The puzzle of a church family
We are told that we are the hands and feet of Jesus. That we are also all a part of one body of Christ. These are familiar sayings in most of the denominations that I have been part of in my church journey over so many moves and forty plus years. I always had questions that placed literal biblical interpretations directly up against figurative ones in scenarios like this.
I particularly remember one small charismatic church I joined in my first move after I gave my life to Jesus. It was different than any church I had ever been in and they often had lively services on summer evenings on the grass behind the old barn that housed the church in upstate New York, and young women would dance happily during the worship music. It was fun to see such an open expression of joy and hand raising in praise as we worshiped the Lord together. There were a number of changes in my life during that time period, which actually deepened my faith and my personal relationship with God rather than tested it, but when I was led to leave the church and move my family to Florida, I was met with suspicion. No one left the church easily, it seemed, and there was a lot of submission to the elders’ judgement in terms of personal decision making. I never left my autonomy behind, knowing full well God had been with me when I came there as a single mom and He would be with me when I left as a single mom, so I wasn’t a bit worried that they didn’t agree with my decision.
I did dare to question the elders however, as to the whole family of God thing or more explicitly, the body of Christ expression, because I wondered if there happened to be only one nose, say, and that nose smelled fire and tried to tell everyone else; but the others didn’t see fire, feel fire, or smell fire and so they just told the nose there was no fire. When I tried to tell them some things I felt God had prompted me to share with them, their response was basically “God didn’t say that.” So I went on my way, taking my faith and my children with me. I always felt if we each as a Christian had a piece of a puzzle of a body, and I happened to have the nose but I didn’t put my puzzle piece on the table with the other pieces, it wouldn’t reveal a complete face or a finished body. How do we know which piece anyone has been given until they share it, and yet a refusal to share one’s piece makes the whole face or body incomplete, doesn’t it?
Years later although that church didn’t burn to the ground, it basically folded, for many of the reasons I had tried to share earlier with those in authority. I felt badly that they had not been more open to a conversation with the whole church body they shepherded about things that really mattered, to them and to God. They were certainly not expecting someone relatively new to their church, and that person also a woman, to bring something to their minds they hadn’t considered could possibly be a word from God. The Bible is full of examples of God speaking through many, even an animal, who did not fit the criteria of the day that those in high religious authority required in order to ‘hear’ God. I have always loved all those stories, especially where God totally surprises everyone!