Sermon by Herman Kauffman
Crest Manor Church of the Brethren
February 9, 2003

Building Up the Body
Ephesians 4:1-16

Do you recall the story of the six blind men who encountered an elephant? Each seeks to determine the nature of the elephant from differing perspectives:

• one feels the tusk of the elephant and announces that the elephant is like a spear
• a second feels the side of the elephant and announces the elephant is like a large wall
• a third reaches out to a leg and determines the elephant is much like a tree
• another discovers the elephant's trunk and suggests the elephant is really just a snake
• still another comes upon the tail and announces "This creature's like a rope!"
• and the last felt the elephant's ear and determines that the elephant is like a fan.

Six blind men and six different perspectives.

When it comes time for a pastor and congregation to enter into an intentional evaluation of their ministry together, the results are sometimes like the blind men determining the nature of the elephant. Often we come together as a congregation with differing understandings of what it means to be the church and what our priorities for ministry are or should be. It is always more helpful when a congregation has defined its core functions, as well as its vision and mission statement. We can then ask ourselves, "How is this congregation doing in relationship to our vision and core functions?"

Likewise, it is helpful in evaluating a pastor when clear, mutual expectations have been determined and articulated in a job description. These mutual expectations may be reviewed at least annually by the leadership team and evaluated for effectiveness every several years by the congregation.

Larry has heard me preach a sermon in which I say that: "By all human measurements, Christian ministry today is simply an impossible calling!" When we look at what it means to be a pastor, priest and prophet in today's world, and add to that being an effective church administrator, a counselor, a youth worker, and all the other expectations a congregation full of individuals has for its "employee" it really is an impossible calling. But in that same sermon, Larry, would also have heard me say that there is nothing today that is more important than being in Christian ministry.

This morning I want to remind you some something I told you 5 years and 2 months ago when Larry was installed as your pastor - that ministry is a partnership that involves the pastor, the congregation, and God. There is too much ministry to be done than can be done by the pastor alone ... or even by a partnership of pastor and congregation. We need to be sure that we are aligning ourselves with God's will for this congregation, and then we will be empowered for ministry.

Paul's Letter to the Ephesians in this 4^th chapter reminds us who we are: We are the Body of Christ. Christ is the Head of the Body, but all of us working together make up the Body of Christ at work in the world today, or as our denominational vision statement describes the church: We are continuing the work of Jesus, peacefully, simply, together.

Paul reminds us of our oneness. There is one body, one spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God ... of all, above all, through all, and in all. And later in this chapter, Paul suggests that when all parts of this body are joined and knit together, and each part is working properly, then we experience growth in the body.

It's like our earlier illustration of the elephant. The elephant is not a spear, or a wall, or a tree, a snake, a fan, or a rope. The elephant does have, however, a variety of parts to the body. So it is in the church where we are the parts that make up the whole body of Christ alive in the world today. I would hope that nobody would limit the church - the body of Christ - based solely on their encounter with me ... or with you. If so, they have only experienced one small part of the body like the blind men and the elephant. But together, with Christ as the head, we become the Body of Christ.

If you remember nothing else this morning, remember who we are: the Body of Christ.

But now I am going to ask you to go one step further and remember what we are about.

Paul reminds us that we have different gifts. I can tell you right now that I am glad some of you have musical gifts because those are not the gifts God gave me. God gave us different gifts so that when we all use our gifts, there are among us pastors and teachers and prophets and administrators and care-givers and all the gifted persons we need to be the church. Why are we given these gifts? To equip the saints for the work of ministry - oh yes! And for building up the Body of Christ! That is what we are about, isn't it? Building up the Body of Christ.

Building up the Body may certainly be understood to have more than one meaning.

The image that may come to the forefront for some is the body builder working out at the gym. Bodybuilding includes strengthening the body, firming the muscles and getting rid of the fat. Some churches today reflect all too well the bodies of the individuals who make up the church who are growing flabby and weak. We do need to build up and strengthen the body of the church.

Another understanding of building up the body for some would include growing by bringing more and more persons into an ever-expanding church that is growing numerically.

Still others might understand building the body to include new and bigger facilities for the church. Certainly we see large, new buildings springing up around us - in part to attract new members.

Building up the Body also includes discipleship training and growing in our understanding of the teachings of Jesus and what it means to be his disciple in the world today.

Paul reminds us that we must continue building up the body of Christ ... until all of us

• come to the unity of faith and
• the knowledge of the Son of God
• to maturity
• to the measure of the full stature of Christ.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, it seems to me that we have a lot of body building to do.

To review the message found in Ephesians 4:

• We need to remember who we are: the Body of Christ;
• We need to remember what we are about: Building Up the Body of Christ, and finally;
• We need to remember how we build up the Body of Christ

Paul writes: "We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people's trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming.

But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ ...."

Speaking the truth in love is how we build up the Body of Christ.

• We build up the Body of Christ as we speak the truth in love, member to member
• We build up the Body of Christ as we speak the truth in love, pastor to congregation
• We build up the Body of Christ as we speak the truth in love, congregational member to pastor
• The whole process of evaluating our ministry together has meaning only as we are willing to speak the truth in love. It also assumes we will be able to hear the results as truth spoken in love to one another.

The Congregational Evaluation asks you, for example, to list three of the most obvious strengths of this congregation. It likely will be relatively easy for you to list congregational strengths. However, the evaluation also asks you to complete statements which begin ...

• I would like things better if ...
• Regarding our church, I wish we would ...
• Of all the things that we do in our church, we should stop doing ...

These open-ended statements are not intended to invite your criticism of Crest Manor, rather they allow you to speak the truth in love. Speaking the truth in love will allow the congregation to make the changes necessary to continue building up this Body of Christ.

Likewise, the Pastoral Evaluation allows you to speak the truth in love in eleven general areas of pastoral competency. It is never expected that any pastor has achieved perfection in any or all areas of pastoral competency; although we do hope that the evaluation will show that Larry has high competency in some areas even as our speaking the truth in love may indicate areas where efforts at continuing growth would be helpful. In fact, one of the open-ended questions allows you to list suggestions to help improve pastoral ministry in this congregation.

Oh, one final statement about the evaluation form and what it means to speak the truth in love - the form has a place to list your name. The form indicates this as optional. I would suggest that including your name is a matter of integrity and accountability, it is part of speaking the truth in love. To use your anonymity to make critical statements about the Crest Manor congregation or your pastor, in my opinion, is not speaking the truth in love.

As you participate in this evaluation, I encourage you to speak the truth in love in order that together we might build up this Body of Christ to become all God intends for us to be.

I leave you with these concluding words of Paul from Ephesians 4:15-16:

...Speaking the truth in love,

we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body,

joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly,

promotes the body's growth in building itself up in love.

May you continue to feel God's blessing upon this congregation

• as you seek to align your own wills with the will of God to become the Body of Christ
• as you seek to recognize and use individual gifts to build up this body of Christ
• as you seek to speak the truth in love and grow up in every way into Christ. Amen.