Nominations
In 1 Corinthians 12, the Apostle Paul draws an analogy between the complex functioning of the church and the complex functioning of the human body. It’s a brilliant part of the Bible. The main point is that God designed and gifted us each differently so that we might experience the joy of depending on each other. The body can’t be all head or mouth or hands, that would be monstrous! Just as God designed the various parts of our anatomy to work together, so it is with the spiritual gifts that God gives to the members of his church.
We’re at the stage in the year when it’s time to make nominations for people who have the gifts to serve as Deacons, Elders, and Senior Leadership Team members (SLT); and I’d like to take the biological metaphor of 1 Corinthians 12 to a deeper, cellular level.
I like to think of Elders as white blood cells in the body of the church. They are called to travel widely through the body, affirming health and being first in line to fight off disease and infection. They are sacrificial. Indeed, Elders are called to be spiritually mature shepherds of the church.
I think of Deacons as red blood cells which carry life giving oxygen to every corner of the body, but are able to bring extra resources to those tissues that have been bruised or are struggling. Deacons have gifts of compassion, care, and large heartedness.
And I think of the SLT as cells in the nervous system of the church. The SLT should be among the first to pass on messages about reality to the rest of the body: alerting us to potential pain, pleasure, danger, and safety. Nerve cells are great communicators and full of reality-based common sense.
Do you know somebody who fits any of those descriptions? Would you be willing to nominate them for service for the benefit of the rest of the body at ECRC? You can read more about the process and submit an online nomination HERE
To sum up, the Body of Christ is composed of individuals, unlike cells that are knit together to form one body. "Vive la différence.” But He, Jesus, is the life that animates the body. Crucially, it’s his DNA that sets the pattern for all of us to find our form and function, our meaning and purpose. And the joy of the Body increases as individual cells like us realize that we can contribute in a diversity of ways without becoming a lonely, isolated outpost.
– Pastor Gregg