clcgh.org Building The Capacity Of Christian Leaders, Equipping The Saints For The Work Of Ministry, Redirecting Straying Christians To The Sound Knowledge Of Christ
The Lord Jesus Christ instructs His servants to make disciples (Matthew 28:19). He does not send them to make just church members. A church member is basically a member of a local church.
A disciple of Christ Jesus, on the other hand, is a student of Jesus or someone who has a relationship with Jesus Christ and learns from Him.
We must understand that a person can be a member of a church and not be a disciple of Christ. This happens if he or she does not learn from Christ, is not a student of Christ or does not have a bond with Christ.
It is expected that a Christian, first, be a disciple of Christ Jesus and then, second, be a member of a church.
This implies that a disciple of Christ must be a member of a church in order to be equipped or to equip or serve others by the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Now, the disciples of Jesus Christ are called Christians (Acts 11:26). And all Christians throughout the world constitute the Church.
However, Christians in the world can be put into two groups namely active Christians or active church members and passive Christians or passive church members.
Many understand active Christians to mean those who attend church meetings regularly or those who give their money to sponsor church projects.
There is no doubt that attending church meetings regularly and giving money to support church activities are important things all Christians must do.
However, Dr. Rick Warren, in his book, The Purpose Driven Church, points out that doing these things do not necessarily qualify Christians to be described as active.
According to him, “God has far greater expectations for every Christian. He expects every Christian to use his or her gifts and talents in ministry.”
This suggests that active church members are those who participates in the ministry of Jesus Christ by using the gifts dispensed to them by the Holy Spirit and the talents they are born with.
Thus Warren states “If we can ever awaken and unleash the massive talents, resources, creativity, and energy lying dormant in the typical local church, Christianity will explode with growth at an unprecedented rate.”
However, Christianity has failed to grow the way it should because as Warren puts it, “…the church is a sleeping giant. Each Sunday, church pews are filled with members who are doing nothing with their faith except “keeping” it.”
Christians who do nothing with their spiritual gifts and talents for the advancement of God’s Kingdom on earth are passive church members. They are passive spectators at church services.
It is my prayer that disciples of Jesus Christ who read this article will be motivated to serve in their local churches with their gifts and talents even as they attend church meetings regularly and give their money to support the work of God.
By James Quansah
