Bob Tamasy
Recently our church sponsored a three-day youth camp attended by nearly 700 young people. It’s amazing all that goes into planning and conducting such an event. (Glad I wasn’t in charge!)
The daily speakers, worship leaders and musicians were just the icing on the cake. There was all the pre-planning, including schedules; registrations; communications; making T-shirts, ball caps and other camp ‘swag’; training of volunteers who would oversee different groups; arranging for three meals each day plus snacks; handling details for transporting the students from point A to point B during the weekend.
Then there was the actual event, herding hundreds of high-energy young folks and striving to keep their attention in ways both fun and spiritually meaningful. Many adults participated not only directly but also in offering prayer support throughout the three days. The event had a powerful impact on many lives, and it was a marvel how smoothly things went.
My wife and I played a very small part, volunteering to help with serving at two of the lunch sessions. She assisted in passing out the food as the kids came through; my job was to fill cups with ice for their drinks. As the kids came by and took the ones I had already prepared, I filled more cups until the thirsty hoards were ready to return to their next session. Upon arriving both days, I put new meaning to the phrase, “the iceman cometh.”
Reflecting on this afterward, I thought about the passage in 1 Corinthians which uses the human body as a metaphor for how God equips His Church. Here are portions of what it says:
“The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts, and though all its parts are many, they form one body…. Now the body is not made up of one part but of many…. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? 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…” (1 Corinthians 12:12-18).
At the youth camp, the program presenters might have received the most attention, but all the behind-the-scenes workers were just as necessary, ranging from the people who drove buses for the various off-campus activities to the folks who swept floors in the gyms after meals had been served.
The context for the apostle Paul’s writing in 1 Corinthians 12 concerned how God distributes spiritual gifts to His children, the body of Christ. The passage mentions a number of the gifts, as do other passages in the New Testament. Using the human body as a metaphor is spot-on.
Think about it: In discussions of health, we often think in terms of the brain, the heart, our limbs and our joints. But our liver, kidney, lungs, pancreas, spleen and other organs are just as vital. Problems with any of them are what we call disease – or just as accurately, bodily dis-ease. A serious attack on any of these will land us in a hospital, or worse.
This concept is significant for many reasons. We tend to focus most of our attention on the ‘stars,’ even in Christian culture: Pastors, popular conference speakers, best-selling authors, chart-topping singers and musical groups. The Pope, from the moment he makes the transition from “who’s he” to “he’s the Pope,” is a celebrity wherever he goes. Now that faith-based films and TV presentations are cool, we have a whole new set of ‘American idols.’
But have you ever thought about the importance of the behind-the-scenes folks who help to make everything possible? The maintenance staff who keep the air conditioning running and the toilets flushing in the church. Custodians who clean up after we’ve spilled the contents of our coffee and communion cups. The audio-visual people who uncomplainingly ensure the lyrics from each Sunday’s praise songs are on the screen, and that the vocals and instruments of the worship band are properly balanced.
When Dr. Billy Graham was conducting his many evangelistic crusades, volunteer teams coordinated the events, did advance publicity, got programs printed, operated the sound systems, invited guests who needed to hear his messages, and then arranged for follow up on people who responded. They received little attention. Yet they all were crucial to the success of the campaigns.
Perhaps most important, no matter what role God has assigned to you in your church or ministry, you’re important! Whether stuffing envelopes, changing diapers in the nursery, teaching Sunday school for a bunch of first-graders with attention spans of 10 seconds, setting up chairs for the women’s retreat, or cooking food for the expected throng of 200 for the church social, you’re important!
The Scriptures make this clear: “On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor…our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it…” (1 Corinthians 12:22-24). Whether you’re seen or behind the scenes, thank you for all you’re doing!
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Robert J. Tamasy is a veteran journalist, former newspaper editor, and magazine editor. Bob has written, co-authored and edited more than 20 books. These include ”Marketplace Ambassadors”; “Business At Its Best: Timeless Wisdom from Proverbs for Today’s Workplace”; “Tufting Legacies,” “The Heart of Mentoring,” and “Pursuing Life With a Shepherd’s Heart.” He writes and edits a weekly business meditation, “Monday Manna,” which is translated into nearly 20 languages and distributed via email around the world by CBMC International. The address for Bob's blog is www.bobtamasy.blogspot.com. His email address is btamasy@comcast.net.