Living in Concert

God’s various gifts are handed out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit.

God’s various ministries are carried out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit.

God’s various expressions of power are in action everywhere; but God himself is behind it all.

Each person is given something to do that shows who God is:

Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits.

All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people!

The variety is wonderful:

wise counsel        clear understanding        simple trust        healing the sick        miraculous acts      proclamation        distinguishing between spirits        tongues        interpretation of tongues.

All these gifts have a common origin, but are handed out one by one by the one Spirit of God.

The Spirit decides who gets what, and when.

1 Corinthians 12:4-11 [The Message]

Dear Friends,

This coming Sunday afternoon, our worship team is giving a concert.

Why?... Because they enjoy getting together and playing music! This is such a great metaphor for our life together…

In the above passage from Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth, he is addressing a pretty rowdy and disharmonious group of people. They are still learning what it means to be the body of Christ (Aren’t we all?). In particular, there are some in that congregation who are speaking in tongues. That in and of itself was not a problem. The problem arose when those that spoke in tongues began thinking that they were somehow more holy or more faithful than those that didn’t. It would be like our worship team thinking they are more holy or faithful because they can play the piano or guitar or sing or drum!

This attitude of “self-righteousness” started creating divisions and dis-harmony. Paul uses this as an opportunity to talk about the giftedness that the Holy Spirit provides. Yes, speaking in tongues is listed amongst the gifts but it is just one among many (In fact, he says it’s not of much use if there isn’t anyone to interpret what is said!). Paul’s main emphasis is that the Spirit is at work in the body of Christ giving it a variety of gifts with the intent that the members use them to build up the body and contribute to the work that the Spirit is doing to and through that congregation.

Just to be clear, I am in no way insinuating that the Worship Team thinks of themselves as being holier than the rest of us! Far from it. I see in them rather a manifestation of what it looks like when we allow ourselves the freedom to contribute our gifts to the community! It is fulfilling (and even fun) to use one’s gifts for the building up of the community. It has taken me a long time to claim the gifts of preaching and “artistry” (I still feel weird calling my cardboard creations “art”) and to use them to build up the church. I have come to realize, however, that denying these gifts frustrates the work that the Holy Spirit wants to do.

If you pay attention to Paul’s list (which is not a COMPLETE list of spiritual gifts), you’ll notice that there are some less “extraordinary” gifts mentioned like wise counsel, clear understanding, and simple trust. As a start, I would add to these:

·         Listening

·         Being a friend

·         Hospitality

·         Cleanliness

·         Organization

·         Building things

·         Teaching

·         Mentoring

The list goes on and on.

What is the gift (or gifts) that the Holy Spirit has given you for the building up of the body of Christ? Or another way of saying it is, What comes easy to you that you enjoy doing that benefits others?

As you discern this, I invite you to join the concert. The root meaning of “concert” is to strive together. Yes, there is a musical concert this coming Sunday at 1:30pm and I hope you come. But I invite you to join the FLC Concert by contributing your gifts to our congregation and the community. Invest yourself in the powerful, harmonious work that God wants to do through us.

Don’t know how?... Let me coach and guide you!

Peace,

Pastor Phil