Equipped to Live as Servants

By Laura Springer with Jeff Barnhart

Key Passage: 1 Corinthians 12:12-30; Ephesians 4:11-16

Key Idea: Opportunities, knowledge, and skills given and arranged by God for all his children equip all believers to help each other follow Jesus, love others well, and serve on a mission to glorify Jesus, all serving as a church and a few serving within the church. 

God’s free gift of abundant grace compels us to serve, but sometimes we get stuck. We wonder what we have to offer or where he wants us to minister. We focus so much on serving one another that we forget to look outside the walls. We assume the professional ministers have everything handled. But God expects each believer to serve him by loving others well and has already given us everything we need to start right now. 

God gives and arranges opportunities, knowledge, and skills so that all his children can serve. Every encounter, everything we know, and everything we can do comes from God, and he brings all of this together to create ministry assignments for his children. There is no need to fill out gift inventories or wait for God to deliver our spiritual gifts, for he is already at work. Instead, we must keep identifying and sharpening what he has already given so that we are ready to meet the needs before us. As a church, let us consider every member’s knowledge and skills and spend time with one another in homes and the community, even as we continue life groups and worship service. 

Equipped believers help one another follow Jesus and love others well. God gives the gifts of opportunities, knowledge, and skills so the church might build herself up in love toward Christlikeness. As we minister to and alongside one another, we become better at trusting and obeying Jesus and learn how to share our hearts, time, and resources with others. As a church, let us infuse the expectation that being a Christian means following Jesus and serving others. All members are ministers, called and equipped by God to serve. He has called a few whose primary ministry is within the church, but all serve as the church. Let us make following Jesus and loving others simple to begin and rigorous enough to strive for. Let us commit to coming alongside one another so that, individually and communally, we learn to follow Jesus and love others well. 

Equipped believers are on a mission to glorify Jesus. Service must point outward, for Jesus commanded us to make more and better disciples. We do this by serving Jesus in the mission field of daily life, and everything we do in our gatherings must prepare us for our dispersings. Let us work to know one another and our neighbors well enough to understand real needs and allow those needs to focus our ministry. Let us help one another open our eyes and hearts to those around us, for as we serve others, both within the church and out in the world, we glorify Jesus. 

Since God has given us everything we need to serve him well, let us help one another discover God’s supply of opportunities, knowledge, and skills to love him and others through our resources and reflect Jesus in our work and play. Let us help one another better recognize Jesus’s guidance so that our love for him grows and becomes apparent to others, whether we are gathered as a family or dispersed into the mission field of daily life. Let us learn from the men and women God has given as shepherd-teachers so that together, we grow as the lived image of our Lord Jesus. 

Who writes Academy? Laura has an MDiv in Christian Education, a ThM in Systematic Theology, and a PhD in Educational Studies. She also serves TFB as a guitarist (primarily) and singer in TFB's worship band. Jeff has a Certificate in Biblical and Theological Studies and is currently working on an MA in Spiritual Formation and Soul Care. He also serves as kitchen lead for TFB's Family Dinner and as TFB’s bookkeeper. 

Expected to Live as Servants

By Laura Springer with Jeff Barnhart

Key Passages: Romans 12:9-13; Ephesians 6:1-9; 1 Peter 4:7-11

Key Idea. God expects all his children, regardless of age or status, to live a life of service. He generously provides divine grace that compels all believers to offer presence and practical action to one another, fueled by overflowing divine love and leading to ongoing, others-focused sacrificial service.  


Needs surround us. Sometimes, these needs escape our awareness. Other times, we hesitate or blatantly ignore the needs we see. We may assume that ministry professionals are taking care of the problem. The situation feels too complicated, or we presume everything requires special skills or knowledge. But what if these assumptions are all wrong? What if most ministry opportunities are the everyday acts of love God expects of all his children?

God expects all his children, regardless of age or status, to live lives of service using the knowledge and skills they already have. God places Christians in specific locations and churches, and it is every believer’s duty and honor to move through life and toward Jesus in ways that show his love and grace to those we meet. He has placed us in this village of Torrance and in this local congregation called Torrance First Baptist to carry out specific acts of service. Being service-minded is insufficient because serving is actively loving the person before us or the community surrounding us. Serving combines our know-how as a family of God’s people in this place such that needs are met, disciples are made, and God is glorified. Every believer must open their eyes and hearts to people and events, direct attention to Jesus, and show his love through practical action. It is our honor to love the children of God and followers of Jesus and consider one another more important than ourselves, all for God’s glory.

God's generous provision of divine grace compels believers to offer presence and practical action to one another. Just as God graciously gives us his presence, so are we to bind ourselves to one another, working together as individuals and a church family to serve God where we are by actively loving the people we are with. God’s gift of grace moves us toward one another in Christ-centered mutuality, loving one another as he loves us. God's generous provision of divine grace also compels us to offer practical action. Coming alongside one another is the necessary starting place. Acts of love must follow: we must use the knowledge and skills God has given us to love one another as God has loved us.

God's overflow of divine love fuels ongoing, others-focused sacrificial service. God, who is love, has given us his eternal love, which naturally flows out toward others. We can choose to stop the flow, but God’s love presses upon us and will either break through or break us. Sometimes, we may think that feelings of care are sufficient, but feelings are add-ons. Love is action that works for the good of others, whether we like them, are annoyed by them, or even hate them. It does not put up a false front or display insincere behavior. Love reaches across differences and gives of itself to point others to Jesus. Those who choose to love receive others with affection and invite them in to share life.

God's expectation, provision, and love compel us to serve him by serving others with his resources and in his ways. Ministry is the act of loving others, and God commands each Christian to love. This love is most often the stuff of ordinary life, housed in the mundane and small. Since all those who trust Jesus have been commanded to love others, they have also been called to ministry and are expected to live out that ministry in loving service.

In March, we will look at some of the ways God has equipped his people to follow and love well.

Every Member Ministry: One Church, Serving

By Laura Springer

Key Passages: Acts 6.1-6; Romans 1:11-12; 12:4-8; 1 Corinthians 1:4-9; 7:7-11; 12:4‭-‬7, 12:27-30; 2 Corinthians 5:17-‬21; Ephesians 4:7-‬16; 1 Timothy 4:14; 2 Timothy 1:3‭-‬7; 1 Peter 4:7-‬11

Key Idea: Every-member ministry is the practice of serving God and loving one another using God-given spiritual gifts, which we sharpen and deepen through discipleship, in order to form the church as a community and culture that images Jesus.

In the church, ministry is part of the deal, but what is ministry? Who ministers? How are ministers equipped? What is ministry for? During 2024, we will consider what ministry is, who should minister, how believers might be prepared for ministry, and why every-member ministry is important.

Ministry is the practice of loving one another by serving with the gifts God has already given. God has given each Christian opportunities, knowledge, and skills that fit them and their community, and these gifts are most often recognized in the moments when our skills meet a need. These gifts are the overflow of the Father's generosity toward his children, given so they might serve him well. Through these grace-gifted ministry assignments, every believer ministers.

Every believer has been equipped by God for every-member ministry. As Christians in a congregation focus on Jesus, they learn to love one another better through words, actions, and intentions. Love commits to coming alongside others within our diversity and across barriers. Love dwells in unity, with hearts leaning toward one another's good. Love serves from personal uniqueness and through mutual generosity. Love thrives in a church that supports Christ-focused differences through which believers' generous giving of self, resources, and time can be seen in speech, actions, and plans.

Believers are prepared for ministry through an all-church discipleship culture that teaches from Scripture and Creation. Along with spiritual gifts, God gives believers the responsibility to learn to serve Jesus better. We learn first by soaking in Scripture, for it teaches us what Creation cannot: that our mighty God is Creator, Lord, and Savior, and his truth is everywhere. Second, we improve our knowledge and skills by studying his Creation, which not only testifies to God's divinity and power but also teaches us knowledge and skills for wise, practical living. Both of God’s books, Scripture and Creation, train us to love well in ways that fit the needs around us. His two books teach us that loving one another as a family is hardwired into our needs and only complete in our relationship with Jesus. 

Serving God by actively loving one another creates a culture of unity, towardness, diversity, and generosity that images Jesus. Loving one another as Jesus loves us puts first what Scripture puts first: love God, love people, and teach others to do the same. By loving one another, we become a family in which every member serves, and every member gives and welcomes honest evaluation. In this way, we become a congregation that supports particular people serving Jesus in particular ways as siblings in God's one family. We become a community serving those around us in ways that fit our lives, locale, and limits.

We are commanded to love one another, and we can all love others by filling the needs we see. God expects us to strengthen and encourage one another toward Christlikeness, and we can all help one another know Jesus and his creation better. God expects us to serve one another, and every believer, from youngest to oldest, newest to most mature in Christ, can actively love their siblings in Christ. God expects us to be a ministering community. 

One Church, Serving

By Laura Springer with Jeff Barnhart

Key Passages: Ephesians 4:1-6, and Romans 12.4-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4‭-‬7; 12.27-30; 1 Peter 4:7-‬11

Key Idea: Our service to the one God as his one church is resourced by investments of grace given by Christ through the Spirit. These investments of grace line up with who we are and when and where we live; they are designed to meet the needs of those we serve so that the church may develop as the one family of God.

Amid cultural division and a widespread entitlement mentality, the church must stand as God's one church, a community of servants and a family of siblings who love God and people. What can TFB do to be God's one church in this place right now?

Christ invests his grace in his one church through opportunities and supplies to particular persons in specific places. While the church includes all who trust Christ across time and culture, the church manifests as local congregations. Just as the global, timeless church is one, so is each congregation united. Christ invests his grace in local congregations through opportunities and supplies that fit the locations and methods of individuals within each local culture and circumstance. His investments of grace help us serve him and one another in ways that mature this congregation as the one body of Christ, filled with portrayers and embodiers of him.

Christ's investment grace lines up with who we are, when and where we live, and those we serve. While Christ's investment of grace always aligns with his intention and will, he also conforms these investments of grace--these spiritual gifts--to our relationships, life settings, and places of service. He matches his gifts to how his people minister in their communities and cultures so believers can do his will. He equips all Christians so that everyone can minister. In addition, the local body partners with Christ, educating all as ministers and instructing all concerning God's truth revealed in Scripture and Creation. By this, the people of God deepen their unity and better worship their Savior. 

Christ's investment of grace enables us to develop as the one family of God. As every member ministers, the local congregation can better live as one family toward Christ, the Lord of Heaven and Earth and Head of the Body. Serving as one church and serving one another deepen our life together as siblings who are the children of one Father and the servants of Jesus. As ministry together moves toward Jesus, the source and measure of the church and the one who directs her life, we come closer to one another. These spiritual gifts, or ministry assignments, are tools by which the church grows in size and matures as the family of God in Christ. Ministering as one church lives out our unity in Christ, centers us on truth, and maintains our affection for God and one another. As we share ourselves as a community, we mature as a church characterized by unity, mutuality, diversity, and generosity. 

Being God's one church requires learning his ways so we might love one another well through service and live wisely as the one family of God. (1) The more we know about Jesus and his investments of grace in us, the better we can serve one another as his ministers. We must use our time in gatherings like life groups and worship services to teach one another God's ways. (2) The more we serve God together, the more we grow as a family of loving siblings. We must use our participation in service events and ministry teams to care for one another from hearts of affection. (3) The more we serve others using God's resources, the more we can minister in, for, and as a family. We must actively love one another as we eat, play, and work together, using our gifts to serve others and strengthen family unity. Let us decide now to be God’s church: a community of servants and a family of siblings who love God and people and teach others to do the same. 

Who writes Academy? Laura has an MDiv in Christian Education, a ThM in Systematic Theology, and a PhD in Educational Studies. She also serves TFB as a guitarist (primarily) and singer in TFB's worship band. Jeff has a Certificate in Biblical and Theological Studies and is currently working on an MA in Spiritual Formation and Soul Care. He also serves as kitchen lead for TFB's Family Dinner and as TFB’s bookkeeper. 

Being the One Church of the One God

By Laura Springer with Jeff Barnhart

Key Passages: Exodus 6:7; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Micah 6:8; Matthew 5:16; 12:46-50; 19:29; John 1:12-13; 13:34-35; Romans 8:26-30; 1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 8:5-6; 12:12-30; Galatians 3:23-29; 4:4-7; 5:13; Ephesians 1:5; 2:19-22; 4:1-6; 4:32; 5:15-21; 2 Timothy 1:13-14; Hebrews 10:19-25; 12:1-4; 13:1-6; James 5:16; 1 Peter 4:9; Revelation 21:3

Key Idea: The one church of the one God lives out an identity grounded in Jesus and practices an eternal unity centered on him.

When TFB's neighbors see us gathered on the church campus or dispersed into the community, what do they see? How would they describe our relationships with one another? What would they list as our priorities? What would they think about Jesus? What would they think about how we treat those who are different?

The one God has given his one church an identity grounded in Jesus. He has equipped us to live out this eternal identity by revealing himself and his truth in Scripture and Creation. Through Scripture, he teaches us the eternal truth about Jesus, and through Creation, he teaches us knowledge and skills to live as his people in our communities and cultures. 

Creation and the Word resource us to live as God’s one church, composed of all who trust Christ and are chosen by his sovereignty. We have been chosen to live as God’s people and Christ’s body, showing the world who Jesus is: the sovereign and holy Savior and Lord. We have been chosen to form the dwelling place of God in the world; whether gathered for worship, service, and learning or dispersed into our daily lives, we reflect and proclaim him. Everywhere we are, every moment of every day, we are the temple of God, the place where God's glory is exalted.

The one God has made his one church to live in unity. Our unity is expressed as we love God and others and live as his family. Centering our minds and practices on God's truth and dwelling in his presence work together to strengthen our unity and make the family of God increasingly important to us. Indeed, our eternal unity in Christ means that our eternal family should come before everything else on earth. 

We center our shared life on truth by basking in Jesus and his Word to develop our family resemblance, sharpen our ability to perceive God's work, and deepen our affection for one another. By loving one another, we show ourselves to be God's children and the family of siblings making up his house. We commit ourselves to maintaining deep affection for God and one another, thereby proving our unity. We channel our love for the ever-present, sovereign, and holy God to our siblings and learn to live in the world as his dwelling place. We put our eternal relationships first by maintaining deep loyalty to God and one another.

When TFB's neighbors see us gathered on the church campus or dispersed into the community, they should see a unified church that considers all who trust Christ to be brothers and sisters. They should describe us as siblings of one another, different from each other yet the children of one Father, tending our hearts toward feeling at home, being responsible, and acting with compassion. They should understand that we trust the one God, the Creator and Lord of all, worship him alone and align ourselves to his standards. They should look at us and see Jesus as the ultimately trustworthy and only Savior of all those and only those who trust him. They should see him as the one head of the church and the unique Son in God's family. They should look at how we treat those different from us and see a community with a profound unity in Jesus, loving others as he does and living as a family with Christ as our center. 

So, let us bask in Jesus and his Word to learn who we are and strive together to live out that identity, tending our hearts toward feeling confident, centered, and connected in him. Let us trust Jesus, understanding unity and diversity from his perspective, striving together to maintain oneness, and tending our hearts toward sibling love, purposeful motivation, and sacrificial generosity.

Who writes Academy? Laura has an MDiv in Christian Education, a ThM in Systematic Theology, and a PhD in Educational Studies. She also serves TFB as a guitarist (primarily) and singer in TFB's worship band. Jeff has a Certificate in Biblical and Theological Studies and is currently working on an MA in Spiritual Formation and Soul Care. He also serves as kitchen lead for TFB's Family Dinner and as TFB’s bookkeeper. 

Living as a Worshiping Family

By Jeff Barnhart with Laura Springer

Key Verses: Deuteronomy 6:4-5, Luke 11:28, Luke 9:34-35; Eph 1:3-14, 4:2, 4:32; Jn 13:34; 1 Cor 12:25; Gal 5:13; 1 Pet 4:9; Jam 5:16

Key Idea: Christians who know they are family live in community as they worship and serve together. They hear and obey their Father and actively participate in life with their siblings by doing the one anothers and sharing God’s love with the world.

We live as family by listening and obeying the Father and imitating our head brother and redeemer, Jesus, in words and deeds. We train every time we are gathered together as a spiritual family. Here, we sharpen each other to become more like Christ before we disperse to our various mission fields: at work, home, hanging with friends, gathering at a local restaurant or pub, or in the rhythms of everyday life. While dispersed, we proclaim the excellent news of redemption and restoration to our Father and declare the great mercies, blessings, and grace he has bestowed upon his children through His Son, Jesus Christ. 

We love God as a worshiping family by listening and obeying our Father. Both the Old and New Testaments see obeying God as hearing Him and walking in his ways. In biblical times, genuinely hearing God's Word implied obedience and action instead of simply acquiring additional head knowledge. Today, we must listen by making time with God throughout our busy day by spending time in the Word and continually conversing with the one who has chosen us. We must desire and do everything with God, even in our dark places and messiness. Since God has told us to listen to Jesus, we must obey and do what he has commanded: love God, love people, and teach others to do the same.

We love our siblings as a worshiping family by imitating Jesus. Like Jesus, we must put the needs of our spiritual siblings before our own. What would it look like if everyone put one another's needs before their own? We would love, care for, offer grace and hospitality, and encourage and remind each other of our true identity in Christ. We would not hold grudges but would forgive each other and confess to one another when we have done wrong. Unify God's family! The New Testament commands us to do the one anothers 59 times. That’s a lot. All of these were modeled by Jesus. As we listen to and imitate Jesus, we dare not pick and choose the things we want to obey. All his commands are critical for us to work out our salvation and, with the help of the Holy Spirit, transform us to be more like Him, thereby being the light and showing Christ to those on our mission field. 

We share Jesus's love with the world by loving our neighbors in Word and deed. We love those in our mission field by listening to and meeting them where they are as well as providing for their physical needs. We must not forget that we were once enemies of God, and only by his grace did he save us from our sins. From this position of grace, we speak God's truth with love by recognizing that everything stems from Him and explaining why He is our ultimate love.

Who writes Academy? Laura has an MDiv in Christian Education, a ThM in Systematic Theology, and a PhD in Educational Studies. She also serves TFB as a guitarist (primarily) and singer in TFB's worship band. Jeff has a Certificate in Biblical and Theological Studies and a Certificate in Spiritual Formation and is currently working on an MA in Spiritual Formation and Soul Care. He also serves as kitchen lead for TFB's Family Dinner and as TFB’s bookkeeper.

Living as Worshiping Priests

By Laura Springer with Jeff Barnhart

Key Passages: Exodus 28; Luke 10:11

Key Idea: Praising and praying together as God's priests requires aligning ourselves with Scripture and sharpening our Spirit-supplied abilities to glorify him better in and as his church. 

We have received from God more blessings than we could ever imagine, yet sometimes, our worship response is a bit flat. Our beliefs may line up perfectly with Scripture. Our practices may show the world what Jesus is like. Proper beliefs and practices are necessary but insufficient, for we are commanded to be a people overflowing with love for God and one another. Our lives ought to be filled with uncontainable gratitude, but something holds us back. God has given us all we need to be priests who shine with his glory, yet sometimes, our light is under a bushel.

Christians serve God as priests whenever we use our abilities to bring him glory. Whether setting up tables together or sitting with a brother or sister in distress, we act as God's priests by bringing his love to others. We act as his priests when we lean in with compassion rather than standing back with critique. We act as his priests when we give ourselves to others generously rather than holding back to keep ourselves safe. 

The priestly activities of praise and prayer are essential elements of every Spirit-supplied ability. Serving as priests is hard, for we are messy people who serve messy people. We can only carry out God's command to serve by praising him always and remaining in constant prayer. As we pray and praise together, we help one another love Jesus and bear with one another even when that is hard. Infusing everything with praise keeps our hearts on God rather than on our messy selves. It fills life with gratitude even when gratitude is hard. Soaking everything with prayer reminds us that we cannot serve without the Spirit, who is here among us. 

Training our perspectives to align with Scripture develops us as praising and praying priests. Priestly ministry is from God and for God. Since our view of things is always skewed, we must let his Word determine the right goals and proper means for our priestly work. His Word measures correct belief, so we must study and rely upon Scripture. His view of reality is accurate, so we must submit our filters and lenses to him for correction. Maturing our understanding of Scripture and calibrating our discernment occurs as we minister together as a community of priests. As we learn the Word and speak the truth to one another, we come to know God and his priorities more accurately, allowing us to align ministry to his will rather than our preferences. But aligning with Scripture is only step one. 

Sharpening our Spirit-supplied abilities helps us better glorify Jesus as his Body and in our communities. Aligning our perspectives with Scripture is necessary, but we must not stop there. Our Spirit-equipped human abilities need sharpening as well. If you bake, become a better baker. If you preach, become a better preacher. If you listen, become a better listener. You get the idea. Sharpen what God has given rather than envying or waiting for what he has not. Glorify God to the best of your ability, and keep raising the bar.

So, let us know the Scripture more deeply. Let us pray more bluntly. Let us praise more descriptively. Let us learn to do all of this with overflowing, extravagant gratitude. It will not be easy, and we will fail. But the Spirit is right here. Our siblings in Christ are right here. Let us remind one another of God's amazing grace. Let us minister to one another with that same grace. Let us live as priests.

Who writes Academy? Laura has an MDiv in Christian Education, a ThM in Systematic Theology, and a PhD in Educational Studies. She also serves TFB as a guitarist (primarily) and singer in TFB's worship band. Jeff has a Certificate in Biblical and Theological Studies and a Certificate in Spiritual Formation and is currently working on an MA in Spiritual Formation and Soul Care. He also serves as kitchen lead for TFB's Family Dinner and as TFB’s bookkeeper