Carpenters for Christ

But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as He wanted them to be.  – 1 Corinthians 12:18

By the time I post this WMD, approximately 50 men will be “circling up” at Lifeline Community Church.  They count off first thing in the morning, right before breakfast, again at lunch, and one last time at supper.  After count off, they hold hands, pray out loud, disperse teams, and go to work for their Lord and Savior.  By the end of the day, probably 100 different people will have been on site working anywhere from 1 to 10 hours.

My dad worked with me yesterday.  He is a carpenter and was amazed at just what can be accomplished by these guys in a day.  He also said it was the first time he had ever been on a construction job where he hadn’t heard every cuss word that could possibly be said by 10 a.m.  In fact, he heard none.

Every year these guys go on a mission trip.  Their field is the Southeastern part of the United States.  They have members who live in Alabama, West Virginia, and nearly every state in between.  Throughout the year, the Lord will lead, guide and direct them to a major project that will be completed during the first full week of June.  The project will be secondary to their real objective:  Draw near to God through devotion and prayer while fellowshipping with lifelong friends and other believers.   It is a secondary consequence that by the end of the week, they have helped build one more sanctuary where God can truly be made known.

What a wonderful picture of the body of believers who make up the body of Christ!  There are teenagers there that put me to shame when it comes to carpentry work.  There are men who don’t do any carpentry, they simply cook and clean so the carpenters can be fed (very well I might add) three times a day.  There are carpenters who do carpentry for a living, and there are people like me who can “gopher” materials and tools so they may be placed in the hands of those who can use them skillfully.  Nobody gets more credit than anyone else, the guy who worked the last hour is honored just as much as the guy who bore the heat of the entire day.

Every person who has been saved by the blood of Jesus Christ has a purpose.  People think because they can’t communicate well, or can’t sing, or don’t have a particular skill set that they can’t be effectively used by God.  They are wrong.  God made no mistake when He made you.  Everybody can do something for the kingdom.  If everybody would do his or her particular something, you would see what I have seen for the past five days . . . the Body of Christ produce something wonderful.

Whatever you can do for Jesus, do it.  Believe me, my contribution to this project was small, but no less important.  I realize that I can’t say, “Because I’m not a carpenter, I can’t work with these guys.”  I have a place with them.  I feel so loved and included by them.  They are amazing!  Every local church should operate just like them.

Everyone has a place, everyone has a task, no task is greater than anyone else’s, and at the end of the day something beautiful is created.  If the world ever sees a united, undivided body of Christ, they will desire the fellowship and Presence of God that we have.

It is just that irresistible.

If you would like to see with your own eyes what has been completed in 5 days of working, come to our special mid-week service tonight at 7:00.  The address is 6979 West-Oak Highway, Westminster, SC  29693

Later

Adam