The Body: Team or Family
As the church, we know and understand that we are to be the body of Christ. With Christ as our head and the pastors as His appointed leaders for the body, how then are we to work together in order to accomplish the things that He has called us to do?
Many times we find individuals in the church who believe that they should be in charge of certain areas because of their talents, abilities, desires, preferences, etc., regardless of God's direction. And far more members have no desire to do anything whatsoever. That is the reason why very few churches have bodies which function well. Most of them are limping, crippled, handicapped, aging, virus prone, on life-support and possibly even already dead. It is rare to find a vibrant, lively church without some form of malady, illness or self-inflicted wound.
We have all heard many biblical references describing how the individual members of the body of Christ are all a part of the family of God. For we have been bought by the blood of Jesus and have become joint heirs of the kingdom of God. We are therefore the brothers and sisters of Christ for God has adopted us as His very own. But do we really know what it means to be in the family of God?
Families are often some of our biggest supporters, but they can also be our biggest critics. Many families have members who have not spoken to each other in years. There are brothers and sisters who refuse to enter into the same building with each other. There are fathers who have chucked it all and left the rest of the family to fend for itself. There are mothers who are so tired from working full-time, hauling kids all over creation and back, cleaning the house, feeding the family and tending to the sick that they are about to collapse. Some children have plenty of money, but they are so consumed with their own needs that they refuse to use it to prevent the family from becoming bankrupt.
Unfortunately that has become the state of most churches. Those whom God has called to be the spiritual leaders have left the church to fend for itself. Brothers and sisters refuse to talk to each other due to some stupid argument about something petty that happened twenty, thirty or fifty years ago. Some members are trying to carry the load for everyone else and they are becoming emotionally destroyed. And most of the children refuse to use the money they have for the benefit of the entire family, to the point that many churches are almost bankrupt.
What about a team? Many pastors use this term to describe how a church should live and work together. After all, there is no "I" in TEAM, so certainly if we work together as a team everything will be fine.
Just like families, not all teams are ideal groups. After all, not all teams are winners. In actuality, most teams are losers since only one team can be the ultimate first place team. God's team must be that team, but unfortunately the state of most churches seems to point more to amateur players with sub par leadership.
Most churches seem to think that the paid staff are the only members of the team. Everyone else is the coach and it is their job to tell the team players exactly how the work is to be done. Like armchair quarterbacks, the church members rest on their salvation and criticize every effort of the rest of the team. Most of the team players sit on the bench or daydream out in right field rather than dedicate themselves to a daily regimen of exercise, growth, training, recruitment and execution of the game plan.
I think the problem is not the terminology, for body, team and family are all terms which should represent the church. I think the problem stems from what society has come to expect of these institutions. The world has come to think that family is anything that we want it to be: from single parent to mixed marriages to gay marriages to abandonment. Since there is no clear understanding of what a family should look and act like, then how can our churches understand how they should look and act. And in our current politically correct state of mind, how can anyone understand what a winning team should look like. Most children are taught that everyone is a winner even if your team was the most disorganized bunch of losers there could be. Companies used to expect people to work as a team, but now with no real company/employee loyalty left in the world, people have learned that there is no real reason to give it their all for a company that might lay them off the next day.
The church needs to stop looking to the world for examples of how we are to live and act. We need to start looking to God and His Word. Our Father created the universe and all that is in it, yet we worry about finding someone to serve as a Bible study teacher. Our Savior rose from the dead and we worry more about the saints who are dying than the lost who are living. The Holy Spirit gives us power to move mountains and we worry about finding enough money to build a new worship center.
Stop living as paupers and start living as the children of the King.
Many times we find individuals in the church who believe that they should be in charge of certain areas because of their talents, abilities, desires, preferences, etc., regardless of God's direction. And far more members have no desire to do anything whatsoever. That is the reason why very few churches have bodies which function well. Most of them are limping, crippled, handicapped, aging, virus prone, on life-support and possibly even already dead. It is rare to find a vibrant, lively church without some form of malady, illness or self-inflicted wound.
We have all heard many biblical references describing how the individual members of the body of Christ are all a part of the family of God. For we have been bought by the blood of Jesus and have become joint heirs of the kingdom of God. We are therefore the brothers and sisters of Christ for God has adopted us as His very own. But do we really know what it means to be in the family of God?
Families are often some of our biggest supporters, but they can also be our biggest critics. Many families have members who have not spoken to each other in years. There are brothers and sisters who refuse to enter into the same building with each other. There are fathers who have chucked it all and left the rest of the family to fend for itself. There are mothers who are so tired from working full-time, hauling kids all over creation and back, cleaning the house, feeding the family and tending to the sick that they are about to collapse. Some children have plenty of money, but they are so consumed with their own needs that they refuse to use it to prevent the family from becoming bankrupt.
Unfortunately that has become the state of most churches. Those whom God has called to be the spiritual leaders have left the church to fend for itself. Brothers and sisters refuse to talk to each other due to some stupid argument about something petty that happened twenty, thirty or fifty years ago. Some members are trying to carry the load for everyone else and they are becoming emotionally destroyed. And most of the children refuse to use the money they have for the benefit of the entire family, to the point that many churches are almost bankrupt.
What about a team? Many pastors use this term to describe how a church should live and work together. After all, there is no "I" in TEAM, so certainly if we work together as a team everything will be fine.
Just like families, not all teams are ideal groups. After all, not all teams are winners. In actuality, most teams are losers since only one team can be the ultimate first place team. God's team must be that team, but unfortunately the state of most churches seems to point more to amateur players with sub par leadership.
Most churches seem to think that the paid staff are the only members of the team. Everyone else is the coach and it is their job to tell the team players exactly how the work is to be done. Like armchair quarterbacks, the church members rest on their salvation and criticize every effort of the rest of the team. Most of the team players sit on the bench or daydream out in right field rather than dedicate themselves to a daily regimen of exercise, growth, training, recruitment and execution of the game plan.
I think the problem is not the terminology, for body, team and family are all terms which should represent the church. I think the problem stems from what society has come to expect of these institutions. The world has come to think that family is anything that we want it to be: from single parent to mixed marriages to gay marriages to abandonment. Since there is no clear understanding of what a family should look and act like, then how can our churches understand how they should look and act. And in our current politically correct state of mind, how can anyone understand what a winning team should look like. Most children are taught that everyone is a winner even if your team was the most disorganized bunch of losers there could be. Companies used to expect people to work as a team, but now with no real company/employee loyalty left in the world, people have learned that there is no real reason to give it their all for a company that might lay them off the next day.
The church needs to stop looking to the world for examples of how we are to live and act. We need to start looking to God and His Word. Our Father created the universe and all that is in it, yet we worry about finding someone to serve as a Bible study teacher. Our Savior rose from the dead and we worry more about the saints who are dying than the lost who are living. The Holy Spirit gives us power to move mountains and we worry about finding enough money to build a new worship center.
Stop living as paupers and start living as the children of the King.
Comments