When I was a child I received a Howdy Doody stringed puppet as a gift. Because Howdy Doody was big back then, it was one of my favorite toys. Howdy would do whatever I wanted him to do, and he didn’t know it wasn’t his idea. He was just responding to my guidance. What if God really were in charge of the church and was arranging things in our corporate lives just like I worked with that Howdy puppet?

“But now has God set the members every one of them in the body, as it has pleased Him” (1 Corinthians 12:18). What if God really was in charge of the church? What if those hypocrites in the church, the phonies, and the emotionally needy who drain us of spiritual energy, were led into this church by God Himself. What if all the problems we see in our church were actually a test set up by God to see how we, as individuals, will react?

Our verse today, still on the subject of spiritual gifts, tells us that God has set everyone in the church up for areas of service to Him. Even the people I don’t like. Even the people who are immature and hurt others. Even those who gossip. Even those hooked on bondages like pornography and drug addictions. Even those that you don’t like or trust. If God set them up in the body, and we’re also in the same body, I wonder what God might be teaching us about one another?

And notice also that Paul says that doing so pleases God. Its as if God is trying to develop His church in ways we don’t understand…developing us in relationships that we might not like. But dealing with people we don’t like or understand is what makes us deal with issues that cause growth. We can’t deal with them in the natural, so we need some supernatural means to relate to these dysfunctional people. We need spiritual gifts that allow us to see what we can’t see in the natural.

Who in the body gives you a problem? Let God’s spiritual gifts give you insight deeper than you ever could imagine in your own mind. Pray for them and see what God does in your own heart.

Tags: church, ministry, spiritual gifts

In 1 Corinthians 12 Paul is teaching about spiritual gifts. He has not wandered off that topic as he explains how we function together as a body, because spiritual gifts are to function through the various parts of the body to the body. He next illustrates this point further: “If the foot shall say, ‘Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body’; is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say, ‘Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body’; is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?” (1 Corinthians 12:15-17).

Unity is getting the toe to agree with the ear, not converting everyone over to being toes or ears. Each part of the body has a legitimate gift and a legitimate purpose. The hard part in the church is getting independent minded people to recognize our need of each other in the body. Here at New Hope, we’re likely never going to be as good at winning traditional people over as some other churches, because we have decided to target young adults in everything we do, and they hate tradition. So, we value other churches and the members of the body that serve there.

The toe has a specific purpose in the body: to help stabilize balance when we walk. The ear has a distinctly different purpose in the body: to channel auditory senses to our brain. There is no connection between the two different parts, but we need both and wouldn’t be the same is we lost either. They are both valued parts of the body. So it is with the different types of people doing different kinds of ministry in the local church. And we must value each part, no matter how lowly they may appear.

Notice Paul’s approach here is not to exclude others from the body, but when one excludes him/herself from the body because they are not quite like the others. Do you judge yourself less than your brothers and sisters? Could it be Satan has deceived you into thinking you don’t have anything to offer the body of Christ? Don’t be deceived and miss your invitation. Like the toe, you have a vital role to play in God’s economy.

Tags: church, spiritual gifts, unity

Paul had just taught that we were all baptized into one body together. We all got in the same way. Now, he adds a new dimension: “For the body is not one member, but many” (1 Corinthians 12:14). This is great wisdom for the church. A “body” is one, yet its made up of many various and diverse parts, all functioning in harmony, like instruments in an orchestra.

It is human nature, I suppose, for us to try to distinguish ourselves from the world by setting moral values and philosophical values to build a framework for us to practice our faith together. However, denominations make a major mistake when they design rules and guidelines that define who they are that alienate believers who are not wired that way. Local churches can do that, too. I recall one lady told of visiting another church. When the pastor said something she thought was helpful, she spoke out loud, “Amen”. Several people turned and gave her a disapproving look, and one lady said back to her, “We don’t do that here.” What about valuing the other parts of the body of Christ?

Many members make up the body, but we must get over the idea that all members be just like us. If that would work, then why don’t we just design uniforms for the weekend services? We could all dress just alike and come up with our own Christian slang language and put up a sign out front that says “Members Only”.

But the value of the body of Christ is that the Spirit is growing us together and we are diverse and value that diversity. We are one, yet many. To isolate others from “us” is isolating us from other parts of the body that the Spirit is working with in another way or another level. Let’s value all the parts of the body and quit judging them based upon ourselves as the standard of perfection.

What is the Lord saying to you about the body of Christ being one, yet many?

Tags: church, spiritual gifts

1 Corinthians 12:13: “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit“. The church is made up of all types of people with all types of religious backgrounds. Some were raised by highly dysfunctional parents and some of us had highly responsible parents. Some of us made wise choices for our lives early on, but others of us made some grave mistakes in judgment early on. In our church we have those that are highly educated, and we have those yet to attain a GED. We have ex-cons in our midst. Some are well-to-do, and some are struggling financially. Men and women. Old and young. Republicans and Democrats.

With all these differences, we all still have the very same relationship with God, through His Son, Jesus, and revealed to us through His Spirit. The ground is level at the cross. We are all sinners and find relationship with God in the same manner. We make up the body of Christ. We each bring different gifts into the mix.

As we drink deeply of His Spirit, He reveals different things to different people, because of our own personal perspective based on our past and present understanding. So, we teach each other. This is the church in action.

When you step into the church this weekend, look around you. There is so much diversity. There is so much someone else has learned that you haven’t been through. Let’s embrace that diversity and value it. Let’s not make our life the standard for everyone else.

Its like Thanksgiving dinner. We provide the meat drinks and location, but everyone brings something to the table that we all share in. That’s family! And ooh, its so good.

Tags: church, spiritual gifts, unity

Five days before Christmas, the newspaper headline proclaimed: GOOD WILL? PEACE? NOT IN THIS CHURCH.

A 133-year old congregation was being torn apart. The pastor was being heckled during his sermons. Competing factions were passing around their own collection plates. The police even had to be called in when the arguing got out of hand during a service.

I remember speaking at a Michigan church as a guest of the pastor. When we arived, an older gentleman was passing out papers to people arriving at the front door. When I sat down and read the paper, it was 15 reasons why we need to get rid of the pastor. Why do Christians not see the damage they are doing to the Lord’s church with such actions? Who is interested in the god of a church like that?

In Jesus’ longest recorded prayer, He prayed: “I pray that they all may be one…that the world may believe that You sent Me” (John 17:21). Let’s join Jesus in this prayer of unity.

Tags: church, spiritual warfare, unity

Several days ago I received an email from a person who was looking for a new church and considering visiting New Hope. Her primary concern was how we dressed at New Hope. I assured her we dress casual but have a few who still dress semi-formal on Sundays. I thought it might be appropriate if I spelled out some things she should look for when checking out churches (more important than the dress code). Here is the checklist I gave her. How would you evaluate New Hope based on these:

• Does the worship draw you into a closer walk with God?
• Does the church membership have a broad mix of demographics (age, race, socio-economics, etc)?
• Does the message challenge you to go beyond your present limits in faith?
• Does the church use relevant methods to communicate?
• Do you feel “life” in the church or has it felt like a funeral home visit?
• Is there a focus on children’s ministries (an essential for reaching young adults)?
• Does the church talk about Jesus as our only hope?
• Does the church emphasize the Bible as the Word of God?

These are things that should be evident to anyone visiting for the first time. We may not be the best at these things, but they should be a measuring gauge for us in being the church Jesus called us to be.

Tags: church, dress code, priorities