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Today's newsletter is a bit longer than usual, but I hope you'll hunker down in the saddle and take the journey with me. I want to share with you about the importance of Christ's gifts to the church. Nope, I'm not talking about talents like singing, or dancing, or even being a great orator. I'm talking about the "gifts" that Jesus Christ has embodied in the people that He has "called and equipped" to do the work of the ministry, and to build up the church. And who is the church? It's important that we understand what the church "is not" in order to understand what the church is. The church is not a building! The church does not consist of mortar, brick, or wood, no matter how expensive. The church (the body of Christ) is made up of living, breathing people like you and me who have confessed Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and believe that He is the Christ, the one and only begotten Son of the Living God. Now, having said that, let's go a bit further down the trail.
If you and I are the church, then we have to understand an important truth, and here is that truth in a nutshell. The church is one body, but that body is made up of many parts. Perhaps a look at the horse can help us gain a better understanding of how different body parts all come together to function as one whole body. Even if you're not a "horse person", this next section will help you understand the importance of how every part of the body is important to the integrity and functioning of the whole body. And if you are a horse person, then you just might learn something here about the horse's body parts that will help you to become an even better horse person! We'll start by uncovering some stone, cold facts. And you know what that means to this cowgirl. That means it's time to tighten your cinch...
UNCOVER THE FACTS
and
KNOW THE TRUTH
"Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God's people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.
This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God's Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ."
(Ephesians 4: 11 - 13, NLT)
Have you ever thought about the statement, "we must uncover the facts" ? If something is a fact, wouldn't it be obvious and in plain sight for everyone to see? Unfortunately, the answer is no. I suppose that's why we have to uncover it! I remember when I was a kid growing up and mama would ask me a question about something I should have known the answer to, but didn't. Inevitably, she'd remark, "It's as plain as the nose on your face!" Such remarks didn't do much to bolster my self-confidence or help me figure out the facts, but it did cause me to scratch my head and do a double-check just to see if my nose was still attached to my face. The truth is, just because something is as plain as the nose on our face doesn't mean we fully recognize or understand it.
So, why don't we fully recognize or understand facts? The reason is, most facts are cloaked in secrecy. For example, there is a little known secret in the horse world. Unlocking this secret is the key to becoming, not just an average horse person, but an extraordinary horse person. Since I don't like secrets, here's the fact. Every horse has 5 body parts that work independently of one another, and yet together. When you recognize and understand the function of each of these body parts, then you will know and understand the whole horse. Now let's get down to business with a serious question. Are body parts just parts? Hmmm....
ARE BODY PARTS JUST PARTS?
NOPE, BODY PARTS MAKE UP
THE WHOLE BODY!
The head of the horse is one of God's most beautiful creations. The head "houses" the horse's physical brain and it is the seat of his instinctual and learned understanding. It is also the control center for every other part of his body. Where the head goes, the horse follows. Consider this: Jesus Christ is the head of the church. Where He goes, the body follows. When I think of the head and neck, I think of the gift of Pastor. His role most closely resembles Christ as head of the church, Shepherd, leader, and protector of the flock.
The first body part of a horse is his head and neck. Why do we consider the head and neck as one body part instead of two? When a horse turns his head in a certain direction, his neck bends or curves in that direction, as well, because they are directly attached and cannot work independently of one another. You might look at it this way - where the horse's head goes, his neck flows! The head of the horse "houses" his brain and it is the seat of his instinctual and learned understanding. It is also the control center for every other body part. As a rider, if you do not make a connection with the horse's head (hence, his brain), you cannot make a connection with his feet! When I think of the head and "brain central" of the body of Christ, I think of the "gift" that is the Pastor. The Pastor's role most closely resembles Christ as head of the church, Shepherd, leader, and protector of the flock.
The second body part of a horse is his poll. The poll is that part of the horse's head that is immediately behind or right between the ears. It's that occipital protrusion that you can feel at the back of the horse's skull. The poll is one of the most sensitive parts of a horse's body. An educated rider soon learns that correct flexion at the poll is a sure sign that the horse is properly on the bit. When a horse "gives at the poll" he carries his head and neck in a relaxed position as opposed to a high-headed horse. As a rider, if you do not make connection with the horse's poll, you cannot obtain softness throughout his body. To me, the poll is best represented by the gift of teacher. Not only must the poll (teacher) back up and reinforce the power of the head/neck (pastor), but it helps to reinforce balance throughout the whole body. Here's just a little tidbit. My gifting and function within the body of Christ is that of a teacher.
The third part of a horse's body is his shoulders. A horse's shoulders is what gives his forequarters flexibility, while at the same time helping the whole horse to engage and move forward. One of the popular exercises in western horsemanship comes from the dressage world. It is called "shoulder-in". Shoulder-in is a lateral movement used to supple and keep a horse balanced. Not only does it help the horse to become more limber and flexible in the forequarters (the location of the shoulders), but the action also helps a horse learn how to engage his hindquarters by causing him to balance his weight and move forward more correctly. As a rider, if you do not make connection with the horse's shoulders, your horse's body will be stiff, and lack suppleness resulting in failure to move forward.
Every time I think about the shoulders, I think about Christ' gift of apostles to the church. The word "apostle" means "one who is sent out", an envoy, ambassador, or messenger. The apostles are often salt of the earth people. Think about Christ' apostles in the Bible like Peter, Paul, and John. While some people doubt that apostles still exist, I beg to disagree. Many a church pew is lined with apostles every Sunday morning who not only help to strengthen and support their Shepherd, but often lead the charge in taking the gospel to the highways and byways, therefore making disciples of all men!
The fourth body part of the horse is the rib cage. If the head of the horse is brain central, then the rib cage of the horse is balance central. A rider's balance should be in direct alignment with the horse's rib cage. Both horse and rider learn to balance best when working on the circle rather than a straight line. Circles are nothing more than straight lines on a curve! When on the circle, a rider's inside leg should lay close to the center of the horse's rib cage, and one's outside leg should move slightly either forward or backward as needed to direct or pressure the hindquarters to keep on a circular track. As a rider, if you do not make a connection via pressure with the horse's rib cage along with correct leg cues, then your horse will be out of balance.
When I think of the rib cage, I think of prophets and what a wonderful gift they are to the body of Christ. Unfortunately, false prophets give the real deal prophets a bad name. A true prophet will not necessarily tell you what you'd like to hear, but he will always tell you the truth, and the truth will always be scripturally sound. Also, a true prophet will always point you in the direction you need to go - even if it's a straight line that just happens to look like a curve!
And finally, the fifth body part of a horse is his hindquarters. The hindquarters is where the horse "houses" his impulsion and his driving force. In other words, the horse's hindquarters is his engine. You might look at it this way - the horse's hindquarters is the part of the horse's body that helps to enforce what the head/neck tells it to do. For years, I showed my horses in western pleasure before retiring them to work with me in horse ministry. Many people mistakenly think that all it takes to make a western pleasure horse winner is a slow horse and a low head set. Absolutely wrong! I've ridden many disciplines, and western pleasure is actually one of the most difficult because of it's exacting nature. Every top blue winning horse in the western pleasure arena is a horse that has learned how to fully engage not only his brain (think head/neck body part) for the task required, but he does it with the help of the hindquarters that enables him to successfully power forward. Now, that's real team work!
When I ask my horse to move his 5'th body part (his hindquarters) away from me, I know that his 1'st body part (his head and neck) will move closer towards me. Even though these are different body parts that have different functions and serve different purposes, they are not independent of one another, but work together as a team for the benefit of the whole body.
To win, and win big time, a rider must positively make the connection between the head/neck body part and the hindquarters body part. Although there is a lot of space between these parts, they work together as a team. Alright, I know you've been waiting for this one. When I think of the hindquarters, I think of my husband, Kim. Okay, stop laughing and pick your cowboy hat up off the floor. I don't mean that in the way you're thinking! My husband is an evangelist, and a darned good one, if I do say so. A good evangelist does more than travel and take the good news of the gospel from city to city, although that is certainly a very large portion of what he does. An evangelist also revives, refreshes, and strengthens the body of Christ by bringing a fresh word in due time. But perhaps most importantly, the evangelist is a team player and a supporter of the Pastor and his work at the local church level. Just like it is with the horse's body concerning the connection of the head/neck to the hindquarters, the evangelist is a source of support, back-up, impulsion, and strength to the Pastor, as well as his sheep. He is, indeed, a gift to the church.
WHEN WE RESPECT THE 5 GIFTS,
We Embrace
THE WHOLE CHURCH
"With your whole being you embrace God setting things right, and then you say it, right out loud: 'God has set everything right between him and me'. "
(Romans 10: 10, MSG)
When we learn to respect the different parts of
the horse, we are able to embrace the whole horse,
and set everything right between us.
The Bible tells us that Christ, Himself, gave the church 5 specific gifts. Nope, the Bible doesn't use the word "talents". Now, don't misunderstand what I'm saying here. I appreciate talented people, and I especially appreciate and admire people who use their talents for God's glory. But as pertains to this context and teaching, the Bible uses the specific word "gifts". And the amazing thing is, He chose to wrap His "gifts" in special containers made of flesh and blood. With all due respect, the recipient of the gift becomes the gift, itself!
I think such incredible gifts are worthy of understanding. And finally, I think such incredible gifts are worthy of our respect. When we rise to a place of understanding and respect for Christ's gifts to the church, we will truly be whole!
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