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By: Pastor Berg

When I was 10 years old, my family moved from California to Wisconsin.  That meant a new place to live and a new place to go to school. Gone were my friends, my familiarity with the school, and perhaps most frighteningly, my role in that school environment. In California, I knew exactly where I fit. I knew exactly what it took to be a part of that school and exactly what I needed to do to fulfill my role. That certainly wasn’t the case on the first day of school in August of 1988.

I stood on the sidelines that first recess while the rest of the boys in my class went and played football. I loved football and I really wanted to play; yet I was hesitant because I didn’t really know where I fit  I didn’t know the kids, I didn’t know the school; I didn’t know what it took to fit in.

Do you feel that way when it comes to your place in the church? You may have been a member of the church since you were a baby or you may have recently joined as an adult. So where do you fit in? What is your role as a member? As always, the best place to look when we face uncertainty is the Bible. It is in the Scriptures that God has given us his design for the Church and its members.

The Church is made up of people who believe in Jesus as their Savior. That God-given belief, which we call faith, is what makes you a member. And as a member you have certain privileges and responsibilities. The apostle Peter wrote in his first letter, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, the people who are God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). God has chosen every member of the Church for a specific purpose: to declare his praises. But what exactly does that mean?

Declaring God’s praises sounds like something you would do in a worship service doesn’t it? Certainly that’s true! The best way to worship God is to praise him by proclaiming the great things he has done. Arthur Just from Concordia Theological Seminary once said, “We praise God best when we proclaim his word, not when we say ‘he is an awesome God.'” — when the redemptive note is at the core, we praise him best; when we praise him for his redeeming acts by telling others and ourselves about his redeeming acts.” However, we’re certainly not limited as the Church to proclaiming God’s praises, essentially proclaiming the Gospel, in a public worship service. No, Jesus gave us a much broader audience when he said, “Therefore go and gather disciples from all nations by baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and by teaching them to keep all the instructions I have given you.” (Matthew 28:19-20). As a member of God’s Church, I have been chosen to declare his praises, to proclaim his Gospel among my fellow Church members and to the world!

That’s a huge responsibility. Not all of us have the same gifts, the same resources, or the same abilities. So where do we fit in? Daniel March, in his mission hymn, “Hark! The Voice of Jesus Crying,” put it so well: If you cannot speak like angels, if you cannot preach like Paul, you can tell the love of Jesus; you can say he died for all. If you cannot rouse the wicked with the Judgment’s dread alarms, you can lead the little children to the Savior’s waiting arms. If you cannot be a watchman, standing high on Zion’s wall, pointing out the path to heaven, offering life and peace to all, with your prayers and with your offerings you can do what God demands; you can be like faithful Aaron, holding up the prophet’s hands.

                        God has called each of us to be a member of his Church.  He’s given us each the means and the ability in our own unique way to declare his praises! That’s where we fit in! Like the many parts of the body work together for the good of the whole, we, as members of God’s church, work together to declare his praises.