Are you more likely to clean up the sink area when you’re out to eat with friends at a restaurant or when you’ve got friends over at your house? Are you more likely to try harder on a work initiative that you were told to do or that you came up with? I think in general, when we feel a sense of ownership, we work harder to make it the best it can be. We go above and beyond because our name is on that. We care about it!

       1 Corinthians 11:27, “All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.” I think sometimes it’s hard to think of church as something we have ownership of. It belongs to the elders, the leaders, the pastor, or, obviously, Jesus! We are just participants at best and observers most of the time. But here, Paul makes it very clear, that you are the body of Christ. You are a critical part of that body. You aren’t just an observer of the body. You are the body!

       Thank you for seeing an opportunity of need within the ministry of the church and stepping up. I hope that you see this as a ministry. I hope that you can see the volunteering you do at church as kingdom work. You are an indispensable part of the body, not just an observer. This is your community, your church, and your time. Thank you!