Each Member of the Body of Christ is CRUCIAL to the Whole!

As our congregation ages, we are losing many of our faithful servants who have reached their 80’s and 90’s—or at least it seems so in recent months. I attended another memorial service today for someone I had the privilege of working with on significant projects over the years. In writing my condolence card to his widow, I went back to a community award nomination and a church newsletter article I’d prepared a while back—and was reminded anew of how crucial each member of the Body of Christ is to the whole.

 

My first recollection of Bill was when he served on our church’s Personnel Committee, as I called him to advocate for the intern who was soon to live with us. Later, in his retirement from a storied career as teacher and principal—he stepped into an interim role over our “spiritual formation and discipleship” department out of a new-formed sense of purpose. He knew the Lord was calling him out of retirement to help bridge a gap that called for his considerable skills. By that time, Bill had already made lasting contributions to education in our district. He had already served on our church’s Session (group of elders-leaders) and as a church Trustee. Yet, he heard God’s new ask and said “yes.” As a faithful steward of his gifts of wisdom and leadership and shepherding and administration, Bill provided needed guidance and oversight to our staff team that spanned work with preschool, elementary, middle school, high school, and adults. He stayed in that pivotal role until our extended search process was complete.

 

Later, when Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, he signed up to go on our church’s first relief trip, partnering with my old childhood congregation in New Orleans. Seventy-five percent of that worshipping community lost their homes.  Many did not have flood insurance, and those who did have insurance soon found that it did not come close to covering their losses.  The church building itself sustained significant damage.  The basement and five feet of the ground floor were inundated with filthy flood waters for three weeks. The neighborhood was devastated in every way.

 

Bill was so impacted by that initial trip, that it led to him stepping in to provide deeply dedicated leadership delivering relief for Katrina victims both in Colorado, our home state, and in Louisiana for years. His legacy included recruiting and sending over 160 people on 12 New Orleans relief and rebuilding teams, raising and distributing funds, and coordinating volunteers to assist nearly 1,600 Katrina refugees in Colorado as they navigated loss, grief, and resettlement.

 

Each time he committed his time and talents to these post-retirement endeavors, he postponed travels and personal projects, sacrificing his own comforts for the greater good. Why? Bill had a God-driven passion for the oppressed, for those who had less than he did, for those who needed compassion and justice. He believed in being a partner and a collaborator—a leader who brought out the best in others, leveraged resources in meaningful ways, and went the distance with integrity, strength of character, and wisdom.

 

After the memorial service, these additional thoughts came to mind:

  • God used Bill in his paid employment and in his retirement filled with unpaid service. In both places, the Lord brought to the fore Bill’s God-given gifts—leadership, administration, wisdom, shepherding.

  • In the end, your closeness to Jesus matters most of all. Of all the accomplishments, the most comforting is knowing that Bill is with Jesus, hearing “well done, good and faithful servant.” And, Bill could not have done what he did inside and outside of the church without Jesus at the helm of his life.

  • Our best use of Bill at Grace Commons was when our church staff got out of the way—allowing Bill and others who are faithful Jesus followers to use their gifts mightily for His kingdom. As ministry leaders, we need to be committed to inviting our people to do significant things, leading entire ministries, while we provide support, accountability, and encouragement.

 

Reflect:

  • How is your paid employment and/or your retirement marked by the use of your God-given gifts and sense of calling/purpose?

  • Are you a gifted administrator with clear leadership abilities? How do you think God is using or could use you to make an impact leading in some way?

  • Do you have a unique capacity for problem-solving? Team-building? Decision-making? How might you offer those for the betterment of others?

 

 

Important resources:

 

 

Shirley Giles Davis, author of the God. Gifts. You. Your Unique Calling and Design workbook, Your Unique Design Class Guide, Your Unique Design Facilitator Guide, DIOS. DONES. TÚ.: Tu llamado y diseño único (Spanish Edition), and Gifts-Calling-Purpose blog, is a consultant, coach, facilitator who has worked with hundreds of faith-based organizations, nonprofit agencies, and executive leaders in a diversity of fields for four decades. She currently serves as Catalyst for Equipping at her church.

 

Photo © Shirley Giles Davis.  Close-up of painting by Claude Monet.

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