GREATEST IN THE KINGDOM MUST LEARN TO BE THE SERVANT OF ALL (MT. 18:1-4, 23:11; MK. 9; LK. 9; LK. 22)
The way up is down. If you would stand tall in God's church, you must learn to be on your face before Him. The Lord's way is exactly the opposite of the world's way. It saddens me to see flow charts in churches. If we must have a flow chart, stand it on its end. God's order is an inverted pyramid. The "higher up" you go, the more people you have the opportunity of serving.
God Incarnate, the Creator of the universe, the Almighty God, girded Himself with a towel (John 13), knelt down, and did the work of a slave by washing His disciples' feet. Are we greater than our master?
Ministry means service. It means opening your eyes and seeing what needs doing and doing it. It means that we consider no task to be too low or common. If it needs doing, do it, don't get others to do it, don't hire a staff to do it, do it yourself. If there's trash, pick it up. If a light's out, change it. If the nursery is short of help, baby-sit.
Motivated by love for God's people, it is our calling to serve them, to make them happy and comfortable, to bless them. I once went to Israel with Pastor Chuck and a group from the church. He led the tour, taught 4 or 5 Bible studies on location each day, and spent the night running medicine to this room, encouraging that person, helping this other one. If we're above any of that, we're not servants of the Lord.
Every minister at Calvary Chapel lives a very simple life style. Once you're standard of living is above your people's you are no longer a servant.
Some people aspire to ministry but won't lift a finger to help out in practical ways. Others are willing to help if you specifically tell them what to do. Both drive me crazy. A true minister is a servant, a voluntary daily slave of the people; he sees what needs doing, and he does it. The fields are white unto harvest, but the laborers are few. The self appointed clergymen who want prestige are many, but workers, laborers, true servants are few. That's what Jesus said to pray for more of.
In all my life, I have never met anyone who is more of a servant than Chuck Smith. You can find him installing urinals in a new building in the middle of the night, picking up trash at the conference center, crawling in an attic to fix a leaky pipe, in the parking lot jump starting someone's car, baby-sitting children, always helping, always blessing others. Why does he do it? Because he loves God and loves His people.
You never outgrow service. It's not something you do until the church is big enough to get others to do it. The greatest in the Kingdom is the servant of all. Gayle Erwin's ministry is a dynamic presentation of this principle; but Gayle lives it, he doesn't just teach it.
