A Church Full of Body Builders
Sometimes what we truly are in Christ gets obscured by “normal life,” bad days, imperfect people (all of us!) and low attendance (like today!). But, my dear friends, listen to these words that were written about you:
“She is the people of God created by the reconciliation of Jews and Gentiles. She is the body of Christ and . . . his bride. She is the communion of those saved, forgiven, resurrected from death, and made holy. It is her nature to worship God and to be God’s missionary to the world. She is the temple of God in the process of construction and a signal of the new creation that affects all men, powers, and things. God the Father, the Son, and the Spirit create her, rule her, are present in her. [This] is recognized when the church listens to the voice of the Scriptures and of the living witness; when she believes in, and makes her confession to, the one God; and when her conduct corresponds to her high calling.” (Markus Barth, Ephesians, pp 477-478)
Pretty exciting words and descriptions of the church! We have been building up our identity with many of those themes in our series on Ephesians.
This has been a rough week:
• connecting with the pain of my brothers and sisters in Miami.
• The pain of my own lack of “living up to my high calling” (echoing Barth).
PEOPLE TRANSFORMATION
Reggie McNeal, in “The Present Future” describes the frustration that many Christians feel that the life they experience bears little resemblance to the “abundant life” they hear preached about on Sunday Morning. McNeal charges that their failure is not so much their fault as it is the fault of “church culture.” Sometimes both Pastors and the church lose their focus on what is important. Instead of measuring church by the number and popularity of their programs, he says we should ask: “What percentage of your congregants feel they grew to be more like Jesus this past year?” He continues: “What if church leaders asked each other, “How is God at work in your people?” or “Where do you see Jesus bustin’ out?” (pp. 73-74)
The “abundant life” which Jesus said is available to all people, is not found in
• higher salaries (certainly not just higher minimum wage)
• better education
• prestigious jobs (Stephen B’s brother Daniel in trouble for grand theft and drugs. Commenting on how a successful role with TV’s “The Sopranos” has no redeeming effect on Daniel, entertainment journalist Roger Friedman sneers: “So that’s the tragedy of addiction: even being on the most prestigious show on television isn’t enough to make him turn his life around. Sad.” (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,228634,00.html)
The abundant life is found in Jesus. The more he lives in us the more we reflect him and the more we have a taste of “abundance” no matter what our external life circumstances.
That is essentially what we call “spiritual maturity” or “being built up spiritually” or becoming “like Jesus” or the more exciting and personal reality of “Jesus being formed in us”
How do we get there?
TEXT: Eph 4:7-16
7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8 This is why it says:
“When he ascended on high,
he led captives in his train
and gave gifts to men.”
9 (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) 11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
BIG IDEA: Jesus gives us gifts to be used in building each other up in Him
The church is described as many things, but in this text, the dominant image is that of a body. The church with all it parts, people, places is one body. Not just any body but HIS body.
We intuitively know things about the body:
• bodies are supposed to grow
• bodies work best when the parts work together as a unit
And so it is with the church:
• built up/mature/attaining the full measure of Christ/grow up into Him
• as “each part does its work.”
Transition: But we don’t grow up on our own, or into whomever we want.
1. OUR SPIRITUAL MATURITY STARTS AND ENDS IN CHRIST
My wife tells me she thinks Weight Watchers is the most effective program out there for taking care of your body.
Jesus is likewise interested in taking care of his body. And he developed his own high quality system. In this text we learn that
He gives His body what it needs to grow
v. 7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift(NKJV)
v. 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers
not only does he give gifts, but in some sense, we ARE gifts!
vv. 15-16 (HEAD, the “source of life”, and “from him”. He directs us, guides us, nourishes us)
He is the Goal of our maturity
expressed in different ways in vv 13 and 15
I don’t want to be “like Mike” I want to be like Jesus.
as spouses are said over time to look like each other, the more we spend time growing in Christ, the more we look like him.
2. EVERY MEMBER OF CHRIST’S BODY HELPS THE OTHER PARTS BE BUILT UP
Not a task for a chosen few:
Sometimes our experience suggests it is
• “Reverend” “His Excellency” out of balance adulation for the pastor, Latin Mass (contrast Luther’s desire to get the Bible in the language of the people)
• ordination for “full time” and paid ministers (YOUR JOB/CALLING)
• Expectations: the pastor does “all things of a church” from lawn mowing to visitation to preaching to eating elderly ladies’ cookies and casseroles (my job!)
Sometimes a shallow reading of the Bible suggests it is
• one might get the idea from v. 11 that only certain people have the capability to bring spiritual maturity, or can “build up” the body.
• that ignores vv 7, 12, 16
In fact, Barth emphasizes that all the qualities we think need to be present in a "clergy man" are spoken of in Ephesians as qualities all "saints" need to have:
"Clergymen are expected to speak the truth, to confess their "faith" openly and to live up to it, to have the "seal" of authority, to be properly called" and "walk worthy of their vocation," to be men of "hope" filled with the right "spirit", to take a firm "stand," to demonstrate mutual "love," to be faithful in "prayer" and "intercession." According to Ephesians each saint and all the saints are equipped to walk this way, not only some among them. (Commentary, p. 481)
This means there needs to be a sharing of our gifts, people don’t “come to church” to “watch” but people ARE the church, to “BE and DO” the Lord’s work.
The story is told of One church that took drastic measures into their own hands:
Julie and Bob Clark were stunned to receive a letter from their church in July asking them to "participate in the life of the church"—or worship elsewhere. "They basically called us freeloaders," says Julie. "We were freeloaders," says Bob.
In a trend that may signal rough times for wallflower Christians, bellwether mega-church Faith Community of Winston-Salem has asked "non-participating members" to stop attending. "No more Mr. Nice Church," says the executive pastor, newly hired from Cingular Wireless. "Bigger is not always better. Providing free services indefinitely to complacent Christians is not our mission."
"Freeloading" Christians were straining the church’s nursery and facility resources, and harming the church’s ability to reach the lost, says the pastor. "When your bottom line is saving souls, you get impatient with people who interfere with that goal."
Faith Community sent polite but firm letters to families who attend church services and "freebie events," but never volunteer, never tithe, and do not belong to a small group or other ministry. The church estimates that, of its 8,000 regular attendees, only half have volunteered in the past 3 years, and a third have never given to the church.
"Before now, we made people feel comfortable and welcome, and tried to coax them to give a little something in return," says a staff member. "That’s changed. We’re done being the community nanny."
Surprisingly, the move to dis-invite people has drawn a positive response from men in the community who like the idea of an in-your-face church. "I thought, A church that doesn’t allow wussies—that rocks," says Bob Clark, who admires the church more since they told him to get lost.
Joel Kilpatrick, "Mega-Church Downsizes, Cuts Non-Essential Members," Larknews.com (September, 2006)
Of course, that is “satire” but not too far from what some churches might need to do!
What IS interesting about those that are named first, is their function: they are all “‘ministers of the Word”
In other lists of gifts, these type of gifted ministers are listed first. Gifted by Jesus for a specific task: making sure the Word of God, the “gospel of salvation” takes root in the hearts of people.
“Salvation is by faith which comes from hearing and believing the preached word.”
All of these play some part of the establishing of God’s Word: Tell us about God, who Jesus is, what He has done for us, what he wants from us. In a sea of competing religions and ideas and lifestyles, Christ gave these ministers to the church to be spokesmen for Christ, to be shepherds for his flock.
In his book Leadership That Works, pastor Leith Anderson writes about the effective evangelistic ministry of a woman named Kathy:
She was a successful stockbroker in Minneapolis who easily made friends and had the gift of evangelism. She used to go to the pool at her apartment complex, settle on a chaise lounge, read a book, and eventually strike up a conversation with whoever sat next to her. Soon the two would become friends, and Kathy would begin talking very comfortably about her Christian faith.
Bringing newcomers to church was her regular practice. She was so good at this that she was invited to serve on the church evangelism board. When Kathy asked me what I thought about the idea, I said, "It seems ridiculous. Why would we put someone who is so good at evangelism in a room for hours with people who are already Christians? Let someone else serve on the evangelism board while you sit out by the pool."
(Leith Anderson, Leadership That Works (Bethany House, 1999), pp. 135-136;)
As ministers of “the Word”, servants like Kathy help equip the rest of Christ’s body for being ministers themselves. I think this is because of the role that the Word plays in forming Christ in people. As they use their gift for others, others are built up and become naturally ready to use their gifts and press on toward maturity
UNITY THROUGH PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION
We have never achieved perfect unity in a local church any more than any of us has been completely transformed into the image of Christ.
Truman Dollar in Leadership, Vol. 7, no. 4.
Markus Barth elaborates: "The task of the special ministers mentioned in Eph 4:11 is to be servants in that ministry which is entrusted to the whole church. Their places is not above, but below the great number of saints who are not adorned by resounding titles. . . He is a "pastor" of God’s flock, who understands himself as a ministery to ministers."
In turn, the task of the whole church and of every saint is to carry out a work of service for the prase of God and the benefit of all who need it. There are needy people inside the church--the lonely men at the top" may well belong among them." (M. Barth, The Anchor Bible, vol. 34a, p. 481)
It doesn’t matter how small you perceive your part to play:
Small Efforts Have Impact
I was asked to conduct the funeral for a man who had helped develop the famous Boeing 747 aircraft. After the service, I spoke with the widow and commented on how remarkable it was that her late husband had helped build that marvelous machine. She said, "The truth is, he worked on one little switchbox smaller than a loaf of bread. That’s all he worked on for 15 years. But when that 747 lifted off the ground for the first time, it was the happiest day of his life."
He worked on one small switchbox for more than a decade. Yet the huge plane couldn’t have lifted off without this man’s contribution. Often we see only our seemingly small efforts and feel we aren’t very important. But when the great Kingdom of God "lifts off," we’ll be thrilled to find out that all of our efforts were essential.
M. Craig Barnes, pastor of National Presbyterian Church, Washington, D.C., from a sermon delivered at Christianity Today International (9-19-00); submitted by Kevin Miller, Wheaton, Illinois
we really do need each other:
HELP OF THE BODY, NOT JUST ALONE WITH THE LORD
Alone I cannot serve the Lord effectively, and he will spare no pains to teach me this. He will bring things to an end, allowing doors to close and leaving me ineffectively knocking my head against a wall until I realize that I need the help of the Body as well as of the Lord.
Watchman Nee, Leadership, Vol. 9, no. 3
I have experienced this too. I am NOT and ISLAND. Even with the Spirit of God and my gifts and the Bible, quite often God uses his people (of all shapes and sizes, gifts and talents) to keep me on track, to encourage me, to teach me things.
• Jim’s praying for the church and our worship and teaching times every Sunday morning
• Ann and Pam’s gift of service to help me get the Family Sunday School supplies to teach the class effectively.
• Christopher’s dogged and heartfelt pursuit of God in the midst of his own struggles and past
• Tonia’s email to me as I prepare my sermon, a simple little act that encouraged me as the weight of the sermon started descending on me
• My wife’s unending and timely insights and sanity when I am going insane with pressure
and on and on the list grows.
There is no room for feeling glum or not being in the spot light. Jesus himself said to “do things “in secret” and your Father will reward you.
In a secular illustration of the worth of behind the scenes and “humble” service, John Maxwell retells the story of Churchill’s encouragement to a group of miners:
John Maxwell, in The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork, writes:
During World War II, when Britain was experiencing its darkest days, the country had a difficult time keeping men in the coal mines. Many wanted to give up their dirty, thankless jobs in the dangerous mines to join the military service, which garnered much public praise and support. Yet their work in the mines was critical to the war. Without coal, the military and the people at home would be in trouble.
So prime minister [Winston Churchill] faced thousands of coal miners one day and told them of their importance to the war effort, how their role could make or break the goal of maintaining England’s freedom. Churchill painted a picture of what it would be like when the war ended, the grand parade that would honor the people who fought the war. First would come the sailors of the navy, the people who continued the tradition of Trafalgar and the defeat of the Spanish Armada. Next would come the best and brightest of Britain, the pilots of the Royal Air Force, who fended off the German Luftwaffe. Following them would be the soldiers who fought at Dunkirk. Last of all would come the coal-dust-covered men in miners’ caps.
Churchill indicated that someone from the crowd might say, "Where were they during the critical days of the struggle?" And the voices of thousands of men would respond, "We were in the earth with our faces to the coal." It’s said that tears appeared in the eyes of the hardened men. And they returned to their inglorious work with steely resolve, having been reminded of the role they were playing in their country’s noble goal of pursuing freedom for the Western World.
No matter WHAT your gift, GIVEN IN THE GRACE of Christ for HIS BODY (should say something about your importance . . .) YOU are an instrument for the building up of Christ’s Body. We are in essence:
Christian Body Builders (Hans and Franz)
Putting this all together, McNeal compares the church with the local YMCA
Part of the answer to spiritual growth, according to McNeal, is having “life coaches,” much as the local Y might have trainers. Similar to a trainer helping flabby pupils set goals, learn exercises, and progress in ability and endurance, these life coaches take an active interest in discovering where people need to grow and sticking with them as they set out to make changes in their lives. But being a coach is not just for the elite: “In most cases life coaching will occur in a variety of relationships and venues in the congregation. But it will not occur unless we free up people and time to do it. This means less church activity and more people development.” (p. 80)
It was a tough week for me, but I was encouraged by
• how people ministered to me
I was made aware of how IMPORTANT it is for
• people to minister to each other—each DOES have a KEY role
I was amazed at the growth I saw in some people in my old church in Miami (Eppy growing as an elder, doing his part, Camelia writing a letter of scriptural encouragement to the whole church not to forget their call to unity, the impact of my wife on a good friend down there “she is a ‘really good minister’s wife’)
But for all these things to happen, we need to be in relationship with each other and we need to be exercising our gifts and we need to hold above all the goal of
Are there Christians growing weary of what to believe?
Are there Christians shaky in their faith?
Are there Christians dispirited because of people?
What way has God gifted you to help his body be built up? Are you using your gift? Will you help the whole body mature (group not just individual)?
Communal maturity is the ability to live and speak truth in such a way that Jesus is revealed and transformation occurs. Maturity is the ability to authentically express the essence of the Gospel. This is the kind of community Paul prays his readers would know and celebrate.
(Dave Fleming, the Search for Authentic Community http://www.preachingplus.com/DisplaySermon.aspx?OLDID=423)
I want to grow up in Christ! I anticipate it! From a baby to an adult. I know too well that I am not there yet, but I am excited about what God has in store for me and for us as each of us does our part in building each other up.
I want you to walk out believing in the beauty of a community blessed by Christ--blessed with the ability and tools necessary to grow up and flourish in the midst of chaos, like a solid oak tree weathering—even flourishing amidst the fierce storm, to spend our time using what God has gifted each of us with, eager to help the rest of the body as we struggle with life and press on toward maturity in Christ, to look forward to experiencing the blessing of others using their gifts for our sake, so that all of us grow up together as the very body of Christ our Lord.
