Perspectives on the local church that are illustrated by a night at the circus.
Our family gifted Ms. Kitty and I with a night at Cirque du Soleil. As we enjoyed this magnificent performance along with hundreds of other guests I began to think how this illustrates the local church from three perspectives.
PERFECT PERFORMANCE – MODEL OF A “PERFECT” CHURCH
Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us… Romans 12:6
The first perspective looks at the stage performance. There were no spectators on the stage. Every performer had one or more various skills (gifts). Most worked in teams but all worked together to tell the story to the audience. There were four tumblers that had a see-saw routine. They spotted for each other during the routine. When one would stumble or miss the mark, their “brother” would catch them and guide them back into place without missing a beat. How wonderful it would be in the local church if when someone stumbles they were caught by a loving brother and quickly corrected and returned to service.
PERFECT AND IMPERFECT MODEL:
The second perspective looks at the audience and the performers. This is an observation. Please do not be offended. Many churches fill the stage with gifted musicians, voices, and teachers. There is an audience (some of whom are also gifted) watching this worship team perform on stage. There are certainly ministries within these churches for Christians to develop their spiritual gifts and put them into service. There are many that only come as observers (the audience) and never develop or utilize their gifts.
LESS THAN PERFECT MODEL – THE IDEAL CHURCH
The final perspective looks at just the audience. The audience at the circus illustrated what Jesus had in mind for the local church. In our row there was a young couple that wore tattered jeans sitting next to folks in more formal attire. There were young and old, many languages (all understood the story – which was primarily told visually), and many cultures represented.
What if the audience members discovered and developed their own gifts. What if they took their “show” to the streets! What if everyone cared for one another, catching one another in a stumble and helping them back into their place. What if everyone smiled and greeted the folks next to them (regardless of color, culture, age, language, or financial class). What if they took that joy to the world (the streets) and shared the story of Christ and Him Crucified to a lost world and brought them on-stage with them?
The is the local church. An imperfect people with every person having a spiritual gift to offer. They love one another, support one another, and they serve together to tell the world that Jesus loves them. Less than perfect, but ideal.