We all seek greatness, and as we see in Matthew 18:1-6, even the disciples of Jesus where excited to know who would be the greatest after Jesus establishes His kingdom on earth.

Sad to say, but this mind set is all over our local churches, denominational structures, and parachurch organizations. Here in America, church has a certain culture, and many of us are experts at fitting in with that church culture. We know the right things to say. We know the right way to dress. We know the right songs and when to say “amen”. We know how to play church.

Not only do we know how to play church, we know that there is a structure of power and popularity involved in most churches. All churches are different. For some churches it’s who has the best suit. For others it’s who has the coolest “Jesus” tattoo. For some churches it’s who gives the most money, and for others it’s who can talk the most pious talk. All churches express the struggle for power and popularity differently, but it’s often there. It seems so easy to fall into such thinking. Our fellowships are constantly under attack from an enemy who enjoys inserting envy, jealousy, and strife in the midst of God’s people.

Even though most of us are way too clever to say it out loud, we often go into church with the same worldly mindset that we have in every other social organization: Who here is the greatest and where on the totem poll do I fit? Are you the janitor, or are you the deacon? Have you been a faithful member for 50 years, or have you just been baptized after spending most of your life in sin? Are you in a church that values the young at the expense of the old or vise versa? Do you chair one of the committees, or are you one of those people whose opinion never gets solicited? Are you among the important or the insignificant?

We all seek greatness, but we often don’t understand true greatness. Please join us this Sunday morning as we look at Matthew 18:1-6 and learn about true greatness in the kingdom of God.