There are many schemes and systems for building up the
health of our physical bodies. Some work; some don’t. Failure is often a result
of waning motivation meeting hyped up advertising. Success is often for the
simple reason that we are doing something active and won’t quit.
When trying to settle on an exercise and healthy-eating
routine, we look for some sign that the promoters know what they are talking
about. Have they done their research? Do they have any kind of verifiable track
record that indicates the success of their program? Does it work?
The health of the Church, the body of Christ, is not at the
mercy of money-grubbing health gurus. We are Jesus’ body; Jesus himself is our
head, our leader, our Shepherd, our Lord. He does not need to prove himself.
The cross has put to rest any questions regarding his sincerity. The
resurrection has put to rest any questions regarding his ability. Our
faith-response to the gospel has put to rest any questions regarding our
participation.
While many of us have experienced the destructive effect of
people working behind the scenes to divide the church, here is encouragement to
consider the unifying, uplifting, encouraging, edifying blessings that come
when we band together “eager to maintain
the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
When you think of addressing problems in the church, holes
that need to be filled, if you will, things where it appears that we are
failing to minister to people as we ought, do you think primarily in terms of
which individuals have holes in their ministries because they aren’t doing
enough, or do you think in terms of how the body of Christ has holes in its
ministry because not enough people are doing?
What I mean is that, the congregation sometimes criticizes
its leadership for not doing “enough”, treating unmet needs as failures on the
part of the leaders to help people, when it is really that someone in the
congregation should be doing what the leaders are not supposed to do.
What I mean is that, instead of thinking that any one
person has a hole in his or her ministry, or a blind-spot they need to fix, or a
weakness that must be overcome (while it may be true that such things must be
addressed as well), perhaps we are really dealing with not enough members of
the body contributing their place for the building up of the church. What if
the lack we see is not lack in the person doing ministry, but the lack of persons
doing ministry?
Take sport’s teams as an example. Teams are designed with
players taking on certain positions, and playing those positions the way they
are designed, so that they rest of the team can count on them always being in
that place, doing their part, the way their position demands. As each player
plays his position, the whole team works together as a unit that accomplishes
the aim of scoring more goals than the opponent scores.
When there is a team that plays really well, but the goal
keeper is lazy, doesn’t take care of his body, doesn’t get proper sleep or
nutrition, keeps talking to fans during games, and so is not able to operate at
highest ability, the team may lose games as a direct result of the goalie’s
lack of contribution. The forwards may be scoring goals fully in keeping with
their place on the team, and their level of skill, but the team still loses
because too many goals are scored against.
In North American football, a quarterback may be living up
to the highest experience of his ability, and his place on the team, but his
receivers will not play their positions, or they get into arguments with other
players, or they get distracted by their fans, and so they are simply not where
they should be when the quarterback throws the ball. The rest of the team can
be playing their positions, blocking the other team’s efforts, and yet still
fail to score touchdowns because the receivers are never where they should be.
This is not a lack in the quarterback, or a hole in his ability, but something
missing in the team because certain players are not doing their part. The whole
team suffers holes in their team, so to speak.
I remember in the early years of our home church ministry
that we learned a lesson about this in a very practical way. Our initial group
was experiencing a lot of interest from people in their community, and would
have new people check us out almost every Sunday. There was a joyful enthusiasm
in the group because we were all feeling very thankful for our experience of
this work of God. Many were enjoying the change from showing up on a Sunday
morning to run programs and carry out organizational duties, to learning to
focus on fellowship as the body of Christ.
In the midst of our growing pangs, I received an email from
one of the group members indicating a complaint about our group. This person
had noticed that, on the previous Sunday, while everyone was fellowshipping
before or after the worship time, that all the regulars were “ignoring” a
newcomer, and talking among themselves instead. The result was that this person
writing the letter had to go and talk to the newcomer herself because no one
else would do it. As the pastor, I was expected to correct the group so that
everyone would respond to newcomers the way this group member saw the
situation.
While I do not remember the details of how we communicated
about this, I do remember the way it sounded to me, and what I sought to teach
at the time. Instead of considering this situation as an indication of the
failure of the group as a whole to respond to newcomers, I saw it as a lesson
for the person writing the complaint. What she saw was not a “hole” in the
other members, or their failure to see what she saw. Rather, she was being
confronted with the awareness of a need that was staring her in the face, and
drawing her attention, because she was the part of the body that was to go and
talk to the newcomer. When she went and talked to the newcomer, the whole body
was involved. No more holes.
I know we had to work this same lesson out in different
scenarios, but it became a very important part of our church life. It taught people
that, if any of us see a need staring us in the face, it may not be a fault
with other members of the body, but the thing the Spirit is moving our part of
the body to respond to by joining God in his work. If each of us would respond
to the need that we see, we would discover that the hole we saw was our
assignment, and our experience of joining God in his work in relation to that need
filled the hole.
I do not believe that any church will get these things
perfectly. I just know that there is as much a pattern of every person playing
their part in the church as there is in a sport’s team. As a pastor, I do see
when there is a hole in our ministry because specific other people are not
doing their part. This does need to be addressed as much as anything else.
However, there are also times when the hole we see in our
church’s ministry is standing out to us because we are the ones to fill it. And,
while it may feel better to point out someone else’s failure to do their part
than look in the mirror at our contribution, God has a way of confronting each
of us first and foremost with how we ourselves are doing in the life of his
body. If he can get each of us abiding in the vine, abiding in the Son of God
in that real and personal way that is ours through the grace of God, he will
have each of us where he wants us, doing what he has given us to do, and the
whole body working together in a fruit-bearing kind of way simply because each
person is right where the Lord wants us.
It is like a symphony orchestra in which each person needs to
play their part in time with the conductor. They do not need to think about
whether anyone else has their instrument in tune, or will play their appointed
notes at the appointed time. If the conductor can get every musician to tune to
his fork, follow his lead, and do only what their part requires, they will
create the most beautiful sounds of melody and harmony for the blessing of
those who hear their music.
So it is in the body of Christ. Everyone has a place. Every
member of the body of Christ has a particular work of God going on in their
hearts and lives today. If each part fully joins God in his work, responds to
his divine appointments, prays according to his will, we will find the head of
the body coordinating things that none of us could even think of.
For my church family I present this assignment (perhaps you
would like to try it as well): Throughout the course of today (or tomorrow if
you are reading this late), write down each thing you feel “someone” in the
church should do to make our church better than we are. Then, prayerfully ask
God to show you your place in meeting these needs, or filling these holes. Let’s
see what happens if we can get the majority of our body parts doing what our
head directs each of us to do in ministry to one another. Let’s see if, when each
of us fully does whatever we feel led by the Spirit to do, we get the feeling
of vibrant joy and satisfaction in growing up in love, as each of us does our
work.
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son
of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by
every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by
every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body
grow so that it builds itself up in love.
© 2014 Monte Vigh ~
Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8 ~ in2freedom@gmail.com
