DE PONDERINGS
By Kevin Kessler, District Executive
(Read I Corinthians 12)
We are familiar enough with I Corinthians 12 to understand the metaphor it provides for the church. But do we take this metaphor seriously?
Do we understand that as a congregation of the Church of the Brethren that our activity and influence, or lack thereof, affects the entire district, the entire denomination, and the entire church?
Do we understand that our activity and influence, or lack thereof, as a committee or team within a congregation or within the district has impact upon the whole? Or have we become ingrained with the assumption that who we are and what we do has impact only on the immediate context in which we function and move and participate?
I’m confident wisdom is on our side when responding to these questions. We are well aware that our activity or inactivity has consequences that reach beyond our own little slice of the world when we maintain connection with the metaphor of I Corinthians 12.
However, a gentle reminder occasionally helps us to stay focused on the bigger picture. For instance, the work of the District Leadership Team impacts every district team, every district congregation, and can even have influence upon the work and ministry of other districts. Every ministry and ad-hoc team in the district makes a difference in the work of the Leadership Team and the work of every other team. Every congregation in this district has the power to bring about change in congregations in other districts. And so on and so on.
I’ve shared nothing new so far. I hope, though, that we’re reminded and inspired to take more seriously the need for and the benefits of collaboration. Understanding our individual roles as making a collective difference hopefully entices us to be engaged and involved. The body functioning is the body alive. The body functioning is the body that is toned and fit and strong, ready to meet the demands placed upon it as well as to ward off the dis-ease that threatens it.
Together, not separately, we make a difference. Therefore, I hope we keep in mind that whatever we do affects the whole body. And a body, healthy and functioning well as a whole, will ultimately have a positive impact on the world in which it exists. Seems to me this is the plan God has for the body called the church, and specifically the part of the body called the Church of the Brethren.
(Read I Corinthians 12)We are familiar enough with I Corinthians 12 to understand the metaphor it provides for the church. But do we take this metaphor seriously?
Do we understand that as a congregation of the Church of the Brethren that our activity and influence, or lack thereof, affects the entire district, the entire denomination, and the entire church?
Do we understand that our activity and influence, or lack thereof, as a committee or team within a congregation or within the district has impact upon the whole? Or have we become ingrained with the assumption that who we are and what we do has impact only on the immediate context in which we function and move and participate?
I’m confident wisdom is on our side when responding to these questions. We are well aware that our activity or inactivity has consequences that reach beyond our own little slice of the world when we maintain connection with the metaphor of I Corinthians 12.
However, a gentle reminder occasionally helps us to stay focused on the bigger picture. For instance, the work of the District Leadership Team impacts every district team, every district congregation, and can even have influence upon the work and ministry of other districts. Every ministry and ad-hoc team in the district makes a difference in the work of the Leadership Team and the work of every other team. Every congregation in this district has the power to bring about change in congregations in other districts. And so on and so on.
I’ve shared nothing new so far. I hope, though, that we’re reminded and inspired to take more seriously the need for and the benefits of collaboration. Understanding our individual roles as making a collective difference hopefully entices us to be engaged and involved. The body functioning is the body alive. The body functioning is the body that is toned and fit and strong, ready to meet the demands placed upon it as well as to ward off the dis-ease that threatens it.
Together, not separately, we make a difference. Therefore, I hope we keep in mind that whatever we do affects the whole body. And a body, healthy and functioning well as a whole, will ultimately have a positive impact on the world in which it exists. Seems to me this is the plan God has for the body called the church, and specifically the part of the body called the Church of the Brethren.
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