thrive community

As I type this article, I’m reminded of how much I love my MacBook Pro. It’s the greatest computer on the planet. It does have a few things in common with the inferior Windows PC: they both have a keyboard.

One button in particular caught my attention yesterday. “ESC” or the “escape” button. Since I work on a Mac, I have to use it around 90% less than my PC counterparts. But, none the less, it still offered me a little bit of comfort for some strange reason. I know it’s there just in case I get into something that I need immediate “escape” from on my computer.

Wouldn’t it be great if life came with an “escape” button? What a relief to know that if we got ourselves into something, we could just hit a button and we could get out of it and even start over as if nothing ever happened?

Through many difficult and painful experiences, I know all too well that life doesn’t work that way. I got myself into some real pickles that I may have thought at one time were just accidents. But just like when my Mac seems to have “screwed itself up” and I want to say it’s my computers fault, we don’t get where we are in life on accident either. Sometimes, things may “happen” to us because of our ignorance or that are honestly beyond our immediate control. But most of the time, things “happen” because of our choices and they do what choices do: they direct us to where we are today.  It’s more than just geography, unforeseen circumstances, lucky breaks or an “act of God” that forces it’s influence on us and that may be beyond our control. I’m talking about our heart and our character. They have the greatest influence in us. They direct our responses to the forces around us and are within our ability to choose.

No matter the resulting consequences, whether positive or negative in our estimation, our present reality is a direct result of living what we believe. What we do is what we really believe, not what we think or say we believe. There’s no “escape” from seeing the results of our beliefs being realized right in front of us – our integrity.

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Without volunteers, the ministries within almost every church in the world would come to a screeching halt. Each and every volunteer is vital to the overall success and health of every ministry.

At Journey Church, our philosophy of volunteerism is to present each person a voice into ministry as well as respect, authority and responsibility. There is an attitude that is prevalent among many churches that a volunteer is subconsciously seen as a position of low-level leadership. We believe it to be the contrary.

Leadership is influence. Every volunteer position is an incredible opportunity of shared leadership with the staff and elders of the church. From those who serve during our weekend services to those who actively serve on behalf of our faith community, volunteers are connected to and represent the vision, passion and mission of Journey Church. Every volunteer “adds to” or “subtracts from” the credibility of our church and the message we seek to convey through words and actions.

There’s a point of immaturity that rises from our hearts when we misunderstand the level of influence we have as a volunteer. It involves the statement: “Well, I’m only a volunteer.” If you’ve said that in the past or feel that in the present, may I encourage you to look beyond the people and the circumstances around you. There is a deeper issue that’s transpiring in your heart and it’s imperative that you see it.

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