'There are many parts, but only one body'

I attended my first symphony a few months ago. It was opening night at the new Ellis Performing Arts Center, and the event was wonderful. The musicians and conductor made it all look so simple. I knew otherwise.

Years ago I substitute taught for a middle-school orchestra class in Houston, Texas. All I had to do was stand on a conductor's box and get the 100 plus students started on their Christmas songs. RIGHT! "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" sounded like a cross between "Old MacDonald Had A Farm" and "The Tennessee Waltz." After a few frustrating attempts, I dejectedly instructed the musical wanna-be's to break into study groups and call it an hour. It was curtains for my conductor debut. As I slinked off my platform, the middle schoolers began laughing, arose from their chairs, and began trading instruments. And then a strange thing happened. They sat down and began playing...on their own ... and they were incredible. All this time they had been playing the "wrong" instruments, pulling a big one over on the ole' substitute teacher, and I had been clueless. Once they were where they belonged, they were an absolute delight. They did the right thing at the right time with the right instrument. Their orchestra teacher had taught them well. As I waved my wand and pretended to be in charge, it all seemed effortless. Two years later when I began teaching in Kansas, the orchestra used my room during my conference period. There I witnessed just how "un-simple" it was and how much the musicians relied on Mrs. Williams, their teacher, who not only encouraged them to improve but who also recognized imperfections: an instrument slightly out of tune; fingers moving too quickly; a reed held incorrectly. When Mrs. Williams pointed, the musicians knew she was hearing surround-sound, not just the few notes each individual played. They realized it was critical that they do their part so that each individual sound meshed with the others. Mrs. Williams was, after all, the expert; she prepared them to play as a group. When she was conducting, no one dared play the wrong instrument or the wrong song. No one stood up and demanded to be First Chair or to take the baton from Mrs. Williams and lead the group. No one just sat there holding, not playing, a violin. They did what they were prepared to do.

Like an orchestra conductor, God equips each of us differently to do work in the Church. 1Corinthians 12:27 makes that clear. "Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it." Back up a few versus and it becomes obvious how important we all are, no matter what position we hold. "If the foot should say, 'Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,' it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body.... If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body." Just like an orchestra. The trouble is that many churches assign positions for which its members are not equipped, and Christians, wanting to please, accept the roles given. When I spoke for the women's group at the National Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., I was amazed at their determination to find the spiritual gifts of each of the 2000 female members. Their research proved women were stuck in positions they weren't gifted to fill. Women who lacked compassion had been assigned hospital duty; some nursery workers didn't even like children; kitchen workers were chopping onions but not using their administrative talents. Not a good situation. The Presbyterian leadership was determined to "fill the chairs" with the right people so that, as a whole, the entire team would function better. Corinthians instructs us "There are many parts, but only one body." Just like an orchestra. How much better our churches would function if we all understood the role of our eternal Conductor and played the spiritual instrument for which we were equipped!