Are You the Expendable Crewman?

Do you remember the original "Star Trek" television series? Week after week, Captain Kirk and the crew of the Starship Enterprise would boldly go where no one had gone before. Whenever, they would come to a new planet, Captain Kirk and his hand picked landing party would beam down to the planet to see what was there. And without fail, within a few short minutes, someone in the landing party would be killed by an evil alien. And without fail, the crewman which got killed was always the one who would never be on the show again. None of the regular stars of the show would ever die, only this poor, hapless, expendable crewman would die. This character was written into the show, in order to just be blasted or zapped into oblivion.

Of course, in real life, we know that on a U. S. Navy ship, each person of the crew serves a valuable role. Whether its being the cook, the mechanic, the supply clerk, or the navigator, each person of the crew contributes to the success of the mission. There are no expendable crewman on the ship. Now let's apply this same understanding to the life of the church.

Each member of the church has a vital role to play in the success of the church. In 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 the Apostle Paul reminds us that we are the body of Christ, and that each member of the body contributes to the health of the whole. Therefore, whether it's changing dirty diapers in the nursery, greeting people, teaching in Bible Fellowship, meeting needs, or simply praying, each member of the crew at our church plant will be crucial to our success. There are no expendable crewmen!

With this thought in mind, we will be offering the following steps to assist our church members in being highly effective crewman. Using the acronym CREW, ask yourself if you are doing the following:

C ELEBRATING God's glory in one of our Worship Services?
R ELATING to others in Christ in one of our Bible Fellowship Groups?
E QUIPPING yourself for ministry in one of our Small Groups?
W ITNESSING to the world through one of our Ministry or Missions Teams?

There will be no expendable crewmen in our church plant!
In Christ,
Bert