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Serving without Sinking: How to serve Christ and keep your joy

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Many of us are serving, and feel like we're sinking. We feel joyless, weary and burdened. John Hindley shows how Jesus was telling the truth when he offered people an "easy yoke"—a way of serving him that is joyful and liberating. He explains why serving is so often joyless—and how our identity in Christ changes everything. If you are serving, but sometimes feel as though you're sinking… you need this book! If you know someone who has burn out, or is heading in that direction... they need this book too.

111 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2013

27 people are currently reading
297 people want to read

About the author

John Hindley

12 books14 followers
I really enjoy writing. I discovered this when I was working on Serving without Sinking, the first book I wrote. I am delighted to be a follower of Jesus, a husband and a father. I find my work as pastor of Broadgrace, a church in Norfolk a blessing (www.broadgrace.org.uk). To also have the opportunity to spend time writing feels like the icing on the cake.

The books I have written come out of struggles and tensions I have found as I have read the Bible, served in churches and followed Jesus. When I have observed others with similar fears, concerns, hopes and dreams it has encouraged me to pray, think and then write. I hope the books that result will bless the church.

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5 stars
130 (34%)
4 stars
173 (45%)
3 stars
64 (16%)
2 stars
12 (3%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
Profile Image for Sarah Dalzell.
40 reviews4 followers
December 31, 2022
A great challenge on motivations for serving, having a right view of God, ourselves and others as we serve, and the importance of prayer as we serve. This book has really made me check myself as I think about serving, especially in full-time ministry. Excited to talk about it more with Emma!!

“He doesn’t call you to come and serve Him. He calls you to see that He came to serve you.”
Profile Image for Jamie Dyer.
45 reviews
June 12, 2023
A little slow and the first chapters are not too impactful nor inspiring but once you get to the penultimate and the last chapter, that's some good reading right there
Profile Image for Emma S.
214 reviews8 followers
December 27, 2022
2nd time round. An excellent little book that helps us to examine our motives for serving God. Uncomfortable reading at times, before John goes on to remind us of the glorious news that Jesus came to serve, not to be served. He helps us fix our eyes on Jesus first and foremost before inviting us to think about how our identity in Christ - as beloved children, bride, friend and slave - will shape our attitude to serving. A good reminder that serving starts with a heart made new by the Spirit; only then will we serve with love and joyful, rather than begrudging, obedience. It helps us to see all aspects of serving - be it making the tea and coffee, cleaning the loos, or teaching the Bible - with a thankful heart.
Would recommend to anyone serving in any capacity in church, but particularly good for those who feel weary and worn-out.
Profile Image for Josh Miller.
372 reviews22 followers
February 21, 2022
I love what Hindley does in this book; he made me think long & hard about this area of serving Jesus. Although Jesus did say that the greatest is the servant, the author shows how we often have our priorities wrong when it comes to service. He does so with humility, solid illustrations, and a biblical foundation. Although a short read, the principles contained therein will encourage the reader who is serving Christ and feeling overwhelmed or ready to sink.

In chapter 3, entitled, "A Wrong View of God," Hindley states, "When it comes to Christian service, the first place to look is at what is going on in our heart, not what we are doing with our hands." He then goes on to list in this chapter & the next views of God & people that impact the way we serve.

Here are the items he states are some reasons people serve Jesus:

1) to be good enough for Him
2) to get something from Him
3) to pay Him back

In chapter 4, "A Wrong View of People," Hindley lists the some wrong reasons people serve when it comes to others (both other people & themselves):

1) to impress
2) to belong

A Wrong View of Myself

1) serving because Jesus needs me
2) serving but I don't need Jesus

He goes on to state that if one serves for any of these reasons, they will give up for those motivations for service are limited.

In Chapter five, the author had me rethinking my view of service to Christ with a chapter entitled "Served By Christ." Here are some excerpts:

"He did not come so that you would serve Him. He came to serve you. Christianity is about Jesus, the God who serves His people."

"Jesus' greatness is not that He can command the service of millions; it is that He serves millions."

"We have a God who is Lord of all, and yet chooses to be a servant. We, on the other hand, are servants who like to think we are lords."

"If Sunday provokes dread, or annoyance, or pride, or weariness, come to Jesus. He doesn't call you to come and serve Him. He calls you to see that He came to serve you."

For the next few chapters, Hindley develops the hierarchy (in order of importance) of the different relationships we share with Jesus as Christians. They are as follows:

1) friend
2) bride
3) son

The author makes quite a few bold statements that at face value, I disagreed with. However, as I continued reading, I came to agree with his synopsis of how to best approach serving the King of kings.

God willing, I plan to use many of these principles to teach the servants in our church the way to "serve without sinking."
37 reviews2 followers
May 2, 2018
The start of this book promises to show us how Christian service is a gift and joy, and it keeps the promise.

Like the author, I identify with many of the examples he opens the book with-serving out of obligation, or to impress God or others. This book has been a great corrective, drawing the gospel in to show how I can only serve others because I know that first I am loved and served by Jesus.

Now, to get back to joyful service!
Profile Image for Paul Kennedy.
4 reviews2 followers
January 6, 2020
A great read and challenging attitudes toward service and motivations for doing so. Especially great read for those that have been actively serving in church for quite a while and perhaps are growing tired/weary/spiteful.
Profile Image for Caitlin Evans.
24 reviews3 followers
August 13, 2023
This book has sat on my shelf for over a year and I wish I read it sooner!

Hindley’s book did a really good job at challenging me on my motivations for serving. I’ve realised since reading this that the dread and anxiety I had felt when serving over the past year in a particular area was due to my poor motivations and my lack of focus on God.

This book isn’t a total fix and not a quick bullet on how to change your heart posture but allowed the cogs to start turning for me. It points to the Bible time after time for the solution to the sinking problems those who read the book may face.

For those who are just starting to serve I feel like this book could turn then away from serving and make them reluctant to do so. I think it’s better suited to Christians who have been feeling burnt out in service or feel like something just isn’t sitting right in their attitudes towards serving and I would definitely recommend this book for those kind of people.
Profile Image for Scquest.
65 reviews22 followers
March 28, 2018
Types of books: excellent books, helpful books, ok books, poor books, "this is a book?" books.
This would be a helpful book. Easy to read. Some good thoughts.
Profile Image for James Ritchie.
22 reviews1 follower
October 20, 2016
Contrary to the belief of some, the title is not 'serving without stinking', nor is it 'serving without thinking' and its definitely not 'sinking without serving' (although quite often we do see this one lived out in practice), the book IS in fact entitled 'serving without sinking'!

Hindley's little book is worth five stars for the key premise alone, essentially that the heart of Christian service is not primarily about finding your identity as a servant of Christ, but instead coming to see that first and foremost you are someone SERVED by Christ. Served before servant. His primary text is Mark 10:45 where Jesus says 'the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many.' Hindley then goes on to show how Christ's service of us is to shape our own service, providing us with abiding joy and security.

Hindley also spends some quality time revealing reasons why we might find serving difficult, as well as delving into the richness and results of Christ's sacrifice on the cross for us and connecting it to our service, but the book is worth the twelve dollars and fifty nine cents just for his teaching on our new identity as people served by Jesus, rather than servants of Jesus.

Read it. Enjoy it. Enjoy Jesus our servant. And- serve without stinking, ah sorry.. Without sinking..
Profile Image for Kingsley Layton.
345 reviews7 followers
June 21, 2018
If you are in Leadership then this will not hold anything outstanding, neither will it prevent you from sinking if you love the Lord and your motives are pure and honest.

However, if you are in Leadership and you have folks for whom you are responsible that are finding serving difficult, or without purpose, or becoming a chore or burden, then this is a great little book to buy for them (or lend to them) in order that they might re-assess what they are about and why they serve.

The most important part of the book is also the most risky. If it will free people to pursue developing their spiritual gifts in service, let - or even encourage - them to give up their current 'indispensable' service.
42 reviews
March 27, 2013
I found this book really helpful. It wasn't quite what I expected, which was a set of solutions to the problem of serving without sinking, rather it deals with common Christian misconceptions about service and the attitude of the heart. I got far more out of this book for being what it is rather than what I had expected it to be.
Profile Image for Addie.
229 reviews7 followers
June 10, 2023
'... for service to make us full of joy like this, it must be service that springs from love.'

Comments:
- This short but helpful little book gives a great overview of Christian service, and some of the common attitudes/wrong motives surrounding serving. Feeling pretty called out by some of it (that's a good thing!) and it's given me a lot to reflect on.
- I like how it's written in a very digestable and accessible way, and I think the structure of the book is also really cool.
- Key takeaway in a nutshell: We can serve sustainably and with joy when we have a correct understanding of how we are served by the One who came to serve.

'When it comes to Christian service, the first place to look is at what is going on in our hearts, not what we are doing with our hands.'
Profile Image for Darcy Schock.
407 reviews20 followers
October 17, 2020
This book has been a major reassurance to all God has been teaching me about service. Not only that, it also helped me see clearer a few things I still had questions on. The author doesn’t write on a surface level, he gets to the heart of the matter. He helps us analyze our motives and shows us the truth of who God is. Service is a love story made possible by the gospel. Initially I had a few red flag feelings that some of the thoughts were one sided, but as you read he ties is all together beautifully...the entire book is far from one sided. I would highly suggest this book to all Christians.
Profile Image for Eve.
169 reviews
February 11, 2019
Apart from feeling really icky about some of the people as Jesus's bride stuff and having a different view on atonement, I found the core message of this book incredibly refreshing. We are served by Jesus as well as being servants. And we are maybe not serving in the way that we think we are (loved the example of him putting a sand put together with his toddler!). Big relief feelings for a lot of it. I feel like I am sinking less and like maybe I can go back to church now!
60 reviews1 follower
June 6, 2019
I feel like this book is more about why we serve and why it's valuable.... the author briefly mentions yeah we serve to get praise which is not a good reason to serve... not much that I remember

mostly the book is about focusing on Jesus, which I guess is useful because serving is a lot about your relationship with God but yeah it didn't really go into the secular obstacles to serving (ie other people.. worklife balance.. etc..)
Profile Image for Wayne.
143 reviews5 followers
December 26, 2020
This was a fine book but one that did not grip me or shape my perspective in any new (or renewed) ways. For this reason, it was one that I had put aside for a great deal of time before completing.

I could see a Christian leader using the topics in this book to develop some devotionals for their team of volunteers. I could also see it being a good book for certain volunteers in the congregation who are feeling weary or nearing burn out.

I'd give it 2.5 stars.
Profile Image for AC.
22 reviews
August 22, 2023
What a fun book to read with many lessons to examine oneself and see whether we serve with pure and joyful hearts for the Kingdom of Heaven. Keeping prayer at the centre when serving and thanking God that we can serve in His love and that He is also serving us. The hard question: Are our motives pure or are we doing it to look good and be seen by others, always expecting a 'thank you', or 'good job' comment.
Profile Image for Rachael.
35 reviews
January 11, 2020
It’s easy to sink while serving - to sink into pride when our work is seen and valued or to sink into despair and resentment when it goes unnoticed. This book offers truth that’s essential to our serving - that we are first served by God, that we are his friends, his Bride, his children, and that the love that motivates joyful service is found only through his Spirit.
Profile Image for Toby Newell.
12 reviews2 followers
April 2, 2022
A helpful book for those battling discouragement and weariness in ministry. Hindley begins by identifying wrong motives for serving and then moves us to focus on Jesus and his work. Our status as Jesus’ friends, his bride, God’s sons, and as servants of the greatest servant profoundly shape the way we serve God and others. A pastoral and practical call to gospel-shaped ministry.
Profile Image for Lyndsey Ballantine.
4 reviews
March 4, 2023
A really great challenge on our outlook of service. John writes in such loving and honest way to demonstrate who we serve and why we serve, diving into the motives of our hearts, and ultimately looking at Christ who served us first.
I would highly recommend this to any Christian, as we all live a life of service to our King. But definitely to those in a ministry setting full time!
Profile Image for Sarah.
657 reviews5 followers
November 27, 2017
This was relatively short and easy to read but was full of encouraging thoughts and practical application. Always good to be reminded of the reason why you are washing dishes or preparing a meal for a large number of people!
Profile Image for Isaac Hulse.
27 reviews3 followers
August 24, 2022
There is much about this book that I really rate and enjoy and there are many people who would profit much from taking time to read its pages and consider its message. If you are weary and burnt out, you will no doubt be encouraged by seeing how Christ serves you. However, I worry that, if approached with an existing reluctance to commit to service, the reader may feel justified in such an attitude and continue avoid the cross carrying service that we are called to. It is an excellent book on how to avoid sinking but perhaps many could benefit an exhortation to service that is not the focus of this encouraging little book by Jay Hindley.
Profile Image for Gavin Taylor.
39 reviews2 followers
December 6, 2022
I found this book so insightful into the right and wrong reasons behind our service, and eye opening to the true joy it is to serve Jesus with a true heart. It changed my perspective on the relationship with Christ we are called to and how we can have joy and fulfilment in serving him and others.
Profile Image for Stephen Baraniak.
3 reviews
January 16, 2023
Thoughtful. Convicting. Grace saturated. Jesus exalting. Thanks.

Thoughtful. Convicting. Grace saturated. Jesus exalting. Joy bringing.
Worth an hour or two to shape a lifetime of service. It made my heart glad.
4 reviews
July 30, 2023
challenging inspiring

I found this book very challenging. I reread many sections for clarity. The scriptures reinforced and supported the truths being shared. What a wonderful read. It was not long but so much in it. A blessing.
159 reviews1 follower
October 28, 2023
A fairly simple and short book. This made it easy to read, but I don't feel like I gained much from the book overall. There were a couple good nuggets at the end (the more practical application side of the book), but I was hoping there would be more throughout the book.
63 reviews
March 24, 2024
A helpful easy read that reorientates an approach to Christian service. We remember first that Christ has served us and wants to have a relationship with us as his children. This helps us to serve because of our love for God, not to gain his approval or the approval of others.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews

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