In Ephesians 4:11, Paul writes: “It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers.” We get that. We understand that there are people called and gifted to do what we call “ministry.” However, most of us aren’t employed by the church as staff ministers. Most of us aren’t elders, deacons, or even teachers within the church. So what about the rest of the body? Are we off the hook if we don’t have to give a report at the annual meeting? Of course not.
Verse 12 continues, telling us that these people are gifted to lead in order “to prepare God’s people for works of service.” It’s actually pretty simple; we’re all called to serve. Everyone within the body of Christ has work to do. While some are called to prepare the rest of us to do works of service, all of us are called to do the work.
While some might bristle at the thought of some being called to lead while others are called to work, verses 12 and 13 complete the thought; some are called to prepare others, but all of us are called to work “so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” The fact of the matter is that we are all called to the same work: to build up the body of Christ. There are no substantial differences between those who are called to set up the chairs before the service and those who lead the singing or who preach in the service. There is no difference between those who teach the lessons and those who clean the classrooms or who open their home to host the small group where the lesson is taught.
As we look forward to the month of June, when we will be working together every Saturday, let’s put aside thoughts of who has the better job and focus on building up this body. Then we will experience “the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”