One Body, Many Members

What contemporary worship can teach us about being the church?

January 23, 2022
Third Sunday after the Epiphany | Year C
1 Corinthians 12:12–31a (NRSV)

TL;DR

• Contemporary worship : American church = Speaking in tongues : Corinthian church
• No one is superior or inferior to another in the body of Christ
• Yet the reality is not all members of the body get the same treatment
• It is not just about recognizing diversity, but also about promoting equity

As I mentioned in my previous article, the Corinthian Church found success in offering charismatic and supernatural experiences of speaking in tongues, which is being able to speak and pray in their non-native or angelic languages that they never formally studied. And due to their success, the church continued to emphasize this one particular gift. This means, perhaps, their gatherings spent more time exhibiting their gift of speaking in tongues. Or maybe, they spent more time encouraging others to also receive this gift of speaking in tongues.

If this situation in Corinth is something foreign or difficult to imagine, I believe a good present-day example is the gift of music leadership. For the past 40 years and beyond, the American church has hyper-focused on this particular gift of music leadership with the rise of contemporary worship. This new style of worship has brought success to many churches, as their worship ministry attracted many young people and non-believers. And this so-called CCM (Contemporary Christian Music) industry has been growing ever since. Consequently, churches have been swapping their organs for keyboards, guitars, and drums, their choir stalls for music stages, their choir directors for worship leaders, and their hymnals for CCLI top songs. This contemporary worship has become more than a trend, but a foundational key to a church’s success, the kind of success I mentioned in my last article, which is becoming big in size and numbers.

I find major similarities between CCM music leadership (or contemporary worship) and speaking in tongues. Both speak in angelic and heavenly tongues, communicating something across the barriers of language, culture, age, or physical limitation. Both can create an atmosphere where participants feel like they are in a spiritual realm, experiencing an abundance of emotional and spiritual highs. Both can make us feel very connected to God, finding pleasure in fully surrendering to the moment. And both have the charisma to attract a crowd of people, offering them these sensational, out-of-body experiences. These similarities are perhaps summed up to both sharing a “pentecostal genetic code,” according to Swee-Hong Lim and Lester Ruth in their book Lovin’ On Jesus: A Brief History of Contemporary Worship.

I grew up with this style of worship and have been blessed by it. I have met many people who came to know and accept Christ because of this very style of worship. This contemporary worship is most definitely a gift from God. And all those people who are part of this worship— worship leaders, band members, sound engineers, so more — are gifted people.

But the problem arises when one particular gift trumps all other gifts. And by trumping other gifts, it makes all other gifts inferior intentionally or unintentionally, and eventually, these inferior gifts become ignored and neglected. Most importantly, the harm happens when those without this one particular gift begin to despise themselves and their own gifts.

Because contemporary worship has been regarded as the key to success and found itself in the center stage of every church, more emphasis and more attention have been poured out to this particular gift. More people want to be part of this ministry and chase after this particular gift. More people want to be part of a worship band or become worship leaders. More money has been poured out into the production of contemporary worship. And more resources have been created so that small churches can also mimic this style of worship for the sake of success.

Contemporary worship is to the 20th/21st-century American church as the speaking in tongues is to the 1st-century Corinthian church. The gift of speaking in tongues trumped all other gifts. The gift of speaking in tongues became the only gift that was relevant, desirable, and considered essential. And consequently, people without this gift of speaking in tongues despised themselves and were despised by others. And to this situation, Paul writes,

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone (12:4–7).

And Paul continues in today’s scripture reading: “the body does not consist of one member but of many” (v. 14). Paul compares the body and the church, noting that the church is the body of Christ. A human body does not consist of one member. A collection of human ears does not make up a human body. A body needs more than ears; it needs eyes, hands, feet, and all the interior and exterior parts that we cannot name from the top of our head. A body is a collection of varieties of members. And a body is a body because of the diversity of its members and its members’ interdependence with one another. When our tooth hurts from a cavity, our entire body hurts with it. When our hand is honored with a pedicure, our entire body is honored with it.

The same thing goes to the church, the body of Christ. We, though many, are one body of Christ. A church is not a collection of one kind of people. A church is not a collection of one kind of gift. A church is not a collection of one kind of ministry. And what makes the church a church is a collection of varieties of gifts, services, and activities. And the church is a church because of the diversity of its members and its members’ interdependence with one another.

This is how Eugene Peterson paraphrases Paul’s teaching in The Message:

The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don’t, the parts we see and the parts we don’t. If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing. If one part flourishes, every other part enters into the exuberance (vv. 25–26).

Paul acknowledges that not all members of the body get the same treatment. Some members are viewed as stronger and essential, while others as weaker and dispensable. Some are considered more honorable and more respectable than others. This is neither by God’s design nor intention, however. But this is how the world views the body.

Another metaphor for this body and the church is a team. In team sports like football, every beginner wants to be a quarterback or a running back, positions considered more honorable and respectable to the world’s eyes. But those who have played the game for a while know how important the positions like linemen or long snappers are to the team. And so, the team does their best to treat them with respect and honor.

Or in basketball, everyone knows, loves, and admires Steph Curry, who is considered the best shooter ever to play the game. Because of him, every kid on the court wants to shoot the ball from the three-point line or even from the half-court. Last month, he set a new NBA record of all-time three-pointers made. All the spotlight was on him and him only; yet Steph Curry himself decided to take this historic moment to honor his teammates with lavish gifts. Because without their passes, he could not have broken the record.

What does today’s lesson mean for the 1st century Corinthians and the 21st century Americans? It is that not only should we acknowledge and celebrate diversity within the body of Christ, but we are also to be responsible for one another, fostering interdependence and promoting equity within the body.

And another applicable lesson for each local congregation is that we are to embrace and cherish our gifts, regardless of how our society views them, for these gifts are indeed gifts from the Spirit which are integral to the body of Christ. While I encouraged you to think about your gifts last week, what I truly think about our church is that you are all already living out your calling and using your gifts in the most faithful ways. I do not want to call out names, but I see this in each one of you, the way you are involved in the church, and the way you are participating in the ministry you are passionate about for the sake of the common good. And I honor and respect each one of you for that.

Our confession of Jesus as the Lord makes us members of one body. And as members of the body, we are given various gifts, services, and abilities. It is never the other way around where our gifts, services, and abilities grant us this status of being a member of the church. And it is my sincerest prayer that we would all claim and cherish our gifts, services, and abilities, not in comparison to others, but as integral parts of the whole body. We, though many, are one body of Christ. And as people redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ, let us continue to be the bread for the world. In the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Rev. Minoo Kim is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church, currently serving in the Virginia Annual Conference. He will very much appreciate it if you like and follow his Medium profile. Peace!