‘But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.’
— 1 Corinthians 12:18-20, 27
I think many Christians tend to forget — or never fully realize — that we all have an important role to play in the church.
It’s too easy to compare ourselves to others, and then shrink back because of who we’re convinced we’re not, instead of focusing on who we actually are or can be.
I’m actually on staff at my church. If you had told me ten years ago that I’d one day be working with a church — even on a part-time basis — I’d have laughed at you. “I’m no pastor,” I’d have said. “And I certainly am no musician; I couldn’t sing or lead the band.”
But that’s the point here: we don’t have to.
We get so obsessed on figuring out how we measure up to other people rather than trying to keep the priority on how we measure up to God’s plan for our lives that we convince ourselves that we have nothing to contribute.
Consider this from 1 Corinthians:
“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. 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. 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?” — 1 Corinthians 12:15-17
It’s such a simple concept that it’s nearly laughable. But we still don’t seem to get it when we’re inside the church building. At least, I didn’t.
Until the worship pastor decided that I should be part of the technical team, the group that handles sound, lighting and screen displays during the live services.
I don’t have the talent to be the pastor our pastor is. If you think that I’m in any way a “visionary” from anything I’ve ever written here, know that nothing I have ever done compares with notions he comes up with on a weekly basis. I don’t have the musical ability to perform a song (unless playing an iPod constitutes “performing” a song).
But the point was, I didn’t need those talents. I had worked, at that time, for nearly 20 years in television, with a strong background in live production.
I’m not the eyes. I’m not the ears.
Maybe I’m the spleen.
But I’m still part of “the body.” There is room for me.
And I still have a role to play.
“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.”
— 1 Corinthians 12:4-6
Maybe your church needs someone with a production background to be part of the tech team. Maybe your church has been looking (or hoping) for someone who’s really good at cooking to prepare baked goods for the snack bar. Maybe you have computer skills and can help maintain the church’s computer network.
Maybe you’re just so kind-hearted that you can help greet people at the door or help answer questions from new visitors.
There’s a talent you have and a hidden passion ready to be intensified.
