Volunteering to Take Ownership

 “No person was ever honored for what he received. Honor is given by what he gave.”

-Calvin Coolidge (Former U.S. President)

A lot of people at work and in my life ask me what I do on my weekends, and I normally respond with something to the likes of, “Well, I typically start the weekend by helping my church setup our main stage and I serve my church as best I can on Sundays by playing on our worship team and packing up our stage when our church service is over.” At first glance, you may not take notice to a whole lot with my response. In fact, you may conclude that my response would be typical to that of a volunteer in a church or any other setting.

However, re-read the response and take notice of a few words I used intentionally:

“Well, I typically start the weekend by helping my church setup our main stage and I serve my church as best I can on Sundays with playing on our worship team and packing up our stage when our church service is over.”

Those words I emphasized show the main difference between being a volunteer in service and taking ownership of the service itself. A person who truly takes ownership is one who devotes much of themselves to that thing, item, or cause. In my case, I take ownership in where and how I serve at my church.

I am not saying that volunteers are a bad or unnecessary by any means. In fact, a church may live and die by the quality and quantity of its volunteer base at any given moment.

However, a volunteer may exhibit some or all of the following traits:

• A volunteer may only serve when it is convenient on their schedule and may not commit themselves to what may be required or needed. 
• A volunteer may only give what they are comfortable in giving (time, resources, etc.) and not necessarily what may be required or needed.
• A volunteer’s attitude may be one of self-entitlement or self-glory (i.e. I’m volunteering my time and resources, so I deserve the credit) and they may act as if only they can fulfill their particular position.
• A volunteer may not be the most reliable in fulfilling goals linked to the overall vision.
• A volunteer may jump from location to location to serve with other friends or family, meaning they do not fully commit anywhere.

A volunteer, while great in theory, can only go so far with what they are responsible for. I believe that if people are serious about making an impact in their own communities for Christ, they need to get off the volunteer bench and start owning up to their callings.

“But where is the biblical significance of taking ownership of what I do?” one may ask. “Isn’t volunteering my time and resources enough anymore?” I would respond that real, positive change in our culture begins with someone taking personal responsibility and personal ownership for what they do in their service to Jesus, whether with a church, an outreach program, and so on.

However, let us look upon the main biblical principal on taking ownership. The truth of the matter is that everything within our possession or within our care ultimately belongs to God (Psalms 24:1) and because God is our “owner,” we can reasonably expect Him to take care of His possessions with the greatest of care. So when God asks us to manage His possessions (material or otherwise), what should our response be? We should be faithful with them, as instructed in 1 Corinthians 4:

“Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.” (Verse 2 [NIV])

Why should you be faithful with what God entrusts to you? Check out His reaction when we are:

“Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” (Matthew 25:21 [NIV])

I don’t know about you, but I want to share in my Master’s happiness! I want to be a person who can be trusted and counted on in the things (few or many) that God places in my charge. I want to have God say to me, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”

So what does it look like to be an owner of where you serve or what you do? Check out some of the traits someone who takes ownership may exhibit:

• An owner will serve and fulfill their commitments (the saying “Let my ‘yes’ be yes and my ‘no’ be no” comes into mind here). 
• An owner is willing to give what is necessary and required and then some without hesitation.
• An owner knows that it is not all about them and joyfully gives of their time and resources. An owner also shares their position and responsibilities with other interested people (not being possessive).
• An owner may be considered a reliable entity in seeing the overall vision accomplished in the long-term.
• An owner will remain committed to where they serve, regardless who may come and go.

 My encouragement for you reading this is to step out and seek out a place or position (in your church, local organizations, etc.) that you can passionately serve at. Learn all you can about it and give all you can with joy and see how God transforms your life and the lives of others around you. YOU have the potential to be someone of great importance in God’s eyes, but it starts with being faithful with the few things God places in your care.

So what are you waiting for? Get out there and start taking ownership of what you do!