Boldly Assume Responsibilities When We Should
By Rev Arnold Chow
November 26, 2023
It is my hope that the pastoral team and leaders of the NPAC family will focus on building up the spiritual lives of brothers and sisters and nurturing mission-oriented disciples.
After this Sunday, the NPAC family will be electing new deacons for the first time after registration as a company. In accordance with the Articles of Association and if passed by the general meeting of the church company members (comprising pastoral staff, current deacons, lay pastors, etc.) in mid-December, the newly elected deacons along with some pastoral staff will become the church directors of the new year. They will assume responsibilities for the administration, finance and legal matters of the church company.
May I emphasize once again that a church director is just a serving role. It is not above any brothers or sisters. We must reject the quiet infiltration of worldly power game mentality into this family. The NPAC family is a church. Church leaders must imitate the servant leadership style of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let me and all leaders exhort each other that the greater the title, the greater the need to be aware of how to be the servant of others.
May I invite us all to keep watch over the church. While flexibly and shrewdly responding to circumstances, let us not forget that we are, above all, a holy community belonging to the Heavenly Father. We must protect our inner nature to be as innocent as doves.
The Corinthian church is an example of what not to do. They always compared their superiority, weighed God’s gifts for each, ministry posts and status. No! That must not be the path that the NPAC family takes.
The most beautiful picture is that of Paul’s mission team. These people distributed work according to their gifts and did their best to complement one another. They loved one another within and bore one another’s burden without. As an apostle with an important role, Paul nonetheless worked extra hard for the Lord. Other core members such as Timothy, Titus and Epaphroditus whose names are often mentioned in the Scripture also traveled here and there and served the Lord as best they could. And the unnamed brothers and sisters who served among them, along with all the brothers and sisters of the congregation, strived to offer, to serve God and to love others.
Indeed, for every brother and sister, as long as you are willing to assume responsibility, there will certainly be a place for you to offer your gifts. We have said in our home when teaching our children the right attitude towards work: Never think that the housework you are responsible for is unimportant because it is repetitive. The tasks entrusted to you are important to this home.
It is like launching a rocket into space. Do not think that the rocket engineers or aerospace navigators are the most important? Yes, but all who make the screws and thermal insulation materials are equally important. The credit for those who do their best to properly produce small parts would not be smaller than that for the astronauts. It is because just one screw falling off during takeoff and hitting the booster can easily cause a deadly accident and failure of the launch.
So, brothers and sisters, in the serving roles entrusted to you, please serve God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. Likewise, do not seek to be praised by others as a humble person. Sometimes, humbly burying gifts in the ground may make one become the wicked servant who received one bag of gold.
On the contrary, we should seek to be good and faithful servants. When we should assume responsibilities, do so boldly. Today, may you and I boldly seek to become the servants who receive two bags and five bags of gold.