There’s a Place for Us
Romans 12:3-8
One of the most popular shows in television history was set in a
-it had unforgettable characters like Sam, Diane, Woody, Norm,
Cliff, and Frazier, but individually they weren’t the main attraction
--Ted Danson may have had the most lines, but the star of the
show, in my opinion, was the bar itself (okay, Baptists, just
stay with me for a moment and hear my theory)
-Cheers served as the unfulfilled dream of Americans from all
walks of life...it’s what we all wanted, and what we still need
--Gary Portnoy and Judy Hart Angelo got it right à You wanna
be where you can see, our troubles
are all the same; you
wanna be where everybody knows your name.
Sociologists tell us that my generation and those who are younger
simply are not “joiners”
-as a rule, we don’t join social clubs or service clubs
-we don’t join churches—which too often are seen as another club
-and we don’t join, experts hypothesize, because we are afraid of
commitment or because we don’t see any value in joining
I’m going to disagree with the professionals—I do have a minor in
sociology, so those 12 hours ought to count for something—I think
we don’t join because we’re looking for something—something
specific—and if we don’t see evidence of it we simply move on
-what we’re looking for, I contend, cannot be found in a bar
--it cannot be found at the Lions, Rotary, or Red Hats
--it cannot be found in a sorority, fraternity, or at league night
-what we are all looking for and need is a place to belong
--more than just a place where everybody knows my name
--more than a place where I have my name on a membership roll
--more than a place that has endless, pointless meetings, and
--certainly more than a place that’s always asking for my money
Now at this point you’d expect me, a pastor, to unfurl the banner and
proclaim, “You can
find it all in a church!
(especially
Church,
-but I won’t to do that—for one simple reason—it’s not always true
Let’s face it—the local church sometimes, if not often, falls far short of
what she could and should be
-it would be easy to throw out a lame, generalized excuse like, “No
church is perfect because there are no perfect people.” or “If you
found the perfect church, it wouldn’t be perfect once you joined.”
--I’m not talking about being a perfect church—that’s not biblical
---I’m talking about being the church God has created us and
called us to be
-and that church isn’t some far-fetched, idealistic, impossible
dream God’s cooked up
--that church—the one He has created us and called us to be—
is not only possible, it’s reasonable and expected
---and if you want to get technical about it—it’s commanded
As we begin a series of messages about some of the marks of
authentic, Christian community, we see how God intends for and
insists on the church being characterized by unparalleled sense of
belonging
-the church should be that place people are looking for, but it’s only
going to happen
if we are all doing our part
--listen how
Paul describes the church to believers in
Read Romans 12:3
The church will fail if it is filled with too many egos
-while v. 3 is especially applicable to pastor, teachers, musicians,
and other leaders, notice it’s actually directed to every individual
--clearly there will be significant problems when the pastor’s ego
is inflated...but you may be thinking, “I’m not in a position of
leadership, so what impact could my ego have on the church?”
--two basic problems can occur with your ego
---your self-judgment can be too harsh—you figure you can’t
contribute anything worthwhile to the ministry of the church
---your ego gets in the way of ministry...you might think you’re
above working with children...you might worry about your
reputation if you sit with him...you might think your time is
too valuable to visit someone who is homebound—wrong!!
--you might think, “Okay, but still, how does my private ego issue
affect anyone else?”
---it does because we are all interconnected with one another
Look at what Paul says next à Read Romans 12:4-6a
-now, personally, as you can tell, I am one fine physical specimen of
the human body
-this body is composed of hundreds of different parts...big parts like
muscles and brains...visible, but overlooked parts like toenails...
unseen, but vital parts like a pancreas and a liver
--all of them have different roles to play...important roles
---my heart is critical, but I wouldn’t want it to try to digest my
food or to transmit neuro-electrical impulses to my brain
-as vital as all these parts are, none of them are much good apart
from the body
--my big toe is necessary for good balance, but if it’s not attached
to my foot it’s not worth a whole lot all by its lonesome
Notice how Paul turns this image of the human body into an analogy
of the church, which is often rightly called the Body of Christ
-v. 5 begins: so in Christ
--that’s critical...it’s what separates the church from other clubs
or organizations—many of which do invaluable work—but the
church is first & foremost identified as those who are in Christ
-he goes on to say that all of us form one body
--here’s another characteristic of authentic Christian community
—we’ve been given a common identity and a common purpose
---just like a body is understood as a whole and all of its
various parts function together as one...so the church is
one body that is designed to work together
----when that doesn’t happen—when something’s not
working right—the entire body suffers
-----think about the last time you had a sore throat
or an earache...those aren’t life-threatening
illnesses, but those conditions can seem
debilitating—they affect everything
----if one of us—any of us—isn’t doing our job or if we’re
trying to do someone else’s job, we’ll all suffer
-----if I decided not to preach this morning and to
sing instead—trust me—we would all suffer
That’s why, in vv. 6b – 8, Paul lists some gifts and responsibilities
and says, “If this is what God’s equipped you to do, then do it!”
-if you don’t, you’ll be unfulfilled and the church will be incomplete
--Scripture makes it clear that every Christ-follower has been
given a specific, special gift or ability
---1 Corinthians 12:7 à Now to
each one the manifestation
of
the Spirit is given for the common good.
---1
Peter 4:10 à Each one
should use whatever gift he
has received to serve
others, faithfully administering
God’s grace in its various forms.
--did you catch all of that?
---each one (no exceptions)
---the Holy Spirit gives them and we receive them
---all are used to help others and to strengthen the church
---that’s why Paul says in v. 3 that there is simply no room
for egos or power-plays in the church
----Carolyn isn’t a better person than you—she’s a better
musician than most of you (there is a difference)
----Betty Colton is not a better person than you—she’s
just a better teacher than most of you
-----that’s not cause for jealousy or complaining...
it’s cause for rejoicing because it reminds us
that God knows what He’s doing
------would you want to be a part of a church
in which everyone’s a drummer? or a
children’s teacher? or a preacher?!!
-yes! some parts are more noticeable than others (I happen to have
a nice study and I wear a microphone on Sunday mornings), but
no part is more valuable than others (microphones and titles don’t
make me more important to the body—trust me, if I were gone
tomorrow, this church would continue ministering like it has for the
last 164 years)
In his book, Messy Spirituality, the late Mike Yaconelli
writes about the town of
Every year, the people in the community create a unique background for the concert—a huge 100’ x 30’ mosaic. Beginning in the summer, six months before the concert, the community designs a new mosaic, rents an empty building, and the painting begins. Hundreds of people participate, from junior-high to senior citizens. They paint-by-number on a large-scale design that has thousands of tiny pieces. Day after day, month after month, one little painted piece at a time, the picture on the mosaic gradually takes shape.
When everyone has finished painting, an artist goes over the entire creation, perfecting the final work of art. When the mosaic is completed, they place it behind the choir, giving it the appearance of an enormous, beautiful stained-glass window. The weekend of the concert, those people who helped paint arrive early, along with their friends and neighbors. Throughout the building, you can hear people whispering, "See that little green spot below the camel's foot? I painted it." Thousands of unknown, ordinary people paint a tiny insignificant tile...but six months later, according to the design of a true artist, the result is a spectacular, beautiful masterpiece.
What a wonderful picture of the church...people all over this
sanctuary can say, “I prayed, went, told, gave, sang, taught, cooked,
organized, cooked, drove, helped, wrote, played, cleaned, hosted,
encouraged...
-sure, some roles are more conspicuous than others, but the
beauty is that we all have a part to play
-The
Message provides a wonderful summary of it all à So
since
we find ourselves fashioned into all these
excellently formed and
marvelously functioning parts in Christ’s
body, let’s just go ahead
and be what we were made to be, with
enviously or pridefully
comparing our selves with each other, or
trying to be something
we
aren’t.
--what makes the church different from and better than Cheers is
this: here it’s more than we have a role to play...Scripture
tells us plainly that we were created for and especially,
specifically gifted for our part in the Body of Christ
--which means—guess what—when you or I don’t use our
God-given gift (or we use it for our own personal ‘glory’),
the entire Body suffers
---and that means not only are you and I needed, but
when someone else in the Body is struggling we
cannot simply turn away—we have a God-given
responsibility to encourage, support, guide...to do
whatever’s needed...because everybody matters
And do you know why?
-look at v.5 à and each member belongs to all the others
--we don’t belong only to our circle of friends—we belong to all
--we don’t belong only to our Sunday School class or our
Fellowship Night group—we belong to all
--guess what else—it also means that all belong to us...our
responsibility knows no limits
---this isn’t some theory, some hypothetical situation
---in reality, Correy Miller is just as responsible for Phyllis
Peniston as Ruth Miller is
---in reality, Darrel Rinehart is just as responsible for Grant
Peterson as Vicki Merrill is
--each...belongs to all the others...we are interconnected far
beyond what any of us can imagine
That got me thinking what if? —what if God today decided we simply
weren’t getting it,
so to make sure we grasped this concept and lived
out this concept, He was going to make it “all or none”?
-either we all are believers, all growing in our faith, all being
transformed more and more into the image of Christ, all using our
God-given gifts for the benefit of the entire Church...or none of
us goes to heaven—seriously—think about that
-what if it were “all or none”? seriously
--what would change? what would we do differently?
--what ministries should we begin? which ones should we stop?
-who’d be the most important person? on whom would we focus?
--on whom would we spend our time and our resources?
We live in a society that champions not only individualism, but almost
isolationism—the Church stands as a not-so-subtle reminder that
God intends for us to live in community
-He created us with an innate need to belong
--even those of us who aren’t wild about being around other
people still need to be part of something larger than ourselves
...we are called as Christ-followers not only to benefit by being
part of authentic Christian community, but to ensure we are
doing our part to make that community thrive