Choosing between good and good

My son and I have had several deep conversations about balance, about choosing between what is good and... good.  Not good and bad, not good and better, but between two choices that are equally good.

The good choices involve service opportunities, athletic events, concerts, friends, even opportunities for work.  All have value to God, because he redeemed all of us.  There is no separation between secular and spiritual.  All of life is spiritual, we cannot compartmentalize certain activities or aspects of living.

Church-focused individuals will assume that the only choice is service opportunities, but that's not the case.  Church and service opportunities through church are part of our lives, but not the central focus of our life.

With the proper perspective, the conflict between the two is easier to reconcile.  If you believe, according to I Cor. 10:31, that "whatever you do" is to be done for the glory of God, then the pressure to say yes to everything can be tempered by balance.

Ministry Communication, Expectations, and Organization

After 25 years of serving and observing, it's clear that there are three areas where ministries frustrate their volunteers (so leaders, pay attention, you need to fix these!).

Communications: The core of many frustrations. It may seem basic, but if you clearly communicate who, what, when, where and why to everybody involved – that includes the volunteers, the audience, the leaders and if it's a children/youth ministry, the parents – everybody will be on the same page.

Expectations: What's my role? What's your role? Who's in charge? What are my responsibilities? Who's on the team? What are the expectations of those participating in the ministry in which I'm volunteering? What will I be doing today? Don't be ambiguous with any of these details. Volunteers need to know what their boundaries are so that they can serve with their gifts and be effective.

Organization: As a volunteer, don't waste my time. I have a specific set of God-given gifts, and a calling to serve, so please be prepared when I show up to serve. Don't make me wait while you prepare your presentation, organize materials or simply get your act together.

It's important not to frustrate volunteers. They want to serve with their gifts and not get frustrated. They want to be motivated, not demotivated. They want to serve with joy, and they want to receive joy from their service. It's the role of the leader to help make that happen.

I wish I was on a missions trip

So, you're back from your summer missions trip, and off the mountain and headed back down the side. (for some, literally, our church's youth group spent a week in the mountains in Appalachia – but this a biblical reference and metaphor for that missions-trip buzz you're coming off of. That's why it's called a trip).

At the end of the week, you were tired, but excited about the work that you saw God doing. Now what? Some of you want to stay where you were, because "It's not as boring as where you are now." You love the feeling of doing something special, of really serving those in need. Admittedly, it can be a grind coming back to whatever reality you live in, good or bad.

Perhaps you're missing the point: Missions trips are a sprint in the marathon of life, and the apostle Paul says we're to run the race to receive the prize, the writer of Hebrews says we are to run the race with endurance. Life is a marathon, (not a sprint) and a marathon requires endurance.

Why are the missions trips so exciting and invigorating, and why do our day-to-day activities seem so, well, boring?

Missions trips are special, and they should challenge you, give you opportunity to stretch yourself, to let God stretch you, and to draw you closer to God – while you're serving others. Shouldn't that be happening at home too? Of course, but at a slower pace. Any gardener knows that growth happens with water and fertilizer – too much of either can burn out or drown a plant.

If serving God through missions is your passion, don't forget that there are mission fields at home – we just don't call them that. We make them seem less that that by calling them school, community, work, church (yes, church!) – any place you happen to be. Remember what Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:20, "We are Christ's ambassadors, God is making his appeal through us." We've got a daily task of reconciling people to him, but it takes focus, strength and endurance. An ambassador represents their King no matter where they are or what they are doing.

What to watch for when you come down off the mountain? Just like Moses, keep your eyes out for the golden calf.

Letting God choose where you serve

The way I see it, there are three types of people who serve in Christian ministries:

• Ministry professionals (who by calling serve, and are paid for their service)
  
• People who want to be in ministry but aren't (who serve in volunteer positions and give a large amount of time, while working full-time jobs to support themselves and/or their families)
  
• Volunteers who serve because they enjoy it (who don't feel any call to full-time ministry, but have a passion to serve)
  

Of course, I'm not counting those whose who serve out of guilt. More encouragement for you later.

If you count yourself in the last group, then you're in the majority. There's nothing wrong with loving your career and choosing to serve the Lord with the gifts he has given you as a volunteer.

Let me repeat: there is nothing wrong about that type of service!

Don't let emotion, guilt or peer pressure force you into decisions about service. God's call to you to serve will be clear and satisfying – but you may have a family, a career, a role that he clearly wants you in outside of ministry – and that is part of God's sovereign will for you as well.

An overlooked verse is 2 Corinthians 5:18-20 NLTse

18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people's sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 20 So we are Christ's ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, "Come back to God!" 21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin,* so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

You are part of the church, the body of Christ. Everybody who believes in Christ is part of the body and fills a different role. No matter where or how we serve, the task is the same for all of us: ambassadors for God, appealing to those around us to be reconciled to God. How He chooses to do that through you should be up to Him, and not up to those around you.

This is not church

In over 30 years of serving as a volunteer in church ministry, I've scrubbed toilets, taught children and adult Sunday schools, led a church board, served as an elder, led a small group, cut grass, participated in construction projects, shoveled snow, sung in choirs, played in a praise band, and served as a worship leader. I'm sure I neglected to list a few activities.

Most have been enjoyable and fulfilling. Surprisingly, the leadership roles have been those that have left me feeling relieved when they are over; the roles where somebody else is leading leave me grateful that indeed, somebody else is leading. (And it's always a blessing when they are a capable leader). It's a challenge to remain optimistic, idealistic and excited about the next opportunity.

Recently, in listening to some volunteers who worked very long and diligently on a summer VBS program – hours of preparation, practice, setup – I heard the question "Where is God in ministry?" Where was He in all the long hours, the frustrations, the interpersonal drama?

We serve because we believe in God first, and with the passion for the ministry second. At least that's how it should be. This is not church; this is life.  Embrace it!