3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgement, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. 6 We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; 7 ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; 8 the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness. Romans 12:3-8
We find ourselves in football and marching band season once again. The sounds of the drums playing the cadences. The sun reflecting off the sousaphones. The color guard twirling flags and batons. The brass section providing deep tones while the woodwinds creating a soaring descant. But for the performance to be moving to the soul, all the performers must mesh. No one section or group is enough to drive home the music, they must all contribute and do so complementing each other. When the band works well together the result is breath-taking and soul-forming. The band must mesh.
Just as it is with a marching band, so too is it with the church. People and congregations must mesh. Each person or group or community is insufficient by themselves but must contribute to the greater whole and must do so complementing each other. Ministers administering Word and Sacraments. Elders leading in wisdom and discernment. Deacons giving care and compassion. Teachers nurturing in patience and knowledge. Advocates working toward justice and peace. Each provides an invaluable piece of the whole and only when each contributes and complements each other does the result become breath-taking and soul-forming. Each must mesh.
But we all too often imagine the connections in our own congregations and how each person must contribute and complement each other. The dynamics can also be across congregations. We at Trinity and Eastside have come to learn and perceive this dynamic. Elders mesh with elders. Deacons mesh with deacons. Teachers mesh teachers. Advocates mesh with advocates. Cooks and planners mesh with cooks and planner. Each provides an invaluable piece of the whole and only when each contributes and complements each other does the result become breath-taking and soul-forming. Trinity and Eastside must mesh.
Over the summer months, we at both churches have begun exploring what it means to mesh as one Church across congregations. We worshipped together in rotating worship spaces. We combined mission committees rotating meeting spaces. We shared our various activities with the other church. We learned to be hosts and guests to the other church. We ate together, we prayed together, we assembled around God’s Word together. We worshipped together and we worked together. Trinity and Eastside meshed.
In the next six months, how do we continue to mesh and perhaps even expand? Could it be more integrated worship? Could it be more fellowship activities? Could it be sharing duties across boards and committees? Could it be including the other churches in the city or even county? Yes, it could be. But it will take you, and it will take you choosing to mesh with others instead of choosing isolation. I know too well the anxiety and risk it takes to enter such a space. But, if we are following Christ in faith, we push through the fear and vulnerability and follow anyway in courage. And the results might just be breath-taking and soul-forming. We just might mesh. Let the Church play on! Amen.
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