Continuing the church-member series, Pastor Nana Boadum finishes the "unifying member" theme — love and forgiveness as the bond of unity — and then lands the week's charge: my church membership will not be about my preferences and desires. From the disciples' "who is the greatest?" argument to the ten marks of an inward-focused church, the message calls every member to the mind of Christ, who emptied Himself and took the nature of a servant.
The seven movements
- Love is the badge of discipleship. "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." Unity happens when love remains — endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (John 13:35; Ephesians 4:3).
- Forgiveness keeps the unity. The church is imperfect people gathered around a perfect Savior. Unforgiveness blocks your own prayers — leave the gift at the altar, make peace first; forgive as God forgives, or forfeit forgiveness (Matthew 5:23-24; 6:14-15; Colossians 3:12-13).
- No exceptions clause. "You don't know the history… my hands fed them" — but the biblical expectation is that everyone who is offended ends at forgiveness. The earlier you release it, the freer you flow.
- Don't bring your list. We don't join God's church with a list of preferences — music styles, service lengths, visitation demands. In church we actually give up our preferences when we join, because we come to serve and meet the needs of others.
- "Who is the greatest?" — sit down. The disciples argued like we do; Jesus sat them down with a child on His lap: whoever wants to be first must be last and servant of all. "Servant" appears 57 times in the New Testament, "serve" 58 — the biblical model of membership (Mark 9:35; Ephesians 3:7).
- Ten marks of an inward-focused church. From Thom Rainer's I Am a Church Member survey: worship wars, prolonged minutiae meetings, facility focus, program-driven ministry, inward budgets, inordinate demands for pastoral care, entitlement, change mattering more than the gospel, chronic anger, and evangelistic apathy. The church is not Chase Bank — only the church will preach the gospel, so the gospel stays central in every program and banquet.
- The mind of Christ. Though He was in very nature God, He did not use equality with God to His own advantage — He emptied Himself, took the nature of a servant, and became obedient to death, even the cross. That mindset, not my preferences, is the shape of membership — and where true joy is found (Philippians 2:5-11).
Walk away with this
Audit yourself and your church: where has it quietly become about me? Forgive in advance, put down the list, roll up your sleeves — and let the mind of Christ be in you.