Excerpt from I Corinthians 12: 12-20

"Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many."

Reflection by Anthony B. Robinson

When I coached six- and seven-year-olds in soccer, I noticed their default style of play was “bunch ball.” Everyone ran to the ball, forming a swirling scrum where shins were kicked, kids wailed and the ball went nowhere. When the ball did squirt out of the pack, there was no one there to get it.

My mantra as a soccer coach became, “Play your position,” which is not as easy as it sounds. It means you have to know what your role is and you have to trust your teammates to know their position and play it. That means not rushing into someone else’s part of the field just because the ball goes there. When kids on a soccer team got this, it had the quality of a revelation.

In many congregations we also play bunch ball. We seem to think that everyone needs to be in on every decision and everyone has to have the chance to express their opinion on every matter, often second-guessing those to whom a task or decision has been assigned. We sanction our congregational bunch ball with words like “participatory,” “congregational” and “inclusive.”

Paul spoke of the church as a body, the Body of Christ, and suggested that the different parts (people) had different roles. When we forget that, the body gets sick. He urged people to play their part and respect others, allowing them to play theirs.

I know I’m mixing my metaphors (team and body), but the idea is the same. Play your position. Avoid congregational bunch ball. Trust others to play their part. Because, after all, when we’re caught in the congregational scrum, we tend to lose sight of the goal: being part of God’s mission of saving lives and repairing a broken world.

Prayer

When I am tempted to rush into someone else’s part of the field and take over, help me play my position, my part in the Body of Christ, that your mission may be served and that you, Jesus, may be glorified. Amen.

About the Author Tony Robinson, a United Church of Christ minister, is a speaker, teacher and writer. His most recent book is Changing the Conversation: A Third Way for Congregations. Read his weekly reflections on the current lectionary texts at www.anthonybrobinson.com/ by clicking on Weekly Reading.

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