For the Ones Holding Back
(And Those Wondering Why You’re Still In)
Long, long ago in the ancient days of North Wake, our elders dreamed up this way of church-life called Study-Serve. Ideally, if everyone bought into the dream, at any given time of the year, half of the church would be serving the church body in some capacity on Sunday morning; the other half of the body would be studying their hearts out in adult discipleship classes. In six months, these two halves would switch. The six-month commitment has lengthened to a year in recent times, but we still have the same goal for our Sunday mornings.
I want to talk about how hard this is to do. It’s hard to show up at church at 8:30 when you could show up at 10:30. It’s hard to wipe snotty noses and explain sharing to toddlers for two hours. It’s hard to pay attention to more theology when you’ve already taken notes through a sermon. It’s hard to give four hours on a Sunday morning when you worked a forty-plus construction or waitress job. It’s hard to spend all that time surrounded by people when you’re an introverted, exhausted mom who wants to put her kids down for a nap. It’s hard to commit to something for a year.
It gets even harder when your big, unruly family makes it super hard to get to even the 10:45 service on time. Or chronic illness brings you down. Or social anxiety hits. The boss tells you it’s show up on Sunday morning or lose the job it took you six months to get. There are big reasons why study-serve is a hurdle that some can’t seem to jump over. I’ve been there, and I think there is a whole lot of grace for that. You get no pressure from me.
But. For those of you who are still with me, for those of you who haven’t jumped into the pool yet and might be wondering why you should…
Let’s look at Jesus. Remember how Jesus as a boy disappeared from his family and wandered off to be in the temple, to sit with the elders? Jesus prioritized learning. With others. Yes, He went off alone, but He was frequently in the temple not only teaching but also listening, learning with His friends. How about you? In adult discipleship classes, North Wake makes it easy for you to act like Jesus in this way.
Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you;
love her, and she will watch over you.
The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom.
Though it cost all you have, get understanding.Proverbs 4: 6-7
Again, look at Jesus. Sitting with the children. Healing the sick. Feeding the hungry. Jesus was a man of service. How about you? Is service, particularly to the church, built into your life?
And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
Hebrews 13:16
I know study-serve takes us out of our comfort zones in so many ways. That’s the Jesus way. Don’t you agree that in this beautiful Christian journey, often the best things we do are the difficult ones? Wouldn’t you say that in your weakness, His power is there, His glory shines forth? What if you gave it a try? What if you made the sacrifice of a little less sleep, a little more time, a little something new? What could our very good Father do with that? Might it be worth it?
But this is the reason I need to participate in study-serve maybe more than any other reason: the enemy is trying to tear us, the body of Christ, apart. And study-serve knits us together.
You know it. How many times have we heard it? This age is a divisive one. Politics, scandals, theology differences, pandemics, you name it—we fight over it. The church is splintering. All it takes is one conflict (or sometimes just one news story), and even the most devoted of us are at risk of leaving this fragile community and going it alone.
In those moments, when I’m not feeling much love, when I feel different or alone or hurt, I do three things. First, I remember that my Savior felt the same. His own people singled Him out. They left Him alone. They refused to understand Him. I am always, always understood by my God.
Second, I confess my own part in the troubles of the church. How often I have been selfish. How often I have judged and refused to give grace. How often I have neglected the needs of God’s people.
Third, I lean into what nearly twenty years of study-serve has taught me: that drawing near to the body of Christ is healing to what hurts. When I serve your children in kids ministry, when I greet you at the door, when I feed the hurting at the pantry, my heart is supernaturally bound to you. When I sit beside you in class and listen to your wisdom and hear what God is teaching you, my heart is supernaturally bound to you. Jesus studied with His people and served His people because He loved them, and when we study and serve with the people, we grow to love them too.
So here’s my charge: find your place. You have one. You belong somewhere here on Sunday morning. We need you. We want you. We love you. And if you already have your place, stay steady. You may not feel like you contribute much, but I tell you, you do. Together, we are growing this body of North Wake into something beautiful. Together, we will grow in love for one another, and by God’s grace, no enemy will tear us apart.
