Contagious Disease Strikes Our Area.
“The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.”
(1 Cor. 12:12)
“You Might Already Be Infected!” Please Read Further For More Information:
I recently read a story about a guy who had a problem with his golf game. Now I’m not really much of a golfer but I found this article intriguing. The article was about a guy who was a fairly avid golfer, but had never taken lessons and thus he had never come to a point of feeling competent in the game. He realized that he would never improve his game until he gave in and signed-up for lessons. So rather reluctantly, he did so. When he arrived at the club for the first lesson he was greeted by a young man who looked to be half his age - only this young man turned out to be the club’s golf pro. At first the guy was a little put-off by the golf pro’s age, but since he had already paid for the lessons, he decided to see what the kid knew. They went out to the driving range where the golf-pro began setting up all this video equipment. By this point the fellow was beginning to become a little frustrated. He’d signed up to learn how to play golf – not make a movie. But he humbled himself nonetheless and decided to follow the pro’s instructions. The kid instructed him to take a couple of swings at the ball. So that’s what he did, and took what he thought were some pretty good swings. The young instructor then took him inside to a computer screen. By this time he was beginning to think he had wasted a lot of time and money. The young trainer pulled this guy’s swing up on the screen and then split the screen and placed a video of Tiger Woods and his swing on the other side of the screen. Slowly and painfully the golf-pro went through and compared his swing to Tiger Wood’s swing – pointing out all of the flaws in his execution.
When all was said and done, the guy asked the pro what the root of his problem was. The young pro hemmed and hawed a bit before he said, “Well sir, to tell you the truth, the primary problem is you have a stagnant bottom.” A stagnant bottom! He expected a dropped shoulder, a lazy hand-grip, or wrong placement of the club - but a stagnant bottom! The pro went on to say, “Yes sir, you see when you execute your swing - your back side, if you will, just kind of sits there and does nothing. If you really want to experience the full power of your swing then you have to get your back side, your whole body into the swing.”
Now I admit I know nothing about what it takes to be a good golfer. But as I read this story, I wondered if part of the problem in our churches is that we have people who are infected with the same affliction? Could it be there is an epidemic of stagnant bottom disease spreading across our country and no one knows anything about it? How is this disease transmitted? Is it contagious? Everyone in our country is presently concerned about the spread of the H1N1 virus. Vaccines are just starting to become available to people in our area, and many people in our region are hoping to avoid catching this very contagious illness by getting immunized against it. Perhaps there is need to issue a Church Body Health Alert to help curtail the infectious stagnant bottom disease? It there is a way to prevent catching it? How do we stop it from spreading?
My guess is this affliction is not isolated to the world of golf nor is it something new. Stagnant bottom disease has been around for eons and continues to afflict many today. I suspect Paul may have had this in mind when he wrote the verse; The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts and though all its parts are many, they form one body. In order for the body (the Church) to function properly, all the parts have to work together. No part of the Church body is insignificant. There are no insignificant jobs in the Church. Everyone that works for the betterment of the Church plays a role in making the Church body healthier. The Church is one in Christ. And we all contribute in different ways. The nursery worker is just as important as the Sunday School teacher who is just as important as the janitor who is just as important as the youth worker who is just as important as (well, you get the idea). Every part of the Body is important and needed. When any part of the body isolates itself from the others, it is doing exactly the opposite of what the Bible teaches. We are all interdependent parts that can only function properly when working in unity with one another.
A healthy body is one in which each part is making a contribution. That’s the way God has designed the Church. The thing that undermines His design is when members are afflicted with stagnant bottom disease. When one part doesn’t make the contribution it’s designed to add, it affects the whole body. You might be sitting here, on your stagnant bottom, thinking that you really don’t have much to contribute. Don’t believe that! God made you with a purpose in mind. He has planned your contribution to the Body of Christ. And He is counting on what you will add. In fact the Church will not reach its full potential unless every member contributes their individual part.
If someone were to put your life on a split screen for comparison next to what God says in the Bible, what might it reveal? Would the diagnosis likely be a stagnant bottom? If you find you are infected, the good news is the cure is relatively simple. You don’t need to see a doctor to get cured. Our Great Physician has already given us the cure. Simply rise up, dust it off and get to work. When you do, you will find joy in knowing you are contributing to the greatest change agent this world has ever known. The Church will be healthier and more effective. And the world will see the Body functioning as Christ has designed it.
Live the Victorious Life,
PT
(1 Cor. 12:12)
“You Might Already Be Infected!” Please Read Further For More Information:
I recently read a story about a guy who had a problem with his golf game. Now I’m not really much of a golfer but I found this article intriguing. The article was about a guy who was a fairly avid golfer, but had never taken lessons and thus he had never come to a point of feeling competent in the game. He realized that he would never improve his game until he gave in and signed-up for lessons. So rather reluctantly, he did so. When he arrived at the club for the first lesson he was greeted by a young man who looked to be half his age - only this young man turned out to be the club’s golf pro. At first the guy was a little put-off by the golf pro’s age, but since he had already paid for the lessons, he decided to see what the kid knew. They went out to the driving range where the golf-pro began setting up all this video equipment. By this point the fellow was beginning to become a little frustrated. He’d signed up to learn how to play golf – not make a movie. But he humbled himself nonetheless and decided to follow the pro’s instructions. The kid instructed him to take a couple of swings at the ball. So that’s what he did, and took what he thought were some pretty good swings. The young instructor then took him inside to a computer screen. By this time he was beginning to think he had wasted a lot of time and money. The young trainer pulled this guy’s swing up on the screen and then split the screen and placed a video of Tiger Woods and his swing on the other side of the screen. Slowly and painfully the golf-pro went through and compared his swing to Tiger Wood’s swing – pointing out all of the flaws in his execution.
When all was said and done, the guy asked the pro what the root of his problem was. The young pro hemmed and hawed a bit before he said, “Well sir, to tell you the truth, the primary problem is you have a stagnant bottom.” A stagnant bottom! He expected a dropped shoulder, a lazy hand-grip, or wrong placement of the club - but a stagnant bottom! The pro went on to say, “Yes sir, you see when you execute your swing - your back side, if you will, just kind of sits there and does nothing. If you really want to experience the full power of your swing then you have to get your back side, your whole body into the swing.”
Now I admit I know nothing about what it takes to be a good golfer. But as I read this story, I wondered if part of the problem in our churches is that we have people who are infected with the same affliction? Could it be there is an epidemic of stagnant bottom disease spreading across our country and no one knows anything about it? How is this disease transmitted? Is it contagious? Everyone in our country is presently concerned about the spread of the H1N1 virus. Vaccines are just starting to become available to people in our area, and many people in our region are hoping to avoid catching this very contagious illness by getting immunized against it. Perhaps there is need to issue a Church Body Health Alert to help curtail the infectious stagnant bottom disease? It there is a way to prevent catching it? How do we stop it from spreading?
My guess is this affliction is not isolated to the world of golf nor is it something new. Stagnant bottom disease has been around for eons and continues to afflict many today. I suspect Paul may have had this in mind when he wrote the verse; The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts and though all its parts are many, they form one body. In order for the body (the Church) to function properly, all the parts have to work together. No part of the Church body is insignificant. There are no insignificant jobs in the Church. Everyone that works for the betterment of the Church plays a role in making the Church body healthier. The Church is one in Christ. And we all contribute in different ways. The nursery worker is just as important as the Sunday School teacher who is just as important as the janitor who is just as important as the youth worker who is just as important as (well, you get the idea). Every part of the Body is important and needed. When any part of the body isolates itself from the others, it is doing exactly the opposite of what the Bible teaches. We are all interdependent parts that can only function properly when working in unity with one another.
A healthy body is one in which each part is making a contribution. That’s the way God has designed the Church. The thing that undermines His design is when members are afflicted with stagnant bottom disease. When one part doesn’t make the contribution it’s designed to add, it affects the whole body. You might be sitting here, on your stagnant bottom, thinking that you really don’t have much to contribute. Don’t believe that! God made you with a purpose in mind. He has planned your contribution to the Body of Christ. And He is counting on what you will add. In fact the Church will not reach its full potential unless every member contributes their individual part.
If someone were to put your life on a split screen for comparison next to what God says in the Bible, what might it reveal? Would the diagnosis likely be a stagnant bottom? If you find you are infected, the good news is the cure is relatively simple. You don’t need to see a doctor to get cured. Our Great Physician has already given us the cure. Simply rise up, dust it off and get to work. When you do, you will find joy in knowing you are contributing to the greatest change agent this world has ever known. The Church will be healthier and more effective. And the world will see the Body functioning as Christ has designed it.
Live the Victorious Life,
PT
posted by Larry | 11:59 AM
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