One Body, Many Parts

I love backpacking. There’s just something awesome about being in nature that centers me. I’ve told several people over the years that I think of the woods as my sanctuary where I have genuine worship and time with God. There is a connection to the creator that I find in the backcountry that I can’t find anywhere else. One of my good friends, Josh, knows that I’ll need time whenever we get out to just hike alone for a little bit so I can have some intense prayer time on the trail. 

During one of our trips, we were hiking in the Red River Gorge just outside of Slade, KY. Along the way, we came upon a huge boulder in the trail and needed to either climb over it or scale the trail around it. The only catch was that there was a several hundred foot fall off on the side you would need to scale around the boulder on. We both decided to just step up and over the boulder. It was here that wisdom decided to escape me. Once on top of the boulder, I decided it was a good idea to jump off of it on the other side. 

Sometimes, I forget my age, and that I’m wearing a backpack that weighs between 35 and 40 lbs. When I landed, I felt my knee give way and pain shot through my leg. I knew, immediately, that I was in trouble. Being the highly intelligent man that I am, when asked by Josh if we needed to head back to the truck, I simply told him, “No. I think I can just walk it off.” For the next 7 miles, I limped my way down the trail till we got to camp. I was able to do the hike, but it was miserable. My knee is only a small part of my body, but it made walking nearly impossible. I woke up the next morning and realized how bad of an idea that was. We hiked out the final 2.5 miles the next morning to my truck and headed home. 

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.  For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.
1 Corinthians 12:12–20

This is easily one of my favorite passages in the Bible. Paul compares the Church to the human body in the most simple, yet perfect way. As the Church, we are one. We are one people with one goal, one salvation, and one hope in Jesus. 

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
1 Peter 2:9

For the Church, this royal priesthood and holy nation, to thrive, we need people with gifts across the board to serve in the places where those gifts are best used. I don’t want to ask someone who is terrified of talking in front of people to teach. I won’t ask someone who can’t carry a tune in a bucket to lead worship on Sundays. I also won’t ask someone who’s never used a power tool to be on the maintenance team at the church. The best service we can give comes from the place where God has gifted us the most.

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
 1 Corinthians 12:4–11

Each of us has a place in the church where we can serve, but not everyone has the same giftedness. While some have the “out front” gifts; public speaking, musical talent, and the ability to teach and preach, most will serve behind the scenes. That’s what really makes the Church thrive. One of the best examples of this kind of service is our tech team at Leesburg. These are the folks who run the sound, lights, and all the stuff that goes on the computer screens each week. At first glance, we don’t really see what they do as a big deal, but if you dig deeper, you’ll see that we can’t have the kind of Sunday experience we have without them.

Without control of the lights, we could just be sitting in the dark the entire service. Without the slides, we would just stand and stare at the worship leaders, not knowing what to sing. We also wouldn’t be able to see scripture references, testimony videos, or visual illustrations that are used throughout the sermons that are preached each week. Without someone controlling the soundboard, it would be difficult to hear what’s being said or sung each week. In some ways, the tech team is as big a part of leading our worship each week as the person on stage. Could we do it without them? Yes, but would it be as good?

When I hurt my knee hiking, I could still hike, but I was limping along. As the Church, every body part is needed to work so that we can be the best version of the Church that we can. You may feel that your gifts aren’t that big of a deal, but without them, the Church could just be limping along instead of running. Help us run.