“…Such men deserve recognition.” – 1 Cor. 16:18

Every ministry depends on people it rarely thanks.

The preacher is heard, the worship leader and the choir are seen, and the big projects get reported.

Meanwhile the chairs are arranged, the toilets are cleaned, the sick are visited and the Sunday school lessons are prepared, and hardly anyone notices who did it.

Paul noticed.

At the close of his first letter to Corinth, he names certain people – Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus.

“Such men deserve recognition,” says our meditation today.

 The Greek word behind “recognition” is built from the verb ‘to know.’

Paul is not asking for a polite nod, a pat on the back or a routine ‘thanks’.

He is asking the church to know these servants thoroughly: to look closely at what they carry, and then to say so publicly.

Recognition begins with attention.

Applause that has not first paid attention is nothing but noise.

And this Paul did practice what he preached.

Romans 16 is a long roll-call of people’s names, so are all his epistles that name certain people, who would otherwise have remained unknown.

Many were ordinary believers with no office or title to their name.

The apostle could have filled his letters with theology and doctrine alone.

Know them fully and their contribution. Then say their names, out loud, for all to hear.

Instead, he kept stopping to name people, and the Spirit preserved those names for every generation.

Does this matter today?

We are used to ministries that carry one leader’s name, and to judging a church by the attention its man of God draws.

The rest of us drive in and out every Sunday, believing that the work simply happens.  

Naming someone else cuts against that habit.

It says, ‘Christ’s Body is built largely by people we would otherwise overlook, and the glory belongs to the One working through them too.’

This morning, somewhere, a woman who has faithfully cleaned the building for eleven years is straightening the last row of chairs.

Someone is sitting in a hospital corridor with a widow because the pastor was away for a mission.

A young lady is giving half her salary to support the youth ministry she leads.

None of them will be named on the church website, and none of them would ask to be.

And that is exactly why we must look closely.

When we fail to see quiet sacrifice and faithful service behind the scenes, such as the usher who opens the doors, the Sunday school teacher preparing alone, the hospitality team working away from the stage or the patient care givers to the sick out there away from the cameras, we make those who serve to grow weary.

So, here is my request for this week.

Be intentional and choose one person whose service you have always taken for granted.

Write them a note and be specific: say what they did and what it made possible.

Celebrate them publicly with a physical token of appreciation.

Thank them publicly while they can hear it, rather than waiting to lay flowers on their coffin.

Tell their pastor or small group leader, so the gratitude travels publicly.

Practice this until it becomes the habit of the whole church.

Know them fully and their contribution. Then say their names, out loud, for all to hear.