Body or not...you decide

        I was recently listening to a podcast put on by a Presbyterian seminary.  One of the statements (made of the Presbyterian denomination) that resonated most loudly with me was, “We are a branch of the body of Christ.  Not only do we believe that the we are accountable to one another, we believe churches are accountable to one another.”  How have I never thought of that?  Or anyone else before me for that matter?!  Churches being accountable to one another?  Brilliant!  I learned in high school that the Churches of Christ were not a denomination and were therefore autonomous (meaning we don’t have a central governing body).  Further, I was taught simultaneously that we as individuals needed accountability and that each of us was one part of the body of Christ.  So If each Church of Christ is autonomous, that is, acting on it’s own, how is it that we are a connected body?  It seems to me if you carried the metaphor out, we don’t actually have a head (of course the argument is, that God is the head of each church).  In fact, each church is it’s own head.  So then, you have a body with a bunch of limbs, organs, and muscles each with their own head!  If the parts of your body acted independently from one another, you could still call it a body, but it definitely wouldn’t be a united one.  If each part of your body acted on it’s own, it would not be possible for your body to be used in its full capacity.  It could only do what each part was capable of.

What if each church’s eldership actually benefited from each other?  What if they met once a quarter and prayed for each other?  What if elderships actually held the other accountable to shepherding the congregation instead of micromanaging it?  What if congregations shared prayer requests?  What if churches actually learned from each others mistakes?  What if we lifted each other up in victories and mourned in loss?  All of this sounds great, but it all requires churches to swallow their pride and take a dose of their own medicine.  Preaching accountability from the pulpit becomes a double-edged sword.  Accountability not only for personal growth, but for the entire kingdom.  The autonomy of the churches of Christ has been a blessing just as much as it has a curse.  Only when churches can stop judging others for not having a praise team or having one, band or no band, women serving communion or not, only then can they start actually caring about being one united body.  Obviously this is a generalization and there are plenty of people not bothered by these issues. But, it is often the critics and negative voices who are heard most loudly.  The church of Christ must begin to be characterized by what Christ’s church should stand for...loving God and loving others (Instead of acapella music and petty arguments).