IF we are the body ....

     I had what could be called an epiphany several weeks ago.  Let me trot this dog out for you and see if he hunts.  You may remember I am in a discipleship group with a couple of awesome guys (Jeff and Eddie you owe me for saying that) working through the study written by Francis Chan and David  Platt entitled Multiply Movement.  We are in our last few lessons and were studying Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 about us being the body of Christ.  Let me guess ...the Casting Crowns song just started playing in your head???  I have heard this passage taught many times over the past 30 or so years of my Christian life.  While preparing for our study on The Early Church (Chapter 22), I was ruminating over the passage in 1 Corinthians 12.
      Each time I have heard that passage taught, it has been in the context of getting plugged into your local church body.  Having attended numerous churches over the years due to my Naval career, Lynne and I took this to heart and tried to plug in as quickly as possible before our Battery Low warning light illuminated.   TBH (To Be Honest for those not knowledgeable about Facebook parlance) I have never felt like there was a "Larry-shaped hole" in any local church body.  It was frustrating to say the least!   It was like the door to this mystery had a square hole and I had a circular key, doncha know (for my Wisconsin friends!).  Even after almost 13 years at Rosemont Baptist Church here in LaGrange, I still felt like there was a secret code to being part of the local church body that I was unable to break.  Even after trying everything from pre-school to Adult Sunday School teacher, my restless spirit did not feel a part of the body.  So you are wondering if this train has a caboose, or if there is a point.
      There we sat on a Sunday evening with Maribeth as a special guest discussing our discipleship study.  I asked if I could air out an idea and see if it had any validity.  When I read 1 Corinthians 12 that week, God showed me that the body of Christ Paul speaks of is not the local church but the collection of Christians worldwide that make up THE BODY of Christ.  The Holy Spirit showed me that my part in the body of Christ was ministering to my students and the faculty at Long Cane Middle School and the folks with whom I work at Literacy Volunteers of Troup County.  I almost felt a "Gibbs-style" slap to the back of my head as I pondered what had been revealed to my heart.  Maribeth looked at me and said, "Daaaaaad!"  Not sure I what she meant, I waited for her to finish.  Understand that Maribeth has been in Chicago for three years and has been fervently looking for a local "church body" to plug into and find her place.
     Now don't think I am eschewing using your spiritual gifts in the local church.  However, my part of the greater body of Christ may be outside of my local church.  To say that this revelation was freeing is an understatement.  However, I shared this with a few Christian friends, and they looked at me as if I had told them the sky was blue.  How have I missed this for so many years!   Well, I listened to numerous sermons that directed the meaning of 1 Cor. 12:23-27 toward finding your specific place in the local church.  In other words, I have been taught that our gifts are for the benefit of our local church body and not the body of Christ as a whole as Paul seems to mean.
     Our pastor, Adam Camp, has been preaching on "missional living."  His point has been that we are to minister outside the walls of the church.   Too often we see mission opportunities and then bring the information to the church and expect the church staff to minister or to organize ministry.  Missional living is serving and ministering in our community, on the job, and wherever God leads us.  To quote the lyrics from the song buzzing around in your head:

"But if we are the body
Why aren't His arms reaching?
Why aren't His hands healing?
Why aren't His words teaching?
And if we are the body
Why aren't His feet going?
Why is His love not showing them there is a way?
There is a way"

      I covet your thoughts and feedback.  It would be impossible to count the number of times I have sat in a pew and heard pastors tell me very clearly that this passage was talking about the local church body.  The Holy Spirit within me says that the church that is the body of Christ is larger than my local church and crosses denominational boundaries, and international boundaries.  Voila!  (For those who don't speak French that means "there it is!"

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