Are You a Member of the Body or Just a Backpack?

I stole the title of this blog from a tweet promoting this blog entry. Unfortunately, the blog did not go where I was hoping it would go. This is my attempt at writing the blog I was hoping to find when I clicked on that tweet.

The New Testament repeatedly uses the analogy of a body for the Church.

Romans 12
4 Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

1 Corinthians 12
14 Now the body is not made up of one part but of many...17If 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? ...20As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

Ephesians 4
15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

The principle is simple, if you're member of the church, you're supposed to be part of the body. Body parts serve a function. They help and serve the rest of the body. When a body part is missing, the whole body suffers.

Some very personal questions arise when you apply the analogy to individual members of the church.

• Do you serve a function at your church?


• Are you helping your church?


• Are you serving your church?


• When you're gone, does the church suffer?


• Are you dead weight which gives nothing to the church, but which the rest of the church must carry?

A backpack is a thing strapped to someones back. They're heavy and uncomfortable. If you carry it long enough, your shoulders will start to hurt. No one enjoys carrying a heavy backpack. The body does all the work, and the backpack gets a free ride.

Are you the backpack of your church? Are you sitting on the back of your church getting a free ride?