Cybercolumn by John Duncan: A priority on service

Posted: 1/13/06

CYBER COLUMN:
A priority on service

By John Duncan

I’m sitting here under the old oak tree, thinking in this warm winter of roses. Shakespeare once opined: “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name could smell as sweet.” Speaking of sweet, for all University of Texas Longhorn football fans, the hype, the drama, the game is finally over. Texas won the Rose Bowl and the national championship.

What struck me about the game was the intensity, the challenge, the level of competition. In competition, winners and losers emerge. Texas wins. The University of Southern California loses. Vince Young, the quarterback for Texas, works his unbelievable magic, and his Texas Longhorns win the championship. Winning brings smiles. Winning means you have gained control. Winning means you have dominated. As legendary Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne once said, “Show me a good loser, and I’ll show you a failure.”

The Roman world of the New Testament possessed a powerful energy for domination. Roman emperors delivered pax Romana, Roman peace. Never mind that Roman peace meant total destruction and the rebuilding of a city with roman customs. The Romans did this with a city like Corinth, destroying it and building it anew as a Roman city. If you read the New Testament closely enough, you will find the political struggle in the days of Jesus between Jews and Romans in Jerusalem centered around the desire of the Romans to dominate and change Jewish culture into Roman culture. Politics defined means that the art and science of government makes policy to win control. The Romans were good at it. Jesus wielded powerful words against domination and control, “The greatest among you shall be your servant.”

“Where is he going with this column?” you might ask. One thing I ponder here under the old oak tree from day to day is the state of the church. In life, there are winners and losers. Churches rise in the glory of glowing reports—record baptisms, striking numbers for attendance, building campaigns and sermons served up with style so much that people race home to download a copy on the Internet. Churches also flame out for lack of vision, dissension, poor leadership, fatigue, apathy or lack of volunteers. It is not that hard to forget the cross and the church’s purpose to honor Christ in church life today, whether a church rises or falls. What strikes me, though, is the focus today on power, control and even domination. Reality dictates the necessity of winners and losers. A view to church life necessitates the struggle of churches on the rise and the anguish of churches on the fall. Both pressures can be enormous for pastors, church leaders and the people who form the churches. What is the answer?

More churches would rise higher and fewer churches would fall deeper into despair and more would be done for God’s kingdom if power, domination and control would give way to service.

Fires have burned out of control in our community recently. Wildfires have chewed up land and consumed homes. A local volunteer fire fighter was asked, “What is that makes you want to risk your life as a fire fighter in fighting these fierce fires, windswept fires?”

“I just want to help,” he replied as the sweat and black soot decorated his face. When the church takes up the banner of risk and gives its all to serve Christ for his kingdom and glory, then everyone will win and no one will lose. If service lessens as a priority on churches, they will die, and everyone will lose.

Here under the old oak tree, it seems like spring, 80 degrees in January. Weather forecasters say change comes soon; a north wind waits to push its way south. May a revolution of change sweep the hearts of Christians and churches. May we voice our words in the spirit of volunteerism like that firefighter. May we heed the words of Jesus, “The greatest among you shall be your servant.”

John Duncan is pastor of Lakeside Baptist Church in Granbury, Texas, and the writer of numerous articles in various journals and magazines. You can respond to his column by e-mailing him at jduncan@lakesidebc.org.