NOTE: At last Saturday’s Leadership Orientation meeting in Fellowship Hall, Courtney Bundy, our Director of Children, Youth, and Family Ministries, offered a spirit-filled opening devotion. Pastor Erik thought it deserved to be “heard” by a wider audience, and he shares it here.
Hey everyone, my name is Courtney Bundy. I am the Children, Youth, and Family Director here at Community UMC and I get to share a bit of the word and a prayer with you this morning.
I think for these kinds of things, a devotion often covers that first Corinthians passage (12:12-27) that reminds us that we are one body, with many moving parts, and while that’s very true and very important, I’m not doing that one.
Instead, I’d like to remind you of two other things.
The first, is that everything we do and don’t do, big and small, absolutely affects how people see Christ and not just this church but His church. It also affects our hearts and our ability to love, to show God’s glory.
In Colossians 3:23, Paul writes “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as if you working for the Lord, not for human masters.”
We’re here because God has invited each of us to participate in His mission. Whether you’re clergy, staff, volunteer, leadership, or in any other of the many areas here, your work matters. Because whatever it is you do, you’re doing it for the Lord.
It’s easy to get caught up in the tasks at hand, to write them off as just another email sent, another meeting attended, but to do that invalidates the fact that OUR day-to-day operations are nothing less than acts of worship. Every email, every event, every call, service, conversation, busy bag, sticky cup of child-served coffee, every hug, high five, and meeting, they all move the church forward and help folks connect with Jesus.
Let your work be your worship. Make this a space that brings heaven down and shows people who God is. The devil has enough advocates; you don’t need to be one of them. Love each other. Truly love each other.
And that brings me to the second thing and it’s mostly in regard to the world around us right now. Ministry is too much for any one of us to carry by ourselves. In seasons when the world is literally on fire, when political unrest and uncertainty make weekends like this dangerous, we are reminded that the body of Christ was designed to support and strengthen each other. We’re not meant to bear the weight of the work alone.
In these times, the gift is found in the Community (wink) we share.
I love you all. Now hold hands and let me pray.
