Good Working Order

…when each part
is working properly,
makes the body grow
so that it builds
itself up in love.

Ephesians 4:16c

When my car doesn't function properly, I get frustrated! The bane of my driving experience was a car that looked great on the outside but whose inner workings were in constant conflict. Once, while in the fast lane of a Los Angeles freeway the alternator stopped doing its job. Mechanics say that this is a gradual process but not in my car--the alternator went on “strike” without warning and while the battery tried to keep up the result was my “bane” sitting in the way of whizzing cars whose alternators were doing their jobs just fine!

It’s nothing new the importance of working together, but a little reminder is sometimes helpful. From friendships to families to marriages to businesses to churches if an individual goes on strike the entire “system” is affected.

There is an alarming statistic when it comes to church members “striking.” The average time period that a pastor stays with a congregation, across all denominations, is eighteen months! Studies have discovered that five or fewer people in a church deciding to not work properly causes so much disruption that pastors quickly find themselves broken down.

Each part working properly makes a difference in the life of a church. If you are part of a Christian community remember that you have a unique design and while the community’s success or failure depends on the whole of the parts working properly you are part of the whole. A single “strike” can be the cause of everything coming to a screeching halt.

Jesus, You encouraged us

to be in community

with each other.
Forgive me when I try to do the job

designed for others.
Help me to know how I can be

a proper working part
helping my church to

build itself up in love.
Amen.