The Way I See It

by Pastor Alonzo B. Patterson

  Sometimes, when we think of Jesus' prayer in John, it is difficult to see how Christ will carry out his great mandate for oneness in the family of God. When I was a boy, I thought that everyone who attended church was a part of the church. I thought that everyone paid their share of the tithe, loved the work of the church, prayed and trusted God for everything, and were the kind of people who never made mistakes, stumbled in their faith, or disliked other people. In other words, I thought that everyone who came to the church house and attended worship, was a part of God's family. I came to understand, however, that God's family lives in two places: 1. Inside the Kingdom and, 2. Outside the Kingdom.

Go to October 2002
"The Way I See It"

When All in the Family
are Not All in the Family

"But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. And if they were all one member, where were the body? But now are they many members, yet but one body. And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you." 1 Corinthians 12:18-21

All of the family is not all in the house.

  When I think back on my childhood I am reminded that my mother's greatest concern for all of her children was that they be in the house before dark. Darkness represented a danger. It didn't matter where we were scattered about in the daytime, we knew that everyone was to be in the house by dark.
   I raise the question, as your Pastor, is all of your family in God's house? Do we care? Are we looking for them? My brothers and sisters, it is dark.
   I remember that my mother would search the house and look in every room, until all the children were accounted for. In our church family many of

All of the family is not all in the family.

  As a boy, when my mother would say "family", I thought only of those I could see. I never considered the fact that the nature of the family is to grow and expand. I never thought about my sister getting married or my mother having more children. I came to realize that if the family did not grow, it would soon die. I came to understand that anyone outside the walls of the house was a potential member of our family through relationships. My potential family, through expansion, was not all in the family yet. Every family is an incomplete family, until every member has exercised their responsibility to expand the family through reproduction of themselves. All in the family is not in the family yet.  

All of the family is not all saved yet.

  I am often reminded of a television series from the sixties and seventies called "Lost in Space". The writers of this series simulated a world environment where a satellite family dwellled in isolation. The family was very much a part of the human race. They maintained the basic posture of an American family, but they were lost. We watched them every week, knowing that they could not get home. I kept thinking, what would happen if they found the way home? Well, obviously this series would end and so I became comfortable with this family being "lost in space".
   God has pressed upon my heart that in our church families, many of our family members are lost. Some are lost in the community, some are lost in the house, some are lost in the family, and many are lost because they don't think that anyone cares. All of our families are not saved yet.

Family diversity does not mean family adversity.

  The power of purpose in the family of God is a power which embraces the uniqueness of individuality. The Apostle Paul writes to the church a message of servanthood. The apostle declares the uniqueness of the body of Christ. His message is that each of us in the family has a gift that is uniquely designed to make the body complete. He points out that the church is effective only when each person uses their God-given gift for ministry. The diverseness of our gifts is designed to make us more effective in the total ministry of the kingdom. The Bible says that adversity will come in every family, but He is the power of purpose inherent in each disciple that helps the church out of adverse situations. The body is complete and the ministry is maximized when the diversity of gifts in the church override the adversity of the difference in personalities. Family diversity is God's design for church family strength.

All in the family is inclusive, but not conclusive.

  Imagine a body without all of its parts. Imagine a body that is made up of one part. Now imagine a body with all the parts working as one well-oiled machine. This is what God designed the church to be in the 21st century. As a church family, we must think inclusive. On the other hand, as a family, we must not think that we conclude God's intention of ministry in the world. We are a link in the divine process. We must build on the past and lay a foundation for the future. We must show and demonstrate a need for each other; as one body in Christ. The family foundation is the future. The family of God is a living organism and it continues to expand, to grow, to evolve, to become. One generation passes and another generation comes. 

"It does not yet appear what we shall be."

our children are missing from Sunday School classrooms. Many of our talented singers are missing from the music ministry. Many of our men are missing from worship, Men's Ministry, church leadership and from their place in the community. Many of our women are absent from the Women's Ministry. Many of our teenage boys and girls are not being prepared to assume their roles for the next generation. Our primary mission is to get them all in the house before dark. 

Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and
all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 6:33