thinking about this because one of mine was put in the hospital early this morning. My grandfather is hands down one of my “heroes in the faith.”

(I actually have several men in my life that I am able to look up to. I know that I’m lucky to be able to make that statement, but it’s true.)

I have many fond memories of my grandfather. Memories that take me back to my childhood and make me smile. I remember going camping and waking up in the morning to the smell of him cooking bacon on the grill. I remember that he loved to slice block cheese into thin slices, and always had a Tupperware container with some in the refrigerator. I could go on and on.

The thing that makes him one of my heroes in the faith is not these childhood memories, but other memories. My grandfather has taught Sunday School at various churches as long as I can remember. He is the one who sat down with me at the age of 15 and helped me prepare the first lesson I taught to a room full of adults at our church. (I taught on the “Rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16. I think the lesson lasted a total of 5 minutes. It’s amazing how fast you can talk when you are that scared.)

My grandfather was the one that would go down to the altar with his Bible under his arm to explain to someone how to be saved, or how to find their way back to God. When he taught people listened and God moved.

The thing about a hero is that they cause us to look at ourselves. They challenge us to do better, try harder, and do more than we thought possible. I don’t know if I would be writing this blog right now if it wasn’t for him.

Then I begin to wonder, am I a hero to anyone. Does anybody look up to me the way I looked up to him? If someone is looking up to me, am I doing everything in my power to lead them in the right direction? God has blessed me to work in several ministries. I teach a class. I’m the youth leader in my church. I write blogs, and publish my lessons on the internet. These things are so important, people are watching my life. I must do right.

More important than all those ministries, God has given me the ministry of being a father and husband. I have the job of leading my wife and two children in the right direction. If I don’t teach my children right, who will? It’s my job as their father to be their hero. Wow, this is so much to digest, to think about.

So, how about you? Each of us has someone looking up to us. Maybe a child, grandchild, someone we teach or mentor. Are you being a hero? Can others look up to you? I hope someday, it can be said about me “he was my hero.” How about you?

My prayer today is “God lead me in the right path, because someone is following me”.