Common obstacles

Serving in CCF leadership has taught the importance of encouraging other members to serve. Some people tend to actively think about serving and some not. And many times when I encourage people to serve, I get reasons why they don't want to serve. Some are valid, some I like to challenge here:

I am inadequate

Undoubtedly, the realization of our sinfulness is important to realize how vast God's grace is. But satan can use it to attack our sense of worth and self-esteem. The sense of guilt of sin can be so big that we are deterred from wanting to do anything for God because we feel so unworthy. 

The important thing is to know and be convinced that Jesus' blood has cleansed us from all sins. Hebrews 4:14-16 and Hebrews 10:22 are powerful verses that reminds us that we have a great priest, Jesus, who understands us, and is interceding for us, and that through Him we have access to the Father. 

In a sense, we are all unworthy, but because of the costly blood that Jesus shed for us, we find our worth and identity in Christ, and is in Jesus where we put our trust in.

"For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins." - 2 Peter 1:5-9

It's intimidating

I agree. I was afraid of public speaking, and serving in certain positions, I have to stand up to say something to the fellowship. And in the first bible studies I led, there was definitely fear in me.  In committee, there were many moment of fear... 

Obviously, as I grew closer to God, and got more experience, the fear tends to dissipate. But I am a weak man, so I am still afraid. 

The key is to know how to react to that fear. Matthew 14:30 is a good example of how our first response should be to seek help from our Lord. Ultimately, we have to realize that it is not through my power that I serve, but through the power of the Holy Spirit. If we understand that we are vessels that allows the Spirit to work in us, we are able to find strength.

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." - Joshua 1:9

I don't know enough about Christianity

Well, I think no one will ever know and understand 100% of the bible. It's amazing how every time I read a familiar passage, I am able to get new revelations. The Word of God is so rich!

So what is enough? I think some roles might require some matured Christian knowledge, but there are plenty of roles that do not require Christian theology expertise. Also, you need to start from somewhere. I would placed more priority in the desire to grow and learn vs threshold of knowledge. 

For example, when I first led bible studies, I wasn't too well nourished with biblical knowledge. I understood the basics of my faith and knew some familiar books of the bible. I remembered in one member's meeting, there was a concern that bible studies were a bit shallow, and I thought the bible studies were so deep! 

But as I continued to lead bible studies, God really showed me many things about how powerful His Word is, and this transformed my life. It is actually through serving that I learned the most about Christianity.

I don't have enough time

Everyone has 24 hours. Of course, people have different priorities and commitments. The main question is, what are your priorities? Is Jesus your number one? Because if God is up there, then I would want to prioritize my time for what God wants me to do.

Honestly, there are many ways I can make time. I personally like to read manga and watch anime. Sometimes, I abuse of it and it ends up taking a lot of my time. It is not good. We live in a very distractive world. There can always be improvements for my time management. 

The important thing is to know the size of your plate (as my last blog post). Make sure to full it up with what God is entrusted to you, so that you can use your full potential to serve Him.

Conclusion

Let's examine ourselves carefully, as I had used some of these reasons myself. When I think about it, they are just excuses of my lack of willingness to serve. It really boils down to either me being selfish and me having a lack of faith (of the effectiveness of the blood of Christ and the power of God). Faith can be explosive. Do we really believe God?

"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him" - Hebrews 11:6