Week 38:
I Corinthians 12:12-30 12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its
many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by 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. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.
15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do
not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the
body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do
not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the
body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of
hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them,
just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the
head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be
weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat
with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special
modesty,24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But
God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that
its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one
part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28 And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts
of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do
all work miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? 31 Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. And yet I will show you the most excellent
way.
Recently, I have been reflecting on the modern-day Church. Specifically around this idea of not needing
Church in order to take part in a Christian walk. What comes to mind are phrases like: “I don’t have to go to Church in order to be ‘Christian’.”
Or, “Going to Church doesn’t make you anymore a Christian than standing a
garage makes you a car.” Or, simply, “All
I need is my personal relationship with Jesus.”
Now, I am not out to debate whether or not someone is a Christian in
relation to Church attendance. I am
working off the experience of hearing Christians make these sorts of comments
about Church. I call this part of their
walk, “
Going it alone.”
Recently,
Janet Hagberg devoted
articles in her blog
At River’s Edge to guest
authors over the topic of;
What is
Church? Why Church? Thus far, she has devoted 3 different entries
to the topic:
1st
in series,
2nd
in series, and
3rd
in series. It is interesting the
range of responses from the different authors.
Ranging from (and I am interpreting and paraphrasing), ‘I left Church
and experienced God more fully’ to ‘Church is where I belong’. And, ‘Church is wherever a group of people
has formed’ to ‘I now see the Church as part of me but not a definition of me’. I can see a little bit of myself in all of
these descriptions.
There have been times where I have been disenchanted with Church. There have been times where I did not feel I
belonged in Church. Either because of the
people there, or some sort of exposure I was feeling. There have been times where I have wondered
if we are doing “Church” right. And yet,
there have been times where I thought, “This must be a sample of what heaven
will be like.” Many times, Church for me
has been my source of fellowship, worship, and learning.
In M. Robert Mulholland’s book
Invitation
to a Journey: A Road Map for Spiritual Formation, Mulholland talks
about a privatized, individualized spirituality vs. corporate
spirituality. In a lot of ways, the western
Church is a reflection of our current society.
Our society has become very individualized, yet our society is also the
most mentally ill society in history. Mulholland
spends some time writing about the different parts of the body based on the
above passage. In an interesting twist,
he replaces the labelled body parts with personality types. The reading around all of this reminded me
about how important each part of the body is to each other. In a Church, there are all kinds of parts and
they are all interdependent upon each other.
When one part leaves and decides to “go it alone”, both the body and the
part suffer.
I am not advocating that we/I have to keep strict attendance in Church. Also, I am not saying we/I even have to follow
western Church expectations and traditions.
However, what I know for myself is that I need a body or community of
some sort to continue my transformative work (that will not end until I die or
Jesus returns). Mulholland notes about
corporate spirituality, “…we come into contact with others who become agents of
grace in our growth toward wholeness in Christ, while we become agents of God’s
grace in their growth.” He compares our
privatized spirituality to keeping control over releasing control to God. He expounds on this further:
When we are in control of our relationship with
God, when we try to maintain a privatized spirituality, we have to maintain a
defensive posture toward others. We have
to protect ourselves against them because we sense, unconsciously if not
consciously, that there is a fatal flaw somewhere in our privatized spirituality—and
anyone might disclose it. I have to keep
you at arm’s length lest you reveal the weakness, the flaw, in my privatized spirituality.
Once I started going to Church in my teens, I really have not left
attendance. Oh, I had times in college
where I was absent for several weeks, but for the most part I have been a
faithful attender. I haven’t tried “going
it alone”…I thought. Then I realized, I
have not left the body physically, but I have checked out emotionally and
mentally at times. Here, I was “going it
alone.” In those times, I find myself in
a dry walk. In those times, I am not accountable
and challenged. In those times, I hear
less from God.
One other revelation comes up for me around this topic. There are times where my attendance and fellowship
is not for me. Other parts of the body
need my presence. When my Church body is
doing “hands” work and I am a foot, I have little to do. However, I still am a support piece for
others. My feet need to be ready to move
the body where the hands can work. I
have other responsibilities within the body besides what I can gain from the
body. If, I “go it alone”, then I am actually
not supporting the body.
Finally, I would like to think that I have matured enough in my walk that
Church attendance is not keeping a checklist to please God for me. There is more to Church attendance than doing
it just out of obedience to” not forsaking the assembly”. There is a community of believers that is there
for me and there so that I may support them.
I need to be an example…not of how it should be done necessarily, but
one of support and function within the body.
I believe that God is still working in His Church. What I need to continue is to pay attention
to where.
Questions/challenges:
1.
Explain where in your spiritual walk you have gone it
alone?
2.
What was the reason behind this lonely walk?
3.
Take some time and read the articles from the Hagberg
blog. What is your reaction to them?
4.
What do you think are some of the reason behind a
privatized spirituality?
5.
Search your heart and listen for God this week around
your role in the body. Pay attention to
what God’s direction may be for you.
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