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Celebrating the Many Parts of Christ's Body
One of the most fascinating scriptural images of the church is the human body. I don’t know what it is, but when I begin to read Paul’s words: “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,” (I Cor. 12:12) I get excited to think how much more the church is than I can physically see. For just as many of the parts of my body are unseen and unrecognized, but they still manage to work together reasonably well, so too there are many part of the church that I don’t always recognize or see, but nonetheless they manage to work well together.
There are so many people who serve at Grace! Every week scores of people serve in all kinds of ministries. Many we see. Many we don’t. Some people have highly visible ministries while others seemingly have invisible ones. There are people who serve in what we might call “fun” places, while I know of certain ministries that no one could never call “fun.” But it seems to me that no matter what the ministry might be or the act of service given, they are all important, essential, and vital.
Recently I was surfing through some of the pages of our newly-designed website, and I came across the “Principles We Hold Dear.” One of the principles stood out from the rest: We are all ministers, gifted and given abilities that are used to build up the body of Christ. Pastors are to “equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:14). These familiar words reminded me that our church consists of many ministers who are called to serve in many ways, just like the many parts of the body serve together so that the person can function normally.
This month we have set aside time to thank all the many parts of our body at Grace who serve, volunteer, and give sacrificially for ministries. There are too many people to name, but all of them deserve our thanks and gratitude for helping Grace to thrive and grow stronger. No one can begin to calculate the number of hours people give each week to the ministries of worship, church school, catechism, nursery, and outreach. I can’t even imagine the hours of preparation, study, learning, and doing which takes place before the actual ministries even happen! But I do know that Grace would be an entirely different place without all the volunteers and people who serve!
I want to invite everyone to join us on June 23-24 as we celebrate the many gifts of service and those who give them! But more important than that, we want to give thanks to God on these days for the ways in which his Spirit has grown faith through each and every act of service…not only in the lives of those who serve but in each and every one of us. Service grows out of faith and faith grows in service. Behind all the serving, giving, and ministering is God who uses it all
to grow us more into the life of his Son. And at Grace, we have much to celebrate.
Perhaps in one of the most important parts of Rick Warren’s, Purpose Driven Life, he writes:
Jesus was unmistakable: “Your attitude must be like my own, for I, the Messiah, did not come to be served, but to serve and to give my life.” For Christians, service is not optional, something to be tacked onto our schedule, if we can spare the time. It is the heart of the Christian life. Jesus came “to serve” and “to give”– and those two verbs should define your life on earth, too. Serving and giving sum up God’s fourth purpose for your life. Mother Teresa once said, ‘Holy living consists in doing God’s work with a smile” (Pg. 230-231).
I am glad that so many of you understand this. I see the smiles on your faces. I feel the results of your giving. I am amazed at your serving. Thank you all for sharing in the partnership of this ministry of Grace. You have all made a big difference!
In Him,
Pastor Mark