Healthy, Growing Churches (3)

“If I then, yourLord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.” John 13.14-17

Commentary on the Gospel of John 9
Cyril of Alexandria (375-444)
“The mind of the One who sent them should be a sufficient yardstick of the glory they seek. It is as if he were saying, ‘You will be laughed right out of the divine tribunal if your pride gets in the way of doing for each other what I have done for you. You are servants. I, on the other hand, have always been from the very beginning, by nature, your God and Lord.’ It would be preposterous and the height of madness for servants who, by definition, are inferior to their master, to be ashamed at the idea of being servants to one another.”

Sent like Jesus, the saints of God are called to seek the lost. They are also charged with the mandate of serving one another in love, like Jesus did. Shepherds must equip the saints for works of service, so that, like Jesus, they know how to identify ministry opportunities, prepare for them appropriately, then set aside pride and fear to reach out to the people in their Personal Mission Field. We wash the feet of others when we speak a timely and affirming word, come alongside to listen and pray, help in some task, or do what we can to meet some need. Too many Christians regard themselves as the objects of service, rather than the providers. They want something to be done for them, and so, in our churches, we sponsor as many activities and events as we can think of, so that people will “find a niche” or “get involved.” Instead, we should be equipping them for lives of self-denial, cross-bearing, and washing feet. Healthy, growing churches are made of members who understand they’ve been sent like Jesus, and who seek the equipping they need for serving one another.

What are some examples of the kind of everyday opportunities for serving that disciples might expect to encounter? How is your church equipping them to step into such situations and serve?

T. M. Moore

How goes the work of shepherding?
Pastor, where are you in your walk with and work for the Lord? Are you growing? Covering all the bases? Working fruitfully toward the Kingdom of God? Shepherding God’s flock? Our Pastoral Hope Initiative can help you establish a framework and baseline for steady, fruitful growth. Using a variety of assessment tools, together with the book Fan into Flame, this 14-week protocol will give you a thorough look at the state of your ministry. Men, if you think you might want to work through this with me, watch this brief video, then, if you’re interested, let me hear from you at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Quotations from Church Fathers are from the Ancient Christian Commentary Series, published by InterVarsity Press.