God does this incredible thing in churches. He always seems to make sure His places of worship have what they need to accomplish their mission — inside and outside their doors. And he does that through His people.

I have come to see church involvement as a series of concentric circles that progressively get smaller and smaller to the center, like the waves created by dropping a rock into a pond.

There are those who feel a desire to be involved in the inner workings of the church. And often, they volunteer for any and every job. You will find them on the church council and key committees. The live in the inner circle, and churches absolutely need them.

There are those who will choose to be involved in some things, yet select their service carefully, being sure to gauge their volunteerism. They are often found in the many circles between the small inner circles and those in the periphery. They move between these circles, becoming more or less involved — shifting closer to the center or further to the periphery. And churches absolutely need them too.

And there are those who settle in on the outer circles, feeling comfortable simply being part of the worshiping community. Where would we be without these folks? Churches absolutely need then as well.

Regardless of where you may be at this moment, I believe it is spiritually healthy to move between the circles. That is, I believe it is spiritually healthy to feel the pull to step up and become more involved. And I also believe it is spiritually healthy to step back on occasion and just be part of the congregation.

Sometimes, congregants feel they are crashing a party of cliques made up of those who seem to always be in the center circles when they offer their service. Likewise, congregants may also feel a tinge of guilt when stepping back. But, both those movements are healthy things for a church.

Parishioners may move to the center when they have more free time, or when they get struck by the conviction that they must respond to God’s grace in some way. Similarly, churchgoers may move to the periphery when they feel “over-volunteered” or “under-appreciated.”

Let’s face it: Church work can sometimes feel like making sausage; you get less enthused about it when you know what goes into the final product. The management of a church can be quite imperfect at times.

Still, what I am convinced about is this: God has an incredible knack of nudging people to step up exactly when the need arises. It is simply amazing. It just happens; we pastors do not control it. I, for one, just step back and watch with continued awe.

The more I am in ministry, the more I see God’s involvement in the church clearly. And He always seems to know — a lot more than we do — what to do.

Thank God for that.