We Are The Body

Yesterday I returned from Indianapolis where I spent Monday and Tuesday in meetings. I was invited to participate in a Commission On Leadership Development for The Free Methodist Church.

When one of our bishops contacted me to ask me to join this group I have to admit, I was very leery. You see, I am not much of a denominational type of guy. This is probably because I don't know enough about particular denominations. However, I have seen different denominations bicker over the littlest things and that irritates me. I think that hurts the Christian faith in many ways.

So, when I agreed to be a part of this group it was with great trepidation. Then on Sunday (Father's Day), as I was leaving my family on a beautiful day to make the four hour trek south, I was really second-guessing my decision.

However, on Monday morning, I was sitting at a table with the three bishops of the church and 5 other very bright and talented people. I was feeling like I would not be able to contribute much as everyone else seemed much more qualified than I. It was a neat group of people that I felt very blessed to be a part of.

I was pleasantly surprised at the overall tone of the conversations. They were primarily focused on how we can help the Church (not just the Free Methodist Church) which was very cool.

We had some tremendous discussions about leadership and how to develop leaders in the pastorate and in our congregations. Some great progress was made and over the next several years some tremendous things can come from this. I am very excited about the possibilities.

As I was driving home yesterday I was thinking about this group of people. We were an extremely diverse group. Not only did we live in different areas of the country, we all had different passions, interests, ideas and talents. Of the six lay people we had a Grandma who takes care of a couple of her grand kids and volunteers at her church and a college president and many walks of life in between. One of the guys is a specialist in data collection (surveys) and analysis which will come in very handy. Each has different gifts and abilities which will help us. God sure knows how to put a team together!

It occured to me that this is a microcosm of what the Apostle Paul talked about when he referred to us as the Body of Christ (Romans 12:4-8). We each have a part to play.