“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” – Ephesians 4:11-16
Paul brings out a group of five special folks in this passage to the church in Ephesus. What is so often missed here is the roles all the people mentioned are expected to play. This leadership isn’t meant to do all the heavy lifting. Rather, their job is to prepare and equip the church body to do the work of ministry. Based on Paul’s teaching here, if the whole body of saints doesn’t do their part, the church will not grow. They will not look more and more like Christ. They will not be a functioning body. They will fall apart.
In a way, those five could be looked at as the “starting five,” but they work with the whole team in a way to bring everyone else up with them.
One way (emphasis on one) the body practices this growth and unity is through regular worship gatherings. It’s in that typical Sunday setting that you may be familiar with another form of the “starting five.”
In a big church setting, in my previous experience, here are the starters: the opening prayer guy, the worship leader, the Scripture reader, the preacher, and the closing prayer guy. (Not sure if the announcements guy makes the cut?)
What does that make everyone else? At best, they’re on the bench, but they’re ready to go if a starter goes down. The team won’t miss a beat because all are equipped. At worst, they’re the spectators. Sure, they may sing with the worship leader, they listen to the preaching, and they participate in the prayers—but is that really more involvement than fans/spectators at a basketball game? In reality, it probably falls somewhere in the middle. And I know, there’s more going on behind the scenes, and the nature of a larger body means that not everyone gets a chance in every gathering to share. We see those kinds of necessary limitations in Paul’s letter to the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians 14:26-32. I think it still raises some critical questions: Does each one that’s gathered have something they want to share (1 Cor 14:26)? Does each one want the opportunity to contribute? Is each one equally encouraged to contribute? Is everyone being equipped for the work of ministry?
That’s why I believe it is better to be part of a smaller church community, so that each member of the church can be directly involved in equipping others, as well as being continually equipped themselves. However, this means we can’t afford for anyone to ride the bench all season. But to stretch the sports analogy a bit, who really wants to be a bench warmer anyway? No, if we’re on a team, we want to be involved. We want a role to play. We want to contribute. And for the church, the body needs all the parts to function properly (Ephesians 4:16). Be ready! Be engaged! Hustle back on defense, take those open three pointers, make the assists to your teammates. If you don’t play your part, we don’t have a backup supply. We don’t even have an audience we can coax a reluctant volunteer from. We are forced to play one man/woman down. Our team is then at a significant disadvantage. A family is only a strong as its weakest member, and we want to be in a position where we can strengthen each other and edify each other. That can’t happen if we’re not all committed to bringing our gifts fully to the table.
My encouragement to you: Whatever setting you find yourself in, get involved! There are situations where the starters sit on the bench to let others take the lead, which is actually a sign of a good and healthy team! But be an active contributor. Be available. Be willing. Be ready to go. And remember, it’s not you—it’s the Holy Spirit inside of you. Your adequacy is not in yourself. God makes you adequate (2 Corinthians 3:5-6). The rest of the team needs your gifts that the Spirit gave only to you.
This isn’t a legalistic mandate like “you must have perfect attendance at all church gatherings.” This isn’t about doing something that you’re “supposed to do.” This is an encouragement to live out the truth of who you are. Believe that you are special part of the body, a part that God himself arranged exactly as He saw fit (1 Corinthians 12:18) and start functioning! And as I hinted at earlier, the church is supposed to function every day, not just on Sunday gatherings. Are you playing your role throughout the week?
“…For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” Luke 6:45
What’s in your heart is revealed by how you live. Fill your heart with Jesus and you can’t help but follow Him (Acts 1:8).