Every Member Matters

For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say,
“Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less
a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong
to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were
an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where
would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each
one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it
is, there are many parts, yet one body. -1 Corinthians 12:14-20

Beloved Kinney,

When it comes to church membership, there are two ditches we might be tempted to fall
into. The first ditch is the “I don’t matter” ditch. It’s the one that tends toward self-pity or
over introspection that concludes you’re of no value to the body of Christ. It’s a
dangerous ditch we must avoid because it is an unbelief that masquerades as humility.
Those tempted towards this ditch must take God at his Word that every member
matters.

The other ditch is the “they don’t matter” ditch. This is when we think to highly of
ourselves and too lowly of others. We might think of those who can’t contribute to the
needs of the body but are truly needy themselves that they don’t matter to the body. Oh
but they do! And the greater care they need shows how valuable they are! Those
tempted towards this ditch must also take God at his Word that every member matters.
Here’s how Jason Wredberg and Matthew Capps put it in their book entitled Every
Member Matters: Why Your Church Needs You and Why You Need Your Church…

We are everyday people—spouses, parents, students, employees,
sons, and daughters. Our lives are short and most of us won’t make it
into a history book. Do you want to make a difference? Join your life
to other ordinary lives and watch God do something
extraordinary…The church is the most broken and beautiful, despised
and beloved institution in the world. Kingdoms will fall. Nations will
crumble. Families will die out, but the church of Jesus Christ will last
forever. (pg. 19)

This is why every member matters. The church is its membership, and every person
washed by the blood of Jesus Christ and indwelled by the Holy Spirit of God…matters!

May this truth shape the way we do life together as a church.

Love,
Pastor Josh