Remember when Mr. Potato Head was all the rage? It's once again become all the rage, thanks to Pixar's Toy Story movies. I remember, as a little girl, finding joy in correctly matching the correct eyes, nose, and mouth to make a perfect Mr. Potato Head. As I grew older, though, I found joy is mismatching the parts, adding feet where the ears should be, eyes where the mouth should be, and adding two noses. Sometimes, I think that the church can often becoming the mismatched Mr. Potato Head as opposed to the functioning body that God calls us to be.
I was reflecting on this idea recently as I went on a camping trip. Truly, as a novice camper, my initial reaction to a person planning the event was intimidation and maybe even dislike. He obviously had his act together and was an expert camper. As I reflected more on my reaction, I realized how easily I tend react negatively to people who are different from me. Why? For me, it was intimidation, feeling insecure, and seeing my lack of camping skills that were so opposite from his expert skills. In the end, the camping trip was amazingly refreshing BECAUSE of the expert campers who planned the trip down to the last detail. How blessed I was because of other people's strengths!
Why, though, is it that we have this tendancy to criticize people who are different from us in the church, rather than rejoicing in those differences? For many of us, it probably is feeling insecure toward that person in some way, or maybe fearing what is unpredictable, since the said person is different from us. I think inside the church, though, we have a tendancy to use scripture to back what we think is right, not allowing room for the "weaker brother" or trying to conform everyone to become an "eye." The fact is, scripture says that everyone has different strengths that make up the body. What is more, in John 17, Jesus actually prays that we, "future believers," would have unity.
I think there are a few implications of these passages. First, rather than comparing ourselves to others, we need to be confident in who God has created us to be. We have certain invaluable strengths. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul paints a rediculous picture of the foot saying 'because I am not a hand, I should not be a part of the body.' Can you imagine a person with four hands, no feet? It's as ridiculous as a mismatched Mr. Potato Head! Each part has its essential function, as each person has a vital role in the church.
Second, we need to accept other people's strengths. We shouldn't say to someone "I don't need you!" nor should we think to ourselves that they are not valuable. I need my brothers and sisters who are mercy showers, who remind me of the grace I ought to extend to the needy. I also need my brothers and sisters who speak the truth like they mean it--because I myself am not as blunt! Our body would not only not be a body if everyone was the same (think of a giant glob of eyes!), but we wouldn't be able to survive!
Third, we need to act in unity, even though we are diverse, both in our gifts and in our denominations. Recently, I was listening to Mark Driscoll's sermon on John 17. He explained his church's view on church denominations, which I found very helpful in understanding how to interact with different churches. He explained that each church/denomination is like a state. The states border each other and are part of the same country, but they have their own local government. Washington would not nuke Oregon if they had a disagreement. In the same way, each church that believes the essentials (the Word is God-inspired, Jesus was God and man, etc.) is its own state. The denominations might have differences regarding ordination of women, baptism, order of worship, and so on, but they are united under Jesus. If we hear of a church that is winning people to Christ, we should rejoice with them--we're unified under the gospel.
I think this has major implications for me as a believer. How do I react when I speak with my charismatic friends? Baptists? Non-denominational friends? While I may not agree with every aspect of their denomination, I can rejoice in their strengths! I've found that my charismatic friends are so much more in touch with spiritual warfare than most people in the PCA. I admire many of my baptist friends who actively send people on missions and share the gospel in the community. I rejoice with my Methodist friend, a true believer, who lives out service in her community. Many of the non-denominational churches have great outreaches to the community and have rich diversity. Each church has great strengths that make up the body, and that's just denominations! I could mention the diversity of vocations of members within the church, but that's for another day. Needless to say, Jesus prayed in a sense for a functioning Mr. Potato Head as his church, not a mismatched, four-eyed monster!
