When we see the church described in the Bible, it is always as a living thing, like a body, or the Bride of Christ. I can’t think of anywhere it is described as some kind of institution or formal organization. As far as we know Jesus didn’t even give the disciples much, if anything, in the way of instructions as how to do church. They, or we, have just made it up as we went along, sometimes with good results and sometimes with not so good results. This is because the church just grew naturally, like a physical body does, without any pre-planned formal structure. It all began with folks that had Jesus in common just hanging out and eating together and talking about Him. (Acts 2:42-47)As needs arose certain parts, or people, in the body had certain roles assigned to them to meet those needs. The appointing of the Seven in Acts 6:1-6 is a good example of this principle at work.  

Flexibility is one feature of a healthy body, the ability and willingness to adapt to change. To be locked into a certain structure or way of doing things is to become institutional and no longer function as a living, growing, thriving body. Being flexible can mean a lot of things, for us as individual Christians and collectively, as the Body. Sometimes we have to give way on what we as individuals might want for the overall health of the Body. A good example of this is what went on at Trees Sunday morning. We had several additions to our usual Sunday morning sequence of events with the missionary ladies, and the children’s’ programs, and the baptisms. So, rather than being stuck with our normal way of doing things, Gray and Danny shortened the time used in other parts of the assembly. Gray shortened his sermon by about half and the praise band omitted one of their songs. This allowed us to  leave on time and still enjoy the additions to our Sunday morning time together.

Another aspect of flexibility is the willingness to learn, and change our opinions, as we gain new insights into what God is teaching through scripture. This doesn’t mean we should go chasing off after every new “wind of doctrine” that comes along. But, we should keep an open mind as we study. Does any one of us really think they have a handle on the whole mind of God as revealed in the Bible? There is always something new to learn, or something we can understand better, as we continue to study and grow in our knowledge and understanding of scripture. That is the meat and drink of the Body of Christ.   The thing about a body is that it is either going to grow or die. If we remain flexible and willing to be shaped by God as we grow, we have a great future ahead of us as the Body of Christ at Trees Baptist Church. Or, we can choose to be scared, and hunker down, and be bound by tradition and just sort of get stiff and petrify. I believe God has a lot of growth in store for us in the future. All we have to do is be ready to follow.