There are certain things that make a church… well, a church. We all understand that the church is not a building. The church is not a gathering of people. The church is not even a ministry program. The church is only a church when something much greater happens.
The primary metaphor from the Bible is that the church is the body of Christ. The Apostle Paul went into great detail to explain its meaning in 1 Cor. 12:12-27. There are many things that can be said about this metaphor and it’s application to us today. Time does not permit us to go into great detail, but there are three overriding principles from this passage.
1. The church is a body that should be unified, purposeful and interdependent.
The idea here is that the church is not defined simply as a group of people showing up to worship. The entire context of Paul’s analogy is the functioning of spiritual gifts, members at work in the body, and the idea of service. Without these, the church is simply not fulfilling its potential and its God-honoring purpose.
2. The church is a body that should be healthy.
Health is not the same thing as size. Just because something is big does not mean it is healthy. There is no reference in this passage to size of the body, but there is great detail about the health of the body as it functions. Thus, we are primarily called to be a healthy church, not a large one. And, unless we display the characteristics of the body as described in this passage, the church as a whole and the individual members are not healthy, nor are they fully bringing glory to God.
3. Everyone is vital in the body of Christ.
Paul says, “Now you are the body of Christ and each of you are members of it.” (vs. 27). In the passage he describes how important every part/member of the body is. He says that there are no insignificant parts and that the body is only healthy when each part (large and small) fulfills its function. Why? Because we are interdependent upon each other— i.e., when one part suffers or lacks, we all do.
What do these principles mean for us today? Well, in this installment of the blog series I want to share with you our theology of serving and how we might differ from other churches in what we believe regarding this aspect of ministry. For our future, we must not only say these things and believe them, but we must align ourselves to these values because they are biblical. Also, they lead to us to be a healthy church family and to fulfill our God-glorifying purpose. Many of these principles are outlined in our new member material, and they are worth repeating now as a reminder of who we are.
1. We are never more like Jesus than when we serve others.
Serving and giving Himself for others was Jesus’ primary disposition. It was the chief way He defined Himself.
“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:35).
“Have this attitude in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, though being God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant…” (Phil 2:5-7)
Here’s the truth— we cannot become like Jesus unless we serve others. The Bible would say clearly that we are not growing in our faith, becoming Christ-like, or worshiping God as true believers unless we work into our lives service to others.
2. Every member is a minister.
Often we think of “ministers” as paid staff or pastors. This is not a teaching of scripture. To be a believer is to be a minister. Why? Because as believers we are called to give to others what was given to us. So, this truth is a direct application from Paul’s analogy of the body. Every member of the body is a minister in their own right.
3. Everyone is a “10” in some area.
The Bible describes how God has gifted the body of Christ and each member within it. This means that every believer has spiritual gifts, abilities, and experiences that bless others and that are unique to them. When put them to use, they greatly benefit people to help them come to know Christ. You have gifts from God that bless others!
4. The role of the pastors of the church is to equip people for ministry.
In Ephesians 4:11-13 it says,
"And God gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors 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…"
This is a clear explanation of why God gave pastors and leaders to the local church. It was not to DO the work of the ministry, but to EQUIP the church to do the work of the ministry. Of course every pastor and leader should minister—but their primary function is to develop others for ministry. In this sense, the church members are the ministers and the pastors are the administers— i.e. pastors and leaders are to equip, empower and encourage those in the church for ministry.
5. One primary way we grow disciples in our church is by providing expectations, processes and opportunities for service. We are not being faithful to the call of God and are doing our church a disservice unless we as leaders (and as a entire church) build this value into the DNA of who we are. We simply will not be unique, powerful, healthy or God honoring without this objective coming to pass— also, we will not have true disciples of Christ within our church without it.
Finally— just one more thing. Why are we unapologetic about structuring ministry toward service and providing vision and opportunities for such? Because we know that serving is the path to joy and peace.
The world teaches the opposite. In our culture, selfishness is the guiding principle. The mindset is that always getting what we want and others serving us are what bring happiness. Jesus taught and modeled the exact opposite (Luke 22:24-27; Acts 20:35; Phil. 2:5-11)— and those who have put His truth to work in their lives have found this to be absolutely true. Deep joy and contentment comes from unselfish living. The greatest blessings of life are wrapped in service to others. The quality of life is defined not by what we consume, but by what we contribute. So, like a warm ray of sun on a cool day, God smiles upon us when we give to others in Jesus’ name.
At The Brook, we want EVERY Christian and EVERY church member to experience this kind of joy! We dare not rob you of this great blessing!
Next week: "What We Believe- Part Two: Worship!"
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Mike
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