Howdy – welcome.
Until mid 2012 I was a Minister in the Anglican Church having trained at Moore Theological College and worked in various churches in Sydney and Wollongong. These days I am a school teacher.
Regardless of my paid employment I’m keen to press ahead in understanding the Scriptures, applying them to my life, my family and to the church. As a congregation member I get to see things from the opposite side (rather than leading a congregation). It’s an interesting journey back to the real world rather than the world of ministry, especially trying to apply the scriptures to a daily secular work life.
I’m not a big believer in mottos and slogans, goals and mission statements. However I reckon we could do worse than to tattoo the words of Ephesians 4:11-16 onto our foreheads so that we might be reminded each day….
“It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 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 Holy Bible: New International Version. 1996 (electronic ed.) (Eph 4:11–16). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.)
If you’re going to tattoo things on your forehead there’s no point being succinct!
It’s not so much the first part – the apostles, teachers and so on – that’s vital of course. But the next part is that resonates so strongly.
That the body of Christ may be built up
until we all reach unity in the faith
and in the knowledge of the Son of God
and become mature,
attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ!
What is my part in the building up of the church? How can we see as many as possible standing before Christ on the judgement day and receiving the crown of life from his hands? What does it take for ordinary Christians to be involved in this?
MatureChristianity 