Every Member Essential

A few months ago, I bought an unassembled standing desk out of the back of a beat-up van. That was my first mistake. Before handing over the cash, I did a quick check for the obvious pieces — the top, the legs, the motor. That was my second mistake. Because, when I got home, I discovered that the desk was missing its feet. I hadn’t paid close enough attention to the less obvious but equally indispensable parts.

In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul reminds us that the church body is comprised of members — equally important parts. In the human body, some members are more noticeable — who can avoid seeing the nose? Others are less obvious. But the apostle reminds us that obvious does not equal important. In fact those that seem to us to be weaker or less presentable are, in his words, “indispensable.” In his wisdom, God has designed the church such that each member — each follower of Jesus in this room — has a gift necessary for this body. Not just the obvious ones.

What is more, Paul tells the Romans that not only is each follower of Jesus a member of the body of Christ, he or she is also a member of one another (Rom 12:4–8). In other words, not only does the congregation need all its members, we individually need one another. There is a grace that I cannot receive from God without you.

We can make the same mistake in our church body that I made in my parking lot purchase. We can pay less attention to the less obvious parts. But we need all its parts, not just the pastors or deacons or teachers or administrators. And each of us need each other — we need the grace of God through a fellow member in order to become more like Jesus. 

So, if you are in Christ, you are part of his body. You have an indispensable gift. Cities Church needs you. I need you. And we need God’s help. Let’s pray together.

Prayer of Confession

Father, thank you for Jesus’s promise that he will build his church and that the gates of hell will not stand against it. And so, in his name, we ask you to build it here — with us, in us. We want to more fully grow together as a holy community, as a field hospital for the hurting, as an outpost of kingdom-expanding mission. We acknowledge our weakness. We confess that we don’t consider how you have given each of us gifts for the good of our fellow members and we don’t consider the grace that is waiting for us in the gift of a fellow member. Forgive us these sins and those we now bring before you in this moment of silent confession…