Joy in Serving: Devotions From Time of Grace MinistryNäide

My Church: Create a servant culture A congregation is not only a place where you can find, develop, and use your gifts. Church is a retreat from the street. It is a place where the contrarian philosophy of Christ can be taught and modeled. Mass media, hip-hop culture, and the streets adore and reward boasting, selfishness, and ego. A church can help people see that being gentle doesn’t mean you become a doormat; that serving doesn’t mean you’ll just get used; that strength in a man shows itself in self-restraint, not violence, in giving, not just taking. “Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. . . . Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble’” (1 Peter 5:5). Far too many young men will not learn this in their own homes. Will you help them learn joy in serving in your church?