Jump Start # 1662

1 Corinthians 12:26 “And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.”

  In this wonderful section of Corinthians, Paul is describing the various roles that spiritual gifts have. Part of this explanation is showing that each member in a congregation plays different roles and each is vital and necessary. The comparison Paul makes is to the human body. He lists essential parts such as sight, hearing, smell and touch. We call these our senses. To lose any of them would hinder and handicap a person. Feet, hands, eyes, ears, nose—all are important. Paul doesn’t use things such as earlobes or little toe nails. I’m sure those things are important but they don’t cripple a person like the loss of sight would.

These words are important because some do not feel important, even in the church. There are certain people that are very visible, such as the preacher and the shepherds. It’s their names that appear on the bulletin. It’s their pictures that appear on the website. They are some of the first names that a new person learns. It’s very easy to assume that “those” people are the most important people in the church. Wrong. Without an audience, who is the preacher going to preach to? Without a flock, how does a shepherd lead? There are those who are inviting family and friends each week. There are those who are financially supporting the work that is being done. There are those who are attending the classes that are being taught. There are those who spit shine the place and make it ready for Sunday. There are those who are planning things years in advance. There are those who make sure the lights come on and the mics work and all the little details behind the scenes. There are those who are busy sending cards to others. There are those who are opening up their homes for hospitality. There are those who are raising their families to be godly people. Hands, feet, eyes, nose—important roles. Necessary roles. Everyone has a part. Everyone is needed. A person who feels that they could drop and not be missed, simply isn’t engaged. Get involved. Get connected.

Our verse, coming out of all of that discussion, makes the point that we are not only connected, but that what affects one affects all. This is true of the physical body and it is true of the spiritual church. A sore back will affect the rest of your body. Staying up too late and starting the day tired will affect the rest of your body. If one member suffers, all the members suffer with it. If it becomes known that one of the members has cancer, the rest of the church rallies behind that person to help. They feel affected as well.

What we do affects others. That’s the point this passage is making. We do not fly solo. We are not independent. The church, all the church everywhere, is one large family of Christ. We are the kingdom of God. What affects one part of the kingdom is felt throughout the kingdom.

Preachers leaving one place for another place, especially, when they leave in a huff, or make a mess of things, affects the rest of the family. Hurting one congregation to help another congregation, isn’t wise nor thoughtful of the kingdom. We must remember that we are all one large family. Splitting congregations because someone doesn’t like someone, is going to affect the family. More thought needs to be given to this. We can view a congregation as being so autonomous or independent that what is done in one place has no affect upon another, but it does. Hurt feelings and ruined reputations are often the consequences of hurting the family of God. Some folks have a history of causing messes with congregations everywhere they go. They move into a place and before very long, they sour the place, get folks upset, and then they leave. Off to another place. Off to tear up another place. Going from place to place with their little agendas and pet  peeves, feeling that everyone owes them a listening ear to their complaints, and rarely doing anything positive. Do these folks not realize that the church is one large family. You can’t hurt one part without hurting all of it. They leave one congregation in a mess, never looking back, never intending ever to return, and off to a new congregation. Fussing and complaining and wearing their feelings on a sleeve, they simply don’t get it. They are not switching jobs. They are not leaving Ford for AT&T. The church is connected. It’s one large family. To hurt one side of the body is to hurt the rest. I do wish many of my fellow preachers understood this. They leave muddy footprints all over the kingdom and wonder after a few years why so few folks use them. Really?

In this Corinthian passage, Paul’s thoughts are not brotherhood, but the Corinthian church. In a book that nearly every chapter presents problems, Paul’s solutions to them was never to start another congregation. That’s how we tend to think. Move on. Leave the problems. Get out of Dodge. Rather, what Paul does is address the problems. One by one, each of them are dealt with. Some seem minor. Some are massive. Work through these things in a Biblical fashion. Work through these things together. When one suffers we all suffer. It is never “their problem.” It is always, “our problem.” The same principle works in a marriage. It’s not his problem that he needs to get over. It’s our problem and we’ll work through it together. The concept of being ONE means that we are ONE.

Suffering saints never suffer alone. Not if this passage is being lived in our hearts. Daily prayers are being offered for the one that has troubles. Food is being taken to them. Cards are being mailed. Helped is offered. They do not experience this alone. I have seen surgery waiting rooms packed with Christians, sitting and waiting with a family. I have seen funeral homes so crowded with Christians that people were standing outside. Suffering saints—we all have our moments with that, but we should never suffer alone.

We are family—that was a song sung by Sly and the family Stone, years ago. Long before that, it was a principle taught by God. We are family. We need to remember that. We need to act that way. We need to think that way. Elderships need to think about that when looking for a preacher. Getting the preacher you want, does that tear up another congregation? Does that bother you? Do you feel that you are another team and you can get who you want or do you understand the concept of one large family? Congregations are not in competition with one another.

We are family…

Roger