Share your fire

Once your heart has ignited through personal revival, you become a torch in God's hand. The fire in your heart does not leap to others from a distance, by remote control. It spreads through proximity, simply by being near to others.

The simplest way to be near people is to wash their feet - to serve them in the name of the Lord.

How to be a servant in your church:

• Offer a ride. Not everyone who comes to church owns a car. While giving a ride, opportunities will come to offer a word of encouragement and a listening ear. Be available during the week for those who need a lift to an appointment, or to take their car in for repair.

   

• Help in the nursery. Few churches have a trained nursery staff. For most, the nursery is a volunteer position and often shorthanded. Because it is a low-profile job with few rewards to the ego, it's Christian foot-washing at its best where you can relate to little ones and their parents.

   

• Visit a shut-in. Don't worry about conversation - most shut-ins long to talk. Take a friend with you, share a cup of tea, and listen to their wisdom. Spend some time in prayer before you leave.

   

• Open your life to the down and out. Is there someone who needs a friend, a bag of groceries, or a \$20 bill? Without lording it over them, reach out with genuine friendship.

   

• Join a small group - or start one. A small group is where you have a chance to get close to people and let them get close to you. In the Sunday morning adult class, the Wednesday night Bible study, or a cell group, you will find people who aren't afraid to tell you about an approaching operation, the depression they're trying to bear, or how uncertain their employment prospects are.

   

• Help out on a work day. If your church has a day when special housekeeping tasks are done, lend a hand. It gives you a chance to work side by side with people you've been praying for - people you rarely see except in church on Sunday morning.

   

• Do the menial. Cleaning tables, washing dishes, stacking chairs - these simple acts of service will deepen your fellowship with the people you work with, spreading encouragement to others and a joyfulness in doing the mundane.

   

• Serve beyond the church walls. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works [simple acts of service] and give glory to your Father who is in heaven (Matt. 5:16). The light of the church shines out to the world through the deeds of its people. Get involved in organizations that seek to alleviate suffering, feed the poor, and give shelter to the homeless - locally or globally.

   

From Set Our Hearts On Fire, (c) 1998 by Richard E. Bieber. Published by Servant Publications, Box 8617, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48107. Used with permission.

Richard Bieber was pastor of Messiah Church, an inner-city church in Detroit, for 30 years. He and his wife, Jean, have four children and live in Nova Scotia, Canada.