The Bible likens the local church to a body - a body of which Christ is the head and we, the Christians, are all members.
The beauty of any body is the perfect connectivity every member has with each other through a common blood and the way each member functions at the direction of the head. In the same way the Body of Christ is united through the Blood of Jesus, by which we have been made holy and able to enter into correct fellowship. Each Christian is connected to other members and moves as commanded by the Head...or at least they should...
I was thinking this afternoon about the many different types of people I have met in churches over the years. The good, the bad, and the ugly are out in force in any given congregation. Some churches seems to attract more of the good, some more the bad and ugly.
I created analogies for some of the different types I have observed:
The Clothing Christians:
These are the people who look like they are connected but aren’t. They are like the clothes on your back – they look like they belong with the body, but aren’t a true member. These are the pew fillers, the event stuffers, the adornment that make the church look good and big…but they are never truly connected. They can get old, worn out, full of holes. They have no ability to reproduce themselves. They do neither harm nor good and when they are leave, it’s like changing outfits, no one really notices and the Body remains unaffected.
The Cancer Christians:
These are the life suckers of the Church. They are created, not through proper body development, but are the result of a problem or issue. These are the wolves among the sheep. They can be nearly undetectable until they are too big to get rid of easily…and usually when they go they take the members they have poisoned with them. They are a growth on the Body, but refuse to be controlled by the Head or the immune system.
The Creepy Christians:
I tried to find an analogy for someone who was connected to the head but not the Body and discovered something interesting…it can’t be done! To be truly, vitally connected to the Head, one has to be a part of the Body. The Head and the Body go together…always. You cannot find one without the other, unless it be the a grave or the scene of a horrible crime. It is creepy and morbid to try to place a head on anything but a body and the head refuses to send brain waves to any other object except the body.
Bill Scheidler says, “The only way [a part] can properly function is to be rightly related to the whole” (
"The New Testament Church and it's Ministries" page 63). Only creepy “Christians” (imposters!) will attempt to connect the head to themselves without the rest of the Body. God has specially designed His Body in such a way that no one can be in relationship to Him without becoming part of what He loves the most – the Church. He refuses them any notice, time, or life sustenance.
The Connected Christians:
These are the kind of people that I want to be, strive to be, and choose to be like. Correctly connected, in perfect function, to both the head and the other members, they complete the beauty of the Body. These people know their place, love their place and listen to the Head. They are covered with the same immune system, feel by the same nervous system, and are of one mind with everyone else – because they are of Christ’s mind! They are alive and reproducing, and to sever them from the Body would result in the same disablement and pain as amputating a limb. They are Body builders!
Which kind are you?
