6 Feet away; 2 or 3 feet short!

In the 12th chapter of Paul's first letter to the Corinthians; Paul uses the image of a body as a parallel to the group of believers know as the church. It is this imagery that I would like to explore in this writing.

I have heard a trend in the US church today that goes something like, "We are all missionaries, so let's be missionaries where we are at." While this seems like a well intentioned thought; I am not sure that it is entirely accurate. It is undeniable in looking at the Great Commission passages that the entire church is responsible to carry out the task of spreading His church "to the ends of the earth".  The fact of Corinthians 12 is there is one body with many parts and not all of those parts are the same otherwise the body would not operate the way it needs to. Not everyone is a "missionary", but we all have a part to play in the mission. Another way of saying it would be "all Christians are called to ministry", so we are all pastors or all elders. While this is a great thought, it simply isn't true. I am not saying that the position of a missionary is "better" than any other part of the body of Christ, it i just unique in its purpose. Most importantly it is a part that cannot exist outside or independently of the rest of the Body but rather is interdependent on the rest of the Body! No Body = no missionaries; everyone is a missionary = no Body!

Right now I am looking at the missionary as a foot; the part that is mobile, the part that goes. We have a team of 6 adults ( and two great kids) that have signed on to be feet on our team. But we are looking for  two or three more feet to join us (maybe some more kid feet too). We know that God knows who they are and has been preparing them for this journey, we are praying that they will be faithful to answer.

We are also diving into fundraising a bit heavier this month. I cannot communicate to all of you how much we need the Body of Christ to respond to the calling God has placed in our lives. As we send out letters this month; I would ask you to consider what your role within the Body is. Without legs, bones, or muscles the feet cannot go anywhere.