“Everybody can be great…because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love” (Martin Luther King, Jr.)

Today at The Church at Avenue South, Pastor Aaron referenced the old 20/80 rule. Basically, 20% of any given local church will end up doing 80% of the ministry.

He said that in sports, not everyone is allowed on the field. In football, only 11 people can be on the field for any one team. The rest must sit on the sidelines or in the stands and spectate.

Not so in the kingdom of God. There shouldn’t be anyone spectating when it comes to service and ministry. We’re all called to engage and to serve. In the Book of Revelation, we are called a kingdom and priests. That means that we don’t pay someone else to do the work of God on earth. We’re the ones who do the work.

There’s a word for those who sit on the sidelines and watch– disobedience.

It’s interesting that the ones who do most of the complaining and gossiping and divisive talk in churches are usually the ones who are sitting on the sidelines and not engaged in active ministry.

I also think it’s important to not get so caught up in doing for God to where your faith becomes a performance-based religion instead of a relationship. There’s always a balance. To me, that happy medium is where you serve out of a love-filled heart from spending time with God.

The happy medium is where we serve and are served, where we minister to each other and with each other to others.

Each of us has gifts and unique talents. Each of us has been called to serve in a way that no one else on the planet can serve.

Let’s get off the sidelines and into the work of the ministry.