Yesterday I was outside working in the yard and watering my plants which were incredibly thirsty in this Summer Alabama heat! I have several rose bushes in the back of our house and my Mother, who is a wonderful gardener admonished me to "deadhead" my roses. For those of you who like me have no clue what that means, it means that the old rose heads that are left after the roses have bloomed and the petals have died and fallen off, need to be cut off. And the reason my Mother said they have to be cut off is because if they are not, nourishment continues to go to them, thus taking the nourishment away from budding roses. Sure enough, every time I "deadhead" my roses, getting rid of them, I wake up to multiple new growth and flourishing plants. It's amazing!!!

So, as I am out there "deadheading" my roses, I began to ask the Lord what I could learn through this exercise and the Lord brought this to my mind: in the Church today, there are many "deadheads"....people who go to worship, and take what the preacher gives, take from the other ministries (as a babysitting service, childcare, Sunday School teacher, etc) and never contribute one thing. They are also the first to complain when things don't scratch their itch and they rarely if ever give their tithes and additional offerings to the Church, especially during these economic times (as if God isn't aware of the strain and therefore relieves us of our obligation to tithe and thus strengthen our faith!)

Deadheads in our Churches suck all the nourishment out of the Church, yet they are not blooming, not contributing, not ministering....

So the question behooves all of us: are you a deadhead? (don't get mad at me! but if the shoe fits....) are you being poured into and not pouring out? are you being poured into and not receiving and thus have nothing to pour out? are you taking and not giving back? (I am also aware that there are times of struggle, where some need to be poured into and just receive and can't give back at that time....God knows our hearts, and He's good with that)

This is not to condemn or to shame anyone. It is however to stop and make us think. Have we taken on the mentality that it is the pastor's job, or the other staff people's job, or the certain lay leaders who seem to know what they are doing, or the more talented people, or the more beautiful people, or______________________ (you fill in the blank).
God says that He gave each of us spiritual gifts and abilities that are specifically needed to edify the Church. They were not to hoard to yourself, to use for worldly purposes, nor to only use when they benefit you. They were given to edify the body of Christ. The question then becomes: will you allow them to be used in that way? Will you allow God to take your specifically needed gifts to edify the body in your local church, community, and world?

May we be challenged that our existence is not for our own selfish pleasures, but for others......for the salvation of the lost and the edifying of the Body of Christ.

And may we no longer find deadheads in our Churches, but rather those blooming with the gifts of the Spirit, and filling our Churches with the fragrance of Christ.

1 Comment

1. Michelle on July 29, 2010 at 7:05 AM

   Amen Jena. What a amazing church we would have if everyone came ready to give to the service, ready to praise the Lord and give 100% to Him! Can you imagine?