The vision for serving at Holy Trinity is not rooted in need. Needs will be brought to your attention as the occasion arises. But they will never be used to badger or manipulate you to do anything.
Rather, serving finds its place among us at Holy Trinity as an aspect of our inward journey into Christlikeness. There are no more powerful words on this topic than those of Jesus: Even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for others…
Jesus gave his life in an utterly unique way. For us, as imitators of Christ, giving our lives for others means to give our time, energy and money; it means loving one another—that is positively working for the good of others…To serve others well may call us into a few supportive spiritual disciplines. For instance frugality.
In frugality we abstain from using the money or goods at our disposal in ways that merely gratify our desires or our hunger for status, glamor, or luxury. Practicing frugality means we stay within the bounds of what common good judgment would designate as necessary for the kind of life to which Jesus is lead us.
Serving is also an aspect of the outward journey: In the discipline of service to others we engage our goods and strength in the active promotion of the good of others and the causes of God in our world. Serving others can also train us away from arrogance, possessiveness, envy, resentment or covetousness.
We practice such disciplines not as legalisms, not to earn anything from God, but to shape us into the kinds of people who naturally pitch in to help at church, among our neighbors and at work, etc.
I would love, appreciate, highly value and be thankful for your service at and through Holy Trinity. I ask you for it—there are plenty of places to pitch in…and you are warmly welcomed to invent something new. Grab a few new acquaintances at Holy Trinity and start some kind of group or way to serve the community. Be as creative as you would like.
Together we are on the journey inward as disciples of Jesus and the outward journey, that our spiritual growth would be for the sake of others…
– Todd Hunter