THE EPAPHRODITUSES IN THE CHURCH St. Paul was an important witness to the Christian faith; he carried the Gospel before kings and governors. But he could not do without the kindness of all the nameless people in Philippi and Ephesus and Corinth who cared enough to send him gifts like the one brought by Epaphroditus. There some Epaphrodituses in our Churches today – a very small paid staff – we could not do all things that needs to be done without the help of countless people who offer those services without recognition or remuneration. Think about the members of the Choir; the flower arrangers; the traffic officers; the money counters; and those who provide and prepare the Holy Communion: these people do their work faithfully without any monetary compensation whatsoever. Then we have the Guild of Stewards; the Sunday school teachers; the prayer request coordinators; who work selflessly, Sunday after Sunday, month after month, in order to make things work; to fill in the gaps, and to see that the kingdom of God is on the move. It is not the ten talent people who are in the majority, but the one and two talent people who gladly use their abilities for God Almighty. They are the ones who hold everything together and make it work. They are the unsung heroes. Timothy O. S. Ayodele, The Power of Christian Stewardship [about to be printed] (Satellite Town, Lagos: Neighborhood Writers & Publications, 2013), pp. 52, 53.
Posted on: Wed, 25 Sep 2013 20:31:20 +0000