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Of Battleships and Churches
Last weekend Melanie and I toured the U.S.S. Wisconsin in Norfolk where it now serves as a museum. On the one hand such a piece of war machinery is a sad and sober testimony to the evil that exists in the world. The size and complexity of the ship; the devastating power of the 16-inch guns; maintaining a crew of over 2,000 – feeding them three times a day; keeping them physically and emotionally healthy during battle and long deployments – all to defend our country against aggression is staggering.
On a positive note, it struck me how many different roles must be played in order for a small town – for such is a battleship crew – to function as a whole. If that ship is to achieve its war goals, it must have unity. It is not merely a machine; it is gunners, cooks, doctors, plumbers, radar operators, mechanics, machinists, painters, navigators as well as security, public relation and postal personnel, etc. Everyone on that ship has a job – or many jobs – to do. A threat may arise at a moment’s notice, and the call to “general quarters” means every post must be competently manned.
As I pondered that unity of purpose, teamwork and blended expertise I couldn’t help but think of a local church. Paul used similar analogy of a human body in describing a composite whole of differing parts (1 Cor 12:13-31). Among other things he noted:
1) The body is not one member but many – 12:14. While the body acts as a unit, various parts contribute to what the body is doing. For example, if a body is walking down a street the primary movement may be in the legs, but toes are assisting in stability; eyes and ears provide input for guidance and balance; arms also balance and maintain a rhythmic gait that propels the body efficiently. Walking is a complex task, as any parent knows from watching their child learn it or as someone impaired can attest. Back on the Wisconsin, the shells may be in the breech, but if the navigator runs the ship aground the guns are worthless.
Local churches have many different tasks: attending to the sick and needy among them; teaching the word; training saints to use their skills; worshiping God fervently and lawfully. And there are incidental activities such as maintaining property, website management, electronics and all the rest. A church functions best when everyone has a job to do – and does it.
2) The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you” – 12:21. There was only one ship’s captain on the Wisconsin, but he could only accomplish his tasks when all his subordinates were doing theirs. And helping them do theirs was a vital part of his own success. Likewise in the church, neither elders nor preachers nor anyone else should feel superior to or lord themselves over a fellow Christian. All provide valuable service to the body. Some in Corinth had lost sight of that which caused rivalries and factions to form that were destructive to the unity that enables either a battleship or a church to war effectively.
And you read that right: a church is at war. We are fighting a spiritual battle that is intense and deadly. I’m sure the crew of the Wisconsin had down times to boost morale, but she was not a cruise liner. The church needs a dedicated crew that understands what is at stake. It needs a crew that can endure the heat of battle and not quit. In a film clip a former Wisconsin sailor was describing his last day of duty aboard ship. He was proud to have been in an elite company of battleship sailors. His emotion on retirement was not, as you might expect, relief but sadness. He felt privileged fight against tyranny and evil. So it should be for we who serve in the spiritual battle today. Do we take it as seriously as the sailors of the U.S.S. Wisconsin?
