Who is Your Village?

Lots to say this week.  Article in Time Magazine about Bruce Feiler, author of tons of great books.  Feiler was recently diagnosed with an extraordinarily rare form of aggressive cancer (only 100 people get this every year in this country) and faced his mortality more intensely than most of us do at his age...or any age probably. The presence of his three year old daughter immediately set him to thinking who would teach/model/tell her about...instill in her...the qualities that he intended to nurture in her as he raised her.  That led to a new book, Council of Dads, about the men he contacted and the conversations he had with them about helping raise his daughter if he died.

The cancer is in remission, but the idea of a council of dads is rooted in the idea of "body of Christ."  The hardest thing we ever did as parents was try to identify guardians for our young children in case of a disaster.  No one was exactly like us.  In the midst of the craziness we call church, I see its miracle...the sharing of gifts to "mature in the faith."  You see them...a mom who is super organized and has the ability to streamline activities so they are simply done and easily accomplished but who is definitively challenged in the arena of small talk...a wonderful speaker/devotional leader who can't keep track of their calendar appointments...the kindest, most caring person in the world who cannot read the church budget even though its been explained to him a dozen times...the member who is magical with elementary children but totally lost with middle schoolers...or the person who adores middle and high schoolers but cannot deal with a crying infant.

Some of us teach, some preach, some do pastoral care, some budget, some property...if we identify our strengths.  We do other things too...but many of then not so well.  But what an incredible way to construct a world...where different people have different gifts...where only in the working together are we able to accomplish the highest levels of expertise because we can all do what we do best.

I was in a committee meeting once where we were discussion personnel salaries in this church context and the proposal was made to pay everyone on staff an equal amount because all were equally needed to do the jobs we needed to do.  That is the kingdom of God...where the lion and the lamb, the secretary and the boss all give their best and are rewarded the same.

In the meantime...I am grateful to be part of a community that teaches my biological children and my church children the best of all skills and talents through the gifts of the community gathered by God to bring God's love and grace to the world.