Safety Last

Tuesday night at Frequency we had a discussion about the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30. If you aren’t familiar with the parable, it is the one where the master gives three of his servants talents to invest while he is gone. Two of them engage in risky endeavors that yield a 100% return on their investment. The third fears losing his talent, so he buries it in a safe place.

When I used to read this parable, I always thought he third servant was the good guy. After all, he values his master’s talent so much that he goes to great ends to protect it. What we re the other guys thinking risking losing the talent by investing?! As a child, I remember being surprised when the master punishes the “play-it-safe servant.” He actually calls him a “wicked, lazy slave.” It was as if he was being judged for his fear of risk. Turns out, he was.

It is a lie that Jesus wants you to be safe. Somewhere along the line, we started thinking that being unspotted from the world meant being uninvolved with it. The truth is Jesus doesn’t want you to be safe. He wants you to multiply (Matthew 28:19-20), and multiplication means risk. It means stepping out and saying, “I’ll do that” when you are scared that you might make a mistake or get hurt. The good news is that Jesus never leaves us hanging. He provides for us when we step out in faith.

Opportunity is here. I am privileged to pastor at church that is growing. People are coming to Christ. New people are showing up every Sunday. It is thrilling! There is no shortage of people in need of ministry, but there is a shortage of people to minister. I know now what Jesus meant when He said that the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few (Luke 10:2). I’m watching it happen. We need help in the simplest areas:
Tech Team members (We will train you!)
Children’s Ministry workers
Life Group Leaders
Administrative help (printing bulletins, stuffing envelopes, etc.)
Host Team members (All you have to do is smile and greet people)

You have no excuse. No matter who you are or where you live, there is something you can do. Here are the e-mail addresses associated with some of the ministries that need help:
Tech Team (timg@churchoftheopendoor.org)
Children’s Ministry (michellem@churchoftheopendoor.org)
Life Group (teresah@churchoftheopendoor.org)
Administrative (cindyb@churchoftheopendoor.org)
Host (amindling@oh.rr.com)

As Jim Morrison once said, “The time to hesitate is through.”

Will you step up for the sake of the gospel?