{"id":83,"date":"2020-05-11T12:20:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-11T11:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thirteencreative.co.uk\/onelife25\/?p=83"},"modified":"2025-12-01T12:22:01","modified_gmt":"2025-12-01T12:22:01","slug":"celebration-of-discipline-week-8-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thirteencreative.co.uk\/onelife25\/celebration-of-discipline-week-8-service","title":{"rendered":"Celebration of Discipline Week 8: Service"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you have been around church for even a little while, you will undoubtedly heard a request for more people to \u2018serve on a team\u2019 \u2013 whether that\u2019s kids work or the coffee rota.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

None of these ways of serving are bad things! But it\u2019s easy for this type of service to shape and limit our understanding of the spiritual discipline<\/em> of service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The significance of service is not only in blessing those we serve, but in the way it shapes us to be more like Jesus. Bernard of Clairvaux says:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Learn the lesson that, if you are to do the work of a prophet what you need is not a sceptre but a hoe.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last week, we explored the discipline of submission. While submission might look like a cross, service often looks like a towel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus says in John 13:14\u201315:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018If I then, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another\u2019s feet. For I have also given you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus was doing more than telling his disciples to wash one another\u2019s feet \u2013 he was getting at something deeper. Like his disciples, we are all called to take the place of a servant and be willing to serve those around us, just as Jesus did. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Richard Foster spends a good portion of his chapter on service exploring whether we have the right heart when it comes to service. The wrong state of the heart can lead to \u2018self-righteous service,\u2019 where service comes through human effort, and is concerned about making impressive gains and requires external rewards. \u2018True service\u2019 is rooted in our relationship with Jesus. True service delights in the service itself, whether private or public, and builds community rather than fracturing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To master the discipline of service, we first need to learn draw near to Jesus and learn to be<\/em> with him and get to know him. As we do this, he shapes our hearts and the service which stems from this place will be \u2018true service\u2019, rather than \u2018self-righteous\u2019 service. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You may have come across the idea of \u2018love languages\u2019 before. The idea is that we each express and experience love \u2013 whether it\u2019s romantic or platonic \u2013 in five core ways: words of affirmation, acts of service, receiving gifts, quality time and physical touch. Usually we have one primary and one secondary love language. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My mum\u2019s primary love language is definitely acts of service! She is constantly serving those around her wherever she is. You would be hard-pressed to have spent longer than two minutes before she is already serving you in some way, whether it\u2019s making you a cup of tea, serving up a mega Chinese feast (her absolute speciality), or there with paintbrush in hand helping you decorate your house. My mum is thoroughly servant-hearted, formed through years of happily serving others without caring whether anyone else sees her doing so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Foster highlights the great value of small, everyday acts of service which require constant sacrifice, and which flow from a place of being <\/em>a servant \u2013 rather than the great virtues of (often) one-off public acts of service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Foster, \u2018service is not a list of things to do, though in it we discover things to do. It is not a code of ethics, but a way of living.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Richard Foster highlights nine different types of service which come under this \u2018way of living\u2019:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1.     Service of hiddenness<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2.     Service of small things<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3.     Service of guarding the reputation of others<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4.     Service of being served <\/p>\n\n\n\n

5.     Service of common courtesy<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6.     Service of hospitality (but don\u2019t forget to #StayHome)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7.     Service of listening<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8.     Service of bearing the burdens of each other <\/p>\n\n\n\n

9.     Service of sharing the word of life with one another<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bible encourages us to serve in each of these ways \u2013 and reminds us that it\u2019s as much for our benefit as for the benefit of others. This week I\u2019m going to be focusing on one type of service: the service of bearing the burdens of each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This type of service struck me to as being particularly relevant in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic. Galatians 6:2 gives us a clear instruction: \u2018Bear one another\u2019s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.\u2019 Right now, we desperately need to be a community which really <\/em>looks out for and cares for one another. Many of us will know someone who is walking quite literally through the valley of the shadow of death, or having a tough time with financial insecurity looming, or struggling with the loneliness of lockdown. Now more than ever, they need someone to come alongside them (at a social distance, naturally) to simply love and care for them, helping them carry their burdens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And as we practice the discipline of service we will grow in humility. Foster says: \u2018More than any other single way, the grace of humility is worked into our lives through the discipline of service.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, though, a word of caution \u2013 as you seek to grow in the discipline of service, pray for an increase of wisdom and discernment so that you will know when to say \u2018yes\u2019 and \u2018no\u2019. All to often I say \u2018yes\u2019 to too much and catch myself becoming bitter, or even burning myself out. For many of us, obedience will look like saying \u2018no\u2019 as much as it is saying \u2018yes\u2019!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Challenges for this week:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1.     One person:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think of one person who you know is struggling in lockdown. Pick up your phone, drop them a text or send them a card to see how you can serve them so as to bear their burdens. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2.     Pray for the small things:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Foster encourages us to wake up every morning and pray: \u2018Lord Jesus, as it would please you, bring me someone today who I can serve.\u2019 How about starting every day this week with this prayer and seeing how God leads you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Richard Foster recommends these daily scripture readings as explore service this week:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Monday:<\/strong> The call of service<\/em> \u2013 Matthew 20:20\u201328<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tuesday:<\/strong> The sign of service<\/em> \u2013 John 13:1\u201317<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wednesday:<\/strong> The commitment of service<\/em> \u2013 Exodus 21:2, 5\u20136, 1 Corinthians 9:19<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thursday:<\/strong> The attitude of service<\/em> \u2013 Colossians 3:23\u201325<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Friday:<\/strong> Service in the Christian fellowship <\/em>\u2013 Romans 12:9\u201313<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saturday: <\/strong>The ministry of small things \u2013 <\/em>Matthew 25:31\u201319<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sunda<\/strong>y: Service exemplified<\/em> \u2013 Luke 10:29-37<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Read about the discipline of Service, from our series unpacking the Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":84,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-83","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thirteencreative.co.uk\/onelife25\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thirteencreative.co.uk\/onelife25\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thirteencreative.co.uk\/onelife25\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thirteencreative.co.uk\/onelife25\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thirteencreative.co.uk\/onelife25\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thirteencreative.co.uk\/onelife25\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85,"href":"https:\/\/thirteencreative.co.uk\/onelife25\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83\/revisions\/85"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thirteencreative.co.uk\/onelife25\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/84"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thirteencreative.co.uk\/onelife25\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thirteencreative.co.uk\/onelife25\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thirteencreative.co.uk\/onelife25\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}