The Heartbeats of Central Union Church: SERVICE
By Pastor Rushan

“So Jesus called them and said to them, ‘You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.’” –Mark 10:42-45

 

On Sunday, we reflected on the 2nd Heartbeat of our church – SERVICE. This is the 2nd core value that is a part of our DNA here at Central Union Church. Service is using our time, talent, and treasure to make the lives of those in our community and world better. Jesus did not just call for this, he modeled it: ‘for the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and gave his life as a ransom for many.’ Into a world which prized the competitive desire to be top dog, Jesus demanded and modeled a totally different form of greatness.

Service remakes the way we see what’s important in the world and changes the way we seek to live in the world, both as individuals, and together as church.

When serving others is the first priority, we will view our involvement in a church congregation in a particular way. We move from asking what we get from our church to what we can give to God. We will move to journeying with our fellow pilgrims on their journeys of life and of faith.

When serving others is the first priority, that changes how we relate to the community around us. If we take seriously what Jesus says, then all of those activities where we serve the community around us are affirmed; serving others with food, with company, with a safe space; empowering those without a voice to speak truth to power.

Here are some questions to reflect on in the week ahead:

  • If serving others and volunteerism is a core value of our community, then how do we make that shine? 
  • How do we model this to the next generation so they too can discover the joy of serving?
  • How can we work on our life balance to make sure that we have space and energy to invest into helping and serving others?