Editorial: Praise God—and volunteers—for the sacrifice of time

Every now and then, an outsider’s gob-smacked amazement at “normal” church behavior provides refreshing insight. Perspective, even.

Editor Marv KnoxRabbi Jeffrey Salkin’s recent profile of Stephen Colbert, new host of The Late Show on CBS, praises the comedian for his stint as a Sunday school teacher:

Consider how busy Colbert is. Think of his grueling schedule, and all of the demands on his time. And yet he actually took his own personal time—on a Sunday morning, when he could be sleeping in or doing other things—to not only go to church, but to teach Sunday school.

That, my friends, is called sacrifice. It didn’t go out of business once we stopped reading Leviticus literally. We don’t sacrifice bulls anymore. But time—that’s something you can offer on the altar of your life.

The rabbi recognizes teaching Christian Sunday school is a sacrifice: “… something you can offer on the altar of your life.”

This idea may sound counter-intuitive, especially if you’ve ever been responsible for actually recruiting church members to teach Sunday school, or work on a committee, or serve in any of the myriad positions required to keep a congregation functioning smoothly.

We tend to play down the time required to do those jobs. We probably think discounting how much time they require makes filling them easier. 

But in the process, we diminish their significance. Then we wonder why volunteers often (a) fail to take their tasks seriously, (b) can’t see the value of their contributions and, worse, (c) don’t develop a stronger identification with their church and its mission.

Volunteers are essential

Truth is, we can’t do church effectively without volunteers. Their contributions—from greeting people at the doors, to teaching the Bible, serving on committees, visiting the sick, collecting the offering, planning and organizing events, and all the rest—are enormously valuable.

And doing them requires sacrifice. That’s primarily because many Christians’ scarcest commodity is time. So, when we contribute our time to serve God and others, we sacrifice a slice of our lives, of our very selves.

Salkin was right. Time is “something you can offer on the altar of your life.”

Think of the saints whose sacrifice of time yielded bountiful results.

When I was in fourth grade, my Sunday school teacher was Chuck Waller, a deacon who owned a heating and air-conditioning business. Chuck taught Sunday school for fourth-grade boys in our little town for decades. He poured his time—his life—into those boys. Today, scores and probably hundreds of men know Jesus as their Savior because Chuck introduced them, and more know the books of the Bible because Chuck taught them.

The Chuck Wallers of the world are legion, and the church—your congregation and mine—needs legions more. 

How to change the world forever

Experts say 20 percent of the members do 80 percent of the work in any church. Just imagine what could be accomplished if 80 percent of the membership worked as faithfully as that minority. Our communities—even our world—could be changed forever.

A starting point is recognizing the sacrifice of time offered by people who teach Sunday school and accept all the other assignments in your church. Don’t underestimate the time or diminish the sacrifice. Point to the high and noble biblical principle of sacrifice. Teach young people to be great sacrificers who accomplish great things for God. Praise old role models who have served for years. Lift up the value of service.

And praise God—as well as volunteers—for the sacrifice of time.