The Church Fight (II)

Read: The Church Fight (I)

Pastor Ben sighed and shook his head for the third time, scanning the faces of the workers of his parish. They looked remorseful, all with their head hung down. “I believe the verse is explanatory enough, and I'm just going to expatiate with few words."

“The choristers think they can do without the technical department and vice versa. What you mean is, as the body of workers, using Apostle Paul's comparison with the human body, is that some parts of the body are not important, and the body can properly function without the other parts of the body. Y'all cannot live in harmony as one body. Hmmm. Imagine the hand decides it doesn't want to be a part of the body, do you think that person can function effectively? Ask those who are differently abled in one part of the body or the other, even if all they are missing is just one ear, they will tell you they don't feel complete, because they know they're missing something. Every part of the body is very important, even to the very hairs above the eyelids. None is more important than the other and the absence of one is detrimental to the other parts because there'll definitely be a sign that something is missing from the body."

“Let it be known today that no part of the body is more important than the other. Pastors, Teachers, Evangelists, the choristers, the media team, even the sanitation team! They're mostly looked down on in the church because other departments believe they do the dirty work. Meanwhile, if they do not clean the church, you won't be able to sit in the dirty environment. Do not think because your department is mostly pronounced than other departments then, other departments are not important and that the church can go on without them? It's not possible. And no, not everybody can do the same thing in church. Someone called to be among the sanitation team, if they head over to the choir seat, they're only wasting their gift."

“Apostle Paul now went on to tell us in the succeeding chapter that if you do not have love, all your services ends up as nothing! If you do not love each other, you cannot exist well as one body. Agreed someone is not doing well, but would you because you have a headache go ahead to cut off your head? Or would you rather cut off your arms because you sustained a deep cut? Sure that's not what you'll do. What you'll try to do is find a solution to the injury, pain or whatever."

“Different departments exist in the church as one body, and if the so called littlest department of the church is not functioning, it will be evident! Imagine we all come here on Sunday morning, and we now have to start arranging the chairs after adorning yourself with your beautiful Sunday attire. Imagine it's time for worship and there's no one in the choir seat to sing. Imagine we have a crowd of about a thousand people in service and there's no technician in the church to set up the equipments?"

“We're members of one another, and we should walk in the same. However, we cannot walk in the same without love! It is an important ingredient in working and living together as one body of Christ in the Church! If you see other departments of the church as members of one body. Some the eyes. Some, the legs. Others, the arm. Some others, the kidneys and intestines, I believe it'll yield more love and help us work together as one. Christ is our head. The church is His body, and if the body refuses to stay together, what's the need for the head? Hmmm."

“If I'm to judge by the way y'all are looking down, I'd say you're remorseful, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't take action as touching what just transpired. The penalty is that all choristers and technical member present here today are on suspension for the next one month. You're to come early to church as usual, join the sanitation team in taking care of the church premises before each service and also, you must occupy the front seat of every service till the time for the suspense elapses. I've turned blind eye to everything happening before now, and I'm now forced to take a drastic decision. Trust me; we have others in the church who can take up both offices and do the work effectively without having to throw idle words at each other."

“The way the church will feel it if the set man over the house is not around, is the way they will feel it if other departments of the church fails in their duty or when they think they can exist on their own. We are all dependent on one another, and we are not to live in isolation, neither are we to live with the thought that we're different from others because our departments are different."

“If you see the technical department trying to move the amplifier, there's absolutely nothing wrong in lending them a hand or two to move it. If they're trying to start the generator, you can also help. If the choristers are short of members and you can sing, there's nothing wrong in standing in gap for them till they regain their full numbers. That's what we call working as members of one another. If the ushers are few, and you can leave your own department and there won't be trouble. By trouble I mean there won't be lack of an individual in your own department when you decide to join another department for the meantime, then you can go on and render help. It's called working as members of one another. Not that another department will be beefing the other because they feel they have more importance. I tell you, no department is lesser, neither is any greater. We all come together to work hand-in-hand as one body. If you think one department is not important, try cutting off a part of your body and see if you won't miss the need for it..."