the million-dollar layman by Greg Ketteman       Find out more about Free Will Baptist Bible College at www.fwbbc.edu.

ADAM "PAC-MAN" JONES, All-American football player at West Virginia University, was a first round NFL draft choice in 2005, inking a multi-million-dollar contract with the Tennessee Titans. As a rookie, Pacman started 15 games. His play in the defensive secondary and as a top punt returner stymied Titans’ opponents and electrified fans. But off the field, Pacman did not earn the respect of opponents or fans.

His penchant for trouble with the law embarrassed the Titans and the National Football League. Pacman’s outrageous off-the-field conduct prompted Commissioner Roger Goodell to suspend him from playing in the league. The multi-talented, multi-million dollar athlete turned out to be more trouble than he was worth.

Jones doesn’t believe he is accountable to anyone, preferring to be seen as a maverick. He refuses to change his behavior for the benefit of his family, his friends, his fans, the NFL, and, most significantly, his teammates. Instead of making the most of his physical talents, newfound wealth, and lofty position in the world of sports, his chief aim in life is to please himself. Pacman’s allegiance is to himself.

More Trouble Than Worth

We have some wonderful and gifted laymen in our ranks who almost carry the local church on their shoulders. These amazing men go all-out to demonstrate godly leadership and influence their communities for Christ. I know many of them and have the highest respect for them.

Sadly, there are also some “million-dollar laymen” in our churches who are a little like Pacman Jones. They bring impressive abilities and resources into the local church, and their potential for building up the local body of Christ is indisputable. But selfish conduct and short-sighted behavior damage the testimony of the church and shame fellow Christians. Like Pacman Jones, they turn out to be more trouble than they’re worth.

I wonder if Pacman has ever considered that without the teams and NFL structure, gifted football players would have no stage on which to perform. And of course, there are no one-man teams in the NFL.

Similarly, God gives gifts and resources to all of us and expects us to use what He’s given in the body of Christ. The church is designed to maximize who we are as Christians. Paul reminds us (1 Corinthians 12) that there are no one-member bodies. The terms “maverick” and “Christian” are antithetical and cannot logically coexist.

The local church is where individual Christian faith and God-given gifts intersect to bring accountability to the body of Christ. The million-dollar layman understands he is accountable to Christ and is willing to commit himself to a life of service and discipline out of love for the body of Christ, of which he is but one member.

Accountable Like Pastors

The million-dollar layman employs God’s priceless gift of salvation through Christ, the lofty spiritual position he occupies, and his God-given talents and abilities for God through the local church. Peter explains (1 Peter 2:9) our standing as a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people that should show forth the praises of Him who called us out of darkness, into His marvelous light.

This verse says every Christian has been set aside to declare God’s praises and serve Him. In God’s eyes, the role of the layman in His work is no less significant than the role of the pastor. The layman is no less accountable than the pastor for living a life that declares God’s praises and serves Him.

Biblical Million-Dollar Laymen

The Bible speaks of million-dollar laymen who lived up to their potential. One of the most famous laymen in scripture, Stephen, was chosen by the body to serve. He gave his life as a Christian martyr; he understood that he had been set aside to declare God’s praises and serve Him (Acts 6 - 7).

Phillip, another deacon chosen along with Stephen, proclaimed Christ as a powerful evangelist. He submitted his gifts and resources and became accountable to the body of Christ (Acts 6 – 8).

Nehemiah, an Old Testament layman, engaged in a difficult building project, working patiently with God’s people, symbolically and literally declaring God’s praises and serving Him. God used Nehemiah’s gifts, resources, and experiences in a unique and powerful way because of his burden for the work (Nehemiah 1).

Million-Dollar Layman Job Description

Laymen are accountable to the local body of believers as husbands and fathers. Fellow believers know these men are to live out Ephesians chapters five and six by loving their wives and raising their children. The million-dollar layman is accountable for right thinking as commanded in Philippians 4:8. He is accountable for practicing pure religion and undefiled before God, visiting the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and keeping himself unspotted from the world (James 1:27).

The million-dollar layman has a genuine, personal relationship with Jesus Christ and is a student of God’s Word (Heb. 11:6; 2 Tim. 2:15). As a Christian leader in his home, he earns the respect of his wife and family (Eph. 5:22-6:4). He lives a life of integrity; not just at church, but in his home, at his work, with his friends, and in his community (Eph. 5:15-20; I Thess. 4:1-11; I Tim. 3:8-13). He is able to both encourage and rebuke in love (Col. 4:6; Eph. 4:15). He asks “What is my service in the body of Christ?” (Phil. 3:8-11), rather than what the body of Christ can do for him.

The million-dollar layman is committed for the long haul (Heb. 10:19-25). He is reliable (I Cor. 15:58). He is not lazy but does more than his share (Gal. 6:1-9). He serves others and is not focused on perks and privileges (Phil. 2:1-11). He is not satisfied with the status quo (Phil. 3:13,14). He is generous, kind, and patient (I Cor. 13).

I have come to appreciate the way God uses my local church to hold me accountable. Accountability restrains me from my natural selfishness and arrogance, and encourages me to live up to God’s expectations for me within the body.

Simple things like other members seeing me at church regularly or hearing me pray for the lost are subtle ways I am held accountable. When I promise to teach a Sunday School class or when I take communion and thank God for sacrificing His Son to atone for my sins, my accountability is obvious to me and others. When

I join fellow believers helping others in need, I am making myself accountable to the body.

Worth His Weight in Gold

Pacman Jones may reject the idea that he is accountable to anyone, but his stubborn rebellion doesn’t make it true. Our refusal to maximize our gifts through the body of Christ will not change the truth of God’s Word and His design for our lives. On the other hand, the million-dollar layman who lives up to his potential in the body of Christ by making himself accountable to his Lord through the local church is worth his weight in gold.

ABOUT THE WRITER: Dr. Greg Ketteman, provost at Free Will Baptist Bible College, is a deacon at Cross Timbers Free Will Baptist Church in Nashville, Tennessee.