Real Church Work

Like many of you, I’m a church girl. My family started attending the church I grew up in when I was about three. Church became a way of life for us; our weeks and very lives quickly began to revolve around our church activities and attendance. It was a pretty awesome childhood.

Throughout my life, my parents modeled what it meant to be church leaders in front of my brother and I. Both my mom and dad made time with God a priority in their lives; they read and meditated on God’s Word and prayed daily; they shared their faith with family members, friends, neighbors, and co-workers – anyone who would listen. When life got difficult in our lives – like it does for everyone – they knew how to turn to God. They had put many Scriptures to memory and knew the Bible well enough to teach others – children, teens, and adults. And, not only did that make an impact on the lives of my brother and I, but also other family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers.

As we grew into young adults, my brother and I slowly began to realize that our friends quite frequently wanted to be at our house – on weekends, for get-togethers, and even for holidays! Our house was the place to be, apparently. Our attitudes were like,

“Huh. Who knew?”

But as I read Titus 1, concentrating on verses 6-9, it’s very clear to me, all these years later, what our friends were drawn to. Sure, they respected my parents for their strong faith and relationships with Jesus, but it was so much more than that. Check out Titus 1:6-9:

An elder must live a blameless life. He must be faithful to his wife, and his children must be believers who don’t have a reputation for being wild or rebellious. A church leader is a manager of God’s household, so he must live a blameless life. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered; he must not be a heavy drinker, violent, or dishonest with money. Rather, he must enjoy having quests in his home, and he must love what is good. He must live wisely and be just. He must live a devout and disciplined life. He must have a strong belief in the trustworthy message he was taught; then he will be able to encourage others with wholesome teaching and show those who oppose it where they are wrong.

Yep, THIS is what our friends were all drawn to – parents who not only knew and loved God, but imitated Christ in their daily lives and had a desire to love God’s people, too. Whether or not our friends were over for a social event or to ask for prayer for an issue they were facing, they knew that the Gregorys would listen, give good counsel, pray with them, and then ask them to stay for dinner. That’s just who they were; imitators of Christ and lovers of God’s people.

Friends, there’s such a lesson in this chapter for me: living with Godly character and loving others will impact people in ways that just spouting off Scripture never can! I mean, we all remember the Pharisees, right? Because here’s the thing, and there’s just no getting around it:

Christianity is about love!

It began way back in the garden when God created Adam and Eve to love and have relationship with, continued with God’s plan of redemption for us, out of His love for us, and was consummated with Christ’s great love for us, which He showed by laying down His life in our place.

As we read in I John 4:7-8,

Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God for God is love.

Paul was admonishing Titus to choose church leaders who would be imitators of Christ, living the way He lived, because these are the people others are drawn to. Sure, part of being a church leader is correction, teaching, imparting God’s Word, but if all of that doesn’t begin with love, it will have little to no lasting effect.

So, I have to ask myself this week, what kind of Church leader am I? Do I try to impress those around me with my eloquent theological discussions or am I the one that will sit across the table with a sister who is struggling and desperately needs a shoulder to cry on and someone to share the love of Christ with her?

Well, I hope it’s the latter! Because the thing is, love wins every time!