Sunday April 24, 2005 | Greg Boyd
Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by c one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.
Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
This week we got a glimpse at the real Woodland Hills Church! The Body of Christ is made up of all the followers of Christ, not just the church staff. A healthy body makes efficient use of all its parts. The video we saw showed much more of our actual church body than we usually get to see. Greg referred us to two main texts to support this idea that church is about the people, not the building or just the leadership.
This week we got a glimpse at the real Woodland Hills Church! The Body of Christ is made up of all the followers of Christ, not just the church staff. A healthy body makes efficient use of all its parts. The video we saw showed much more of our actual church body than we usually get to see. Greg referred us to two main texts to support this idea that church is about the people, not the building or just the leadership.
I Cor. 12:12-14, 27. Clearly all of us are different yet God desires us to work together to further the Kingdom. If you consider yourself a minister of this body, it is your responsibility to find out what part you are (your gifts and resources) and how you can participate best with this body. No part is superior to any other, because all are necessary to the proper functioning of the church. We are called to be one body built on Christ as our foundation and drawn to our common Mission: To advance the Kingdom of God against the kingdom of darkness by loving God, by embodying God’s love for each other, and by proclaiming God’s love to the world. This is why Woodland Hills Church exists!
Ephesians 4:11-12. This passage identifies several types of leadership gifts but they all have one thing in common. They are all charged with the equipping of the body. The idea of church leadership equipping, rather than doing the actual ministry is radical in the modern church. For centuries now, the communities of faith in the Western world have grown accustomed to pooling resources to free up certain individuals to do the ministry of the church. Of course, when this happens, far less ministry gets done. The whole body—all of its members—have gifts and will only be healthy if they all are using their gifts. This means that each and every one of us that considers ourselves Christian has a ministry to do!
Greg’s challenge to us was that we all “get in the game!” Don’t let the American consumerism of our culture rob you and your gifts from the Kingdom of God! We need you! God can use you right where you are. Don’t wait until your “mature enough”, or “healed enough”, or “strong enough.” Part of the way we grow, heal and mature is through serving one another.. As we yield more and more to God, we will experience the peace that comes from drawing on the true source of Life.