Building the body of Christ???

How does one construct the church?

I guess the question may need some unpacking really…

Who is trying to build the church? And what is the purpose of the church? In Ephesians 4:11-12 we see an answer for this, that is not what you probably think when you first talk about building the church…

Paul tells the Ephesians “The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,” He gave gifts for some to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers.  He gave.  Who is he?  Ok I guess we all know this, but do we really think about it.  God gave gifts to us all, that we are apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, or teachers…  He did this. We all have a gift to use, and through using the gift we are doing a task to spread his message, be that through teaching, preaching, predicting, telling the story, or going and doing… And this is usually where we stop with these verses.  The gift was given, and go and use it.

But WHY?  These gifts were given for specific reasons according to Paul, “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,”  The gifts were given to equip all the saints for the work of ministry.  The gifts were given to prepare God’s people to do the work of ministry.  All of us have a part in the work of God and we are to support and uplift each other in the moving of ministry… And all of this, the gifts, the equipping and preparing is “for the building up of the body of Christ.”  All the gifts and equipping and preparing are for the building of the church!  We as the church are the body of Christ.

A church isn’t created by constructing a physical building or by hiring a professional ministry worker, or even have lots of people attend.  A church is constructed when each part finds its proper place and function and works together!  When the eye sees, the ear hears, the nose smells, the legs move the body, and on and on…

We are to build each other up and work together in the building of the body of Christ.  We are to equip and prepare each other for the work of ministry.  So remember that you have a part to play, and that church is not a spectator sport!  You are not a bench warmer – you are a key player in the body of Christ!

Family, is the church one?

I was reading my devotion today and it talked about how the church is suppose to be a family.  It said, “The concept of church as “family” has lost some of its impact, but this is an accurate portrait of the kind of mutual commitment and affection that God intends for His people.” (page 127 The Book of Days living the New Rebellion).  This got me thinking about a song by Todd Agnew called Family.  You can click here to hear a sample of it.  I love this song because it is load and funky, and speaks truth about how we are to act as the body of Christ…

Here are the lyrics:

Who’s my brother in Nashville, Tennessee?
Who’s my sister in a village in Malawi?
Who’s my lover in Washington, D.C.?
Who’s my neighbor? Who’s my loved one? Who’s my friend?
We are all family
We are all family
If we’re all under one Father, that makes us all brothers
We are all family
Who’s my brother in a different kind of church?
Who’s my sister struggling with her worth?
Who’s my mother, gave me all but birth?
Who’s my neighbor? Who’s my loved one? Who’s my friend?
We are all family
We are all family
If we’re all under one Father, that makes us all brothers
We are all family

We are all family
We are all family
If we’re all under one Father, that makes us all brothers
We are all family

You don’t have to look like me For us to be brotherly
You don’t have to be like me For us to be family
You don’t have to think like me For us to speak intimately
You don’t have to agree with me For us to be family
You don’t have to live near me For us to be neighborly
You don’t have to dress like me For us to be family
You don’t have to speak like me For us to love each other you see
You don’t have to be like me For us to be family
If we’re all under one Father, that makes us all brothers
When it is all said and done, we need to love each other.  Even in our disagreements, even when we do not agree.  Do you always agree with your family, no but when push comes to shove, you are there for your family, and that is what God made us.  We do not have to look alike, or be alike, or agree on everything.  We are family, by our baptism, by our acceptance by God.  We do not get to choose our biological sisters and brothers, and we do not get to chose who to love as our heavenly brothers and sisters.  We are a family!

Expectations

Here is a picture I took yesterday in Round Rock, TX.  We were driving from Argyle to San Antonio, and we stopped here for a break.  I saw this sign and had to take a picture.  The thing that popped in my mind was expectations…

The sign says, “Worst Bar B Q in Texas.”  Let’s set the expectations so low there is no way they can go below them.  How often do we do that with our own lives.  We say we are incapable of doing something.  We can not possibly do that.  But God has said you can.  He has given you the tool and the gifts to do miraculous things.  Live in the light that God has called you and claimed you as His child.  He has gifted you to do things, and claiming you can not does not give worship or praise to God.  Remember that Paul said, “I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.”  You can do it, and God has called you to set the expectations high!

Doubt and the Disciple of Jesus

Many of us heard the story of Doubting Thomas this past Sunday at worship.  Thomas, the doubter.

We all know this story, and we might have even been called  a Doubting Thomas, coming from this story.  Someone who will not believe it without seeing it.  Wasn’t Thomas just being a realist?

I think, and the sermon I listened to this weekend said, Thomas got a bad rap.  Look at the stories.  In the Gospel of John, Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb, and sees it empty and runs back to the disciples, they come running and go in and see the clothes but no Jesus, and go away.  Then Mary who sticks around sees a man, who she assumes is the gardener.  After saying her name, she knows him, her teacher, Jesus.  She goes and talls the disciples, but they are slow to listen.  This is the same in Luke.  The disciples dismiss the appearance of  Jesus to the women as an idle tale.  They have not seen it, so they don’t believe it.  Sound familiar? Thomas said, “unless I see the mark on his hand and place my finger in the hole, and place my hand in his side I will not believe it.” Unless I see it, I can not believe it.  At least Thomas said it.  The other disciples did not say it, but they displayed it.  They showed by their actions that they did not believe it.  They were locked in a room for fear of their life. Did they not remember what Jesus has said to them?  He told them all quite plainly that he would be killed, and that he would rise again. Yet the women came to see them and told them that Jesus was alive, and they dismissed it as an idle tale.  Does this show belief?  All of the disciples doubted.  This is seen in the end of Matthew’s Gospel also.  Verse 28:17 says “When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.”  Now Matthew’s rendition in this translation says that some of the disciples doubted Jesus was there, after all they had been through with him, and all he had told him.  the doubted everything that had happened and that Jesus was resurrected.  But all of that is fluff.  The actual zinger to all of this is, the translation is a supposition. That is, the original Greek does not say “but some doubted.” The original Greek says “and seeing him, they worshipped, but they doubted.” There is no some. The some is supposed from other Greek grammer construction similar to this construction. Is the some suppose to help us?  To feel like a few of the disciples had it together and was not questioning the last 3 years, and the miracle that stood before them? Or does it hinder us into thinking that we need to have it all together all the time, and not question our faith?  Doubt is not the absence or opposite of faith, questioning and doubt are those things that fuel our drive to learn more and be in relationship with Jesus. We all will doubt something about our faith, if not already, sometime in the future.  Do not think less of yourself in your questioning, if the ones picked by our Lord and Savior couldn’t get it together, why do we think we need to have it all together and not question or doubt. Thomas said it out load.  He claimed it for what it was. Thomas is a model for us to see  and use for our faith. Embrace the question, and the doubt, God is big enough to take it…

Fifth Century Communion Hymn

Because for our sake you tasted gall,

may the Enemy’s bitterness be killed in us.

Because for our sake you drank sour wine,

may what is weak in us be strengthened.

Because for our sake you were spat upon,

may we be bathed in the dew of immortality.

Because for our sake you were struck with a rod,

may we receive shelter in the last.

Because for our sake you accepted a crown of thorns,

may we that love you be crowned with garlands that never fade.

Because for our sake you were wrapped in a shroud,

may we be clothed in your all-enfolding strength.

Because you were laid in a new grave and the tomb,

may we receive renewal of soul and body.

Because you rose and returned to life,

may we be brought to life again.

Amen

Taken from page 1064 of For All the Saints A Prayer Book For and By the Church Volume III