A President; A Cowboy; A Trucker; A Doctor

A couple of weeks ago I was fortunate to attend the TN Ministers’ Wives Retreat at Dollywood’s Dream More Resort.  It was a fabulous time of fellowship and fun reuniting with some girlfriends I have not seen in many years.  Honestly, my stomach hurt from all the laughing I did.

During the retreat, Jeanne Davis, TN Executive wife, had us participate in “our story.”  One questioned she asked was as a child what we wanted to be and how that occupation could be used in our ministry now.   I cannot answer for the other groups at the retreat, but the group of ladies I sat with were as crazy as I am.  From my group the three most unique occupations were:  President, Cowboy, and Trucker.   (Let me tell you I am STILL laughing from the table conversation that followed).

To answer the question of how these occupations could be used in our ministries now, I came home and began to really ponder.  (Warning:  the pondering was done “under the influence” of M & M’s and contrived within my crazy blonde brain.  I soon realized that this blog would be serious and might sound harsh so please forgive me ahead of time).  So here we go:

President- this person holds the highest executive office and presides over the body.  They must make difficult decisions at times which hopefully will be for the good of the people.  If the church was run by the President, after all attempts to unify the body, they could issue an executive order to remove all “dissenters” (those who disagree with the goals and beliefs of the church).  After all, don’t we all want peace and unity within the body of Christ?

Once the order has been issued by the President, a cowboy would come in to round up the dissenters who have strayed far from the teachings and beliefs of the church and herd them out in to an awaiting truck.  Oh, this cowboy has to be on guard at all times because some of the “dissenters” attempt to sneak back in among with fold.  Haven’t we all witnessed some nayer-sayers within our churches?  When confronted by fellow Christians about their behavior, those individuals will be quiet for a period of time but then start their destructive complaining and selfishness again. 

The next person waiting for the dissenters is the trucker.  This person has patiently waited.  They have witness countless attempts to restore broken relationships and correct poor actions.   In the end, the trucker is responsible hauling the dissenters to a distance location away from the church body.  As they leave, the church body including the President and the cowboy pray for the healing of the those who have left.

Now, some of you might be a little offended at the fictional representation.  However, I do believe many of God’s churches are suffering greatly from those individuals who whine, cry, demand their own way and whose beliefs do not line up with Christianity.  They have lost sight of the true mission of the body of Christ-to bring more souls to heaven.  Personally, I believe many of the dissenters in our churches have a spiritual issue that is the result of a broken relationship with Jesus.  They need a healing touch from the Father.  With that in mind, I will add another occupation to our list-a doctor.

When a sick/hurt animal is separated from the other animals, a vet tends to them.  He assesses their needs and treats them.  The hope is that the ill animal can be restored to the others.   However, in some cases, the healer can do nothing for the sick animal. 

The same goes with the local church.  We need to love and pray for those who cause dissension within the body.  Sometimes, it is necessary to remove a person from leadership or have a meeting with an individual who is causing harm to the body of Christ.  Sadly, and on rare occasions, a person may be asked to leave the church because their actions are damaging the unity and fellowship of the body of Christ.  This is where the ultimate doctor-Jesus-comes in.  It is the prayer of the church body that the harmful person will come to realize that they are out of the will of Christ.  Jesus is the only answer for hope and healing of a hardened heart.  It is the church body’s hope that the person who caused damage will repent of their ways and be restored to a right relationship with Jesus and with the congregation.

I know this blog story is fictional and arose from fun at the retreat.  I do hope no one takes offense to it.  Church disciple rarely happens anymore but when it does, it is for the healing of both the local body of Christ and the individual.  It is my prayer that if your church is experiencing disunity or someone is causing damage to the body that through prayer and reconciliation the person can be restored to the body to fulfill their Christ-calling there.