Stagnant Bottoms Or Puzzle Pieces

SERMON: Stagnant Bottoms and Puzzle Pieces I Cor. 12:12-27 August 4, 2002

I. Introduction

A. Bishop Lindsey’s Story

1. I recently had the opportunity to hear our Bishop, Lindsey Davis, speak. He is an avid golfer, so much so in fact that when we went to Augusta for the North Ga Conference meeting they gave him a green jacket – I’m not sure why – I’m kidding I do know the significance of a green jacket in Augusta. Anyway, Bishop Davis he liked to think of himself as a natural golfer. He didn’t need lessons or anyone to help him with his game.

2. Until this year, this summer he said his game had gone south so he gave in and signed up for lessons. When he arrived at the club for the lessons he was greeted by what he thought was a young boy only it turned out to be the golf pro. Then this young boy took him out to teach him golf and the golf pro began setting up all this video equipment. By this point Bishop Davis was beginning to become a little frustrated. He had humbled himself and come up to improve his golf game and this young boy was busy taking videos. The golf pro instructed him to take a couple of swings at the ball. When Bishop Davis had taken what he thought was a pretty good swing,

3. The golf pro took him inside to a computer screen. By this time Bishop Davis was beginning to think he had wasted a lot of time and money. The young golf pro pulled Bishop Davis and his swing up on the screen and then split the screen and place a video of Tiger Woods and his swing on the other side of the screen. Slowly and painfully Bishop Davis said the golf pro went through and compared Bishop Davis swing to Tiger Woods swing – pointing out all of Bishop Davis flaws in his execution.

4. When all was said and done, Bishop Davis asked the pro what was the root of his problem and the young pro hemmed and hawed a bit before he told the Bishop, “you have a stagnant bottom, sir.”

5. A stagnant bottom! The Bishop said he expected a dropped shoulder, a lazy hand grip, or wrong placement of the club but a stagnant bottom! The pro went on to say “Yes sir, you see when you execute your swing your back side if you will just kind of sits there and does nothing and if you really want to experience the full power of your swing then you have to get your back side, your whole body into the swing.

6. Bishop davis said he began to ponder that a lot and began to wonder if part of our problem in the church was that our pulpits and pews might afflicted with stagnant bottoms. He began to wonder what it would be like if the church, the whole church – every memeber in every church, the whole body of Christ into the swing of things, what it would be life if we experienced the full power, full spirit, the full being of the Body of Christ..

7. I wonder if someone was to take a video of our Church and lay it on a screen next to an image of Jesus Christ our example and head of the church on the other side – I wonder if they would find we too have stagnant bottoms .

B. TURN WITH ME IF YOU WILL TO TODAY’S SCRIPTURE – I Cor 12:12-20

II. Interpreting the Scriptures

A. CONTEXT

1. Paul is speaking to the church at Corinth. The city of Corinth was a very difficult place for ministry, so much so that Paul spent his longest stay there after having left the company of Barnabas. He stayed in Corinth eighteen long months working and strengthening the church for ministry. And then after he has left and gone on to new places, new ministries he hears the Corinth church is in trouble! Some of its members had begun to think they were not needed in the church and had begun just to sit in the pews, had quit working thinking their job was done or not necessary. Others thought their job was the most important and that nobody else in the church matter or had a anything important to say or add to what they were doing. The church had become divided in it purpose and activity rendering itself ineffective – lacking the full power of the Holy Spirit in their work

2. So Paul wrote these words to encourage, inspire the members to get up and get moving – all the members of the church that they might know the full power of God.