The Golden State Warriors lost to the Indiana Pacers more than a week ago. Sportscasters pointed out that “star” player Stephen Curry did not play that night due to a sore ankle. And some commented that the absence of Curry was an important factor in that loss.
Of course, the presence of Curry is not an absolute guarantee for a win. They recently lost in their last game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, even though he was present. Yet a comment in one report about their loss to the Pacers caught my attention. In speaking about the importance of Curry to the team, the reporter pointed out that it wasn’t just his ability to score points but his commitment to getting the Warriors to play together as a team. He helps fellow team members to play their best. And what is accomplished is accomplished as a team.
The comments about Curry’s role in the Warriors reminded me of a phrase in book I am currently reading: Thom Rainer’s I Am a Church Member. In chapter two he writes about being a “unifying presence” in one’s community of faith. The focus of his discussion is on maintaining church unity, members loving one another as Christ loved the church.
But I also see the phrase “unifying presence” as descriptive of another dynamic within the church: that of drawing one another toward a united ministry accomplishing a common goal. Many times I can get caught up in accomplishing my ministry in the church that I forget that what I do is only a part of the bigger ministry of the church. It’s not about having a few “star” members but about the church as a whole fulfilling the ministry that the Lord has entrusted to the church. Every member’s role is not just to do some task or job, but to see it as part of the church’s larger ministry. And what I do should be such that it allows others to do what they could (or even should) do for the sake of the kingdom. If I function properly in the church, fulfilling my God-given role, it frees others to fulfill their God-given role as well. It would be foolish for a few members to try to accomplish all the tasks and ministries of the church on their own. The ministry belongs to the church. We help each other do ministry. And as we do ministry together, we all grow together in Christ.
The Lord gifts the church with people not to do all the work for the church but “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, that is, to build up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God—a mature person, attaining to the measure of Christ’s full stature” (Ephesians 4:12–13 NET).
—Keith Y. Jainga