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It always amazes me how different one family is from another. Each family has different stories, different habits, different ways of unwinding, different places to go on holidays. In this sense we could say that each family has a unique ‘feel’.

Churches are no different. Even churches that share so much of what they believe can have a different ‘feel’. We could call this the church ‘culture’ or ‘ethos’. It’s not so much what we want to happen, but what actually happens. ‘Ethos’ includes our collective desires and purposes, and what we are actually working towards.

So, what’s the point?

The point is that three or four decades ago people would make a decision about which church to attend on the basis of doctrine. Today most people make a decision about attending a church on the basis of ‘ethos’. We might wonder whether that’s really the best basis on which to make a decision, and the truth is it may not be. But that doesn’t change the reality that questions of church culture and ethos dominate people’s minds when they are looking for a church.

This is one of the reasons we have to think about our ethos. The question is two-fold: what is our current ethos, and what do we believe it should be? Put it a different way: what’s the typical Redlands CRC ‘feel’? And: ‘what should it be?’

Now, that question can be answered from numerous perspectives: what it means for witness, for community, for worship, for social issues. Today I just want us to consider what it means for how we use our gifts and how we serve.

If we think of that great passage about the body of Christ (1 Cor 12): it’s clear that every part of that body is important. Try thinking of a part of your own body you can do without – what would it be? An eye? A toe? A few of your teeth? A leg? Truth is, whenever we permanently lose a part of our body, we are disabled!

So, can Christ’s body do without your contribution, or your talent, or your service? No way! The body may survive, but it will limp all the way.

Our ethos needs to reflect that: it needs to be seen in the way we do and experience church together. As a royal priesthood and a holy nation, we need an ethos where people naturally think…

• It’s normal for me to be serving by using my gifts
• It’s normal for the church to equip me for this work
• It’s normal to see every person’s contribution as indispensable for the healthy operation of the body of Christ
• It’s abnormal for me to be uninvolved, to stay on the sideline, or worse: to be told I’m not needed

So think about it

• Do you know what your major gifts are? Would you like some help working them out, or seeing how you can use them better?
• Will you support your church as we reshape the ‘service’ element of our ethos?
• Will you ask God to show you how to serve him better?

Have a great week, church!