“Pew-Sitting”

Monday, January 07, 2019

     Hello.  I was curious to know from the Bible's standpoint, is it mandatory for the believer to work in their church?  (Like sing, usher, handle the money, help with lighting and audio, things like that?)  I'm sure it's a good idea, but if a believer wanted to just sit, is it his or her right?  Or is it a biblical duty to do something in the church?

Sincerely,
Ready To Rest

Dear Ready To Rest,

What you are describing is the church assembly, not the church.  The Bible describes the church as the people who make up a local congregation.  For example, Acts 14:27 talks about gathering the church together because the church is the people, and they needed to gather to have a meeting.  God designed the church to always be working, and every christian must be someone who works and bears fruit for God (Eph 4:16, Jhn 15:8).  It is impossible to be a faithful member of Christ’s church and not be actively serving Him in some way.

However, what you are describing is working in the worship service.  There are some parts of worship that every member must do (i.e. sing to the Lord – Eph 5:19 and take the Lord’s Supper – 1 Cor 11:33), but there are other tasks that aren’t group activities.  For example, women are specifically prohibited from preaching or leading during services (1 Cor 14:34).  Christians are expected to worship and not forsake the assembly (Heb 10:24), but that doesn’t mean someone needs to take a leadership role in the assembly in order to be faithful.  We must all be active participants in worship, but participation isn’t the same as having a specific leadership role.

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