dacontinent
Preacher
Sometimes these things come across as condescending. I don't mean for that to be the case at all. If I foul this up, I hope you understand my heart and not just my head. This is not the Prayer Board, but I think it is appropriate here under the circumstances.
In His infinite wisdom in designing the church, God made sure that we would not get the idea of owning it. So, while He put everything in Jesus (Col 2:9), He left Christ the Head even after His ascenscion and distributed the rest of his ministry throughout the Body. Consequently, in order for us to be the success that He has intended with His design, we have to work together. Additionally, He has provided the tools to ensure its proper growth and development.
Eph 4:11-19 KJV
11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: 14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; 15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: 16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. 17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, 18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: 19 Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: 14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; 15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: 16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. 17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, 18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: 19 Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with being engaged in a bible study. I think that is fabulous. However, if that is the extent of the experience you are are getting, you are running on about 20% (teaching). You are not going to be very effective. Can you imagine being the HBCU SCREAMING CHAMP on 20% lung capacity?? To continue the band analogy ... if you took the field to play complete show and all of the players were screaming on their horns - the trumpets, the bones, the sousas, etc. - it would not be a very musical experience and a misrepresentation of the music that was supposed to be played by the performers and enjoyed by the listeners.
When you place a french horn mouthpiece in the leadpipe of a trumpet, it will enter the shaft and you can play the trumpet. Of course, in order to get a decent sound out of it one would have to continually apply lots of pressure betwen the horn and the lips because the bores of the instrument and the mouthpiece don't match. Over time the player's embrochure would be ruined, no matter how proficient he was in every other area of play. When we don't follow the way anything is designed to work, we will get less than optimal results.
I once owned a minivan for a period of 13 years. In the 4th year the original rear wiper blade needed replacement. I went to the dealer and got a price of $43. I compared that to the $12 that I had seen for the aftermarket blade and asked why the dealer part cost so much. The answer was that "it was designed for that vehicle and was guaranteed to work better than anything else that you could buy". I bought the aftermarket brand. Six months later I bought another; then another 6 months after that. They all streaked and wore badly. I went back to the dealer and spent the money. Seven years later, when I retired the vehicle, the rear window wiper was still performing perfectly.
Everyone has the right to make his own decisions. However, when we decide to go outside of God's design, we are going to get inefficiencies that we can never correct. His design cannot be improved upon. That is part of why He is God.
