When Two Heads Are Not Better Than One…
06/19/22
In this Sunday’s message, Pastor Rich stated that “when it comes to the church, we are the BODY, Jesus is the HEAD.” This means that it’s not only crucial for us to connect to each other, it is also crucial for us to be connected to Jesus. Not Jesus being connected to our Body, but Jesus being the Head. Jesus being the One influencing and forming all the other connections.
There are communities that we can seek connection from all around us, especially in our Western culture. Gyms, sport leagues, book clubs, lodges, unions, the list goes on and on. So, what makes the Church different? Here’s the moment all Sunday School kids have been waiting for… the answer is Jesus.
Pastor Jimmy Dorrell was raised and shaped by a western church culture that often used the name of Jesus to describe themselves and condemn others. But he began to realize that this group that labeled themselves “Jesus” started to look nothing like the real Jesus. So, after spending a season serving in a culture that was very different than his own, he was convinced that he could no longer be a part of a “headless” church. He needed to serve in a church that served Jesus, by serving the people Jesus did, the ways that Jesus did.
In his book Commonwealth: Transformation Through Christian Community Development, he talks at length about his journey with Christ in ministry that started by living where nobody else wanted to live and planting a church that would gather for worship with all the homeless in the area, under a bridge in Waco, TX. This church would grow to become the compassionate ministry organization Mission Waco, which continues to serve and minister to poor and marginalized people in a holistic, Jesus-modeled, way. The church eventually outgrew the bridge and had to move their gatherings for worship on a property owned by Chip and Joanna Gaines where they continue to minister to this day.
In this book he makes a great point that goes along with our discussion on being one body with one Head. When he would cast vision and make decisions he would not run to individualistic and competitive growth models from the business world. He wouldn’t find ways to capitalize on the self-esteem culture that has smothered churches in America. He did what the early church did. He looked at Jesus; and followed Him.
“The early church did not have a rigid model on how to be the church. They just did what Jesus said to do. He told them to love God and their neighbors with all their heart, soul, and mind. He said to seek His kingdom before all else. He told them to forgive their enemies and do good to those who hurt them. He said be the light in dark places, give to the needy, not to worry about temporal things, do good deeds in secret, and not judge others. He told them not to hate, lust, or act piously. Not only did He say these things, He lived them.”
Pastor Dorrell has been pastoring for over 40 years (to some of the most diverse and often marginalized families) at a church that spent most of its existence worshipping under a bridge. He is not shy about the fact that the only way they were able to reach and build relationships with so many people for Jesus was to… follow Jesus.
So, as we think about what it means to be a healthy body, a church that is truly connected to one another, growing by inviting and encouraging others, we need to take Jesus’ lead. Read through that quote above, and ask yourselves, “is the reason the body at times feels disconnected because we aren’t fully connected to the Head? My prayer is that I love you like Jesus does, and that you love me like Jesus does, so that we can all experience what it is to be the whole and healthy Body of the Christ.