Teaching of the Month allows our readers to be able to get the Word of God from our pulpit. 

Bishop Eric O. Cain

Everybody Suffers When You Don't Do Your Part

When people stop sitting in the pew’s saying, “They’re not meeting my needs  and start saying, whose needs can I meet?” Then needs will be met. “When we allow the servant spirit to flourish in our congregation, then we will minister to each other as unto the Lord.”

 Many people look to the pastors and leaders to do the work, but a leader’s job is to lead!

Ephesians 4:11-12, 15-16
Apostles, prophet, evangelists, & pastor/teacher are not the ones that are supposed to be doing everything. Their job is to equip the Church!

1 Corinthians 12:12-22
One day it occurred to the members of the body that they were doing all the work and that the belly was having all the food. So they held a meeting and after a long discussion decided to go on strike until the belly consented to take its proper share of the work. So for a day or two the hands refused to take the food, the mouth refused to receive it and the teeth had no work to do. But after a day or two the members began to find that they themselves were not being very active. The hands could hardly move; the mouth was all parched and dry, while the legs were unable to support the rest. So, they found that even the belly in its dull quiet way was doing necessary work for the body and that all must work together or the body would go to pieces.

The human body does not exist to meet the needs of the hand. The hand exists to meet the needs of the body and in doing so gets its own needs met. The Church (Body of Christ) does not exist to meet our needs. We exist to carry out the work of the Body and in doing so our own needs are met.

“You can have everything in life you want if you will just help other’s get what they want”
Colossians 3:15-17
Vince Lombardi said this; “If you’re going to play together as a team, you’ve got to care for one another. You’ve got to love each other. I have to do my job well in order that he can do his.”
In a healthy church, each Christian has to care for others. As we take seriously Jesus’ command to “love one another,” we contribute to a winning team.

Galatians 6:1-5

What would my church be like if every member were just like me?

Hebrews 10:24-25
I know that all of you were saddened to learn this week of the death of one of our church’s most valuable members -- Someone Else. Someone’s passing created a vacancy that will be difficult to fill. Else has been with us for many years, and for every one of those years, Someone did far more than the normal person’s share of the work. Whenever leadership was mentioned, this wonderful person was looked to for inspiration as well as results. Someone Else can work with that group. Whenever there was a job to do, a class to teach, or a meeting to attend, one name was on everyone’s lips, “Let Someone Else do it.” It was common knowledge that Someone Else was among the largest givers in the church. Whenever there was a financial need, everyone just assumed that Someone Else would make up the difference. Someone Else was a wonderful person, sometimes appearing super-human, but a person can only do so much. Were the truth known, everyone expected too much of Someone Else. Now Someone Else is gone. We wonder what we are going to do. Someone Else left a wonderful example to follow, but who is going to follow it? Who is going to do the things Someone Else did? Remember, we can’t depend on Someone Else anymore.

Acts 2:46-47
Ninety percent of the new members will stay in their congregation if (1) they can articulate their faith; (2) they belong to subgroups (such as a choir, home Bible study, or Sunday school class); (3) they have four to eight close friendships in their congregation.

The church as a whole is made up of many parts with Christ being the head. The body is made up of hands and feet, but what are hands and feet made of? Fingers and toes. And fingers and toes are made of…cells. Just as the human body is made of cells the living and active Body of Christ is also made of cells.

From a former Lesbian:
I am a former lesbian. After many years in the gay community, I joined a Christian Bible study, where I met happy, healthy, normal Christians who treated me with respect. I’d never had my emotional needs met before. My mother had rejected me and the lesbian community was always looking for “lovers.” Being around real Christians was the most healing experience I’ve had.

Galatians 5:13

An African chief invited the men of his tribe to a great feast. He announced that all the food would be provided, but he asked each man to bring a jug of wine. Alex wanted to attend the feast but thought a jug of wine was too expensive. His wife suggested that he take a jug of water and just add it to the great pot of wine the others will bring. She convinced him that no one would notice.

On the day of the feast all the men arrived and poured the contents of their jugs into the larger wine pot. Alex carefully added the contents of his container, and he thought he had gotten away with his scheme.

After everyone arrived, the chief ordered the servants to fill everyone's wine glass. The chief blessed the feast; his guests raised their glasses and began to drink. Soon thereafter everyone began to spit out the liquid in disbelief as they exclaimed, "This is not wine; it is only water!"

Each man had done the same thing as Alex. They all thought their jug of water would not be noticed.

Everybody suffers when you neglect to do what you have been asked to do especially when others are also neglecting their duties. And in the end, nobody benefits.