| Subject: It Does Take a Village |
Author:
Eugene
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Date Posted: 15:37:06 06/30/03 Mon
When (now senator) Hillary Clinton quoted the African proverb, "It takes a village to raise a child" as the center of one of her speeches, she was kind of a target for all ridicules from the conservative camp. And of course it is all too easy to alter the quote a little bit to make it suitable for satire from the conservative camp. (You know, “It take a village idiot to….”) Nonetheless, I think Clinton wasn’t completely off the ball when she said what she said. However, in my opinion, “it takes a village” does not mean that the children belong primarily to the village. I believe that it takes a village to support the families to stay intact and strong, thus enabling the families to raise children who are holistically well.
Now this is what I mean by “it takes a village”: In my last post I mentioned that anyone who takes Christ’s call to service serious will have to start from knowing everyone in the flock he/she serves. On the other hand, taking a small church like ours for example, for a single minister to know all the 50+ regular attendants is already not that easy. After a while, he/she may be able to know the people by names, but to know the personalities and dynamics among them all is next to impossible. What is going to happen if the church grows both in number and in maturity?
Yet there is no commandment dictating that those who serve will have to serve on their own, by themselves. Most of you, who have already family and children, are already serving in one of the fundamental ministry unit – in your homes. You know that it is next to impossible to maintain your family and to raise your children in a vacuum – devoid of community. Take your geographical community as an example; the neighbors, the merchants, and the utilities all impact (and hopefully support) your efforts of keeping a household.
What about your faith community? Let’s not consider serving others just yet; rather, let’s just think about our own families. Is it even possible to care for your children’s mind, heart, soul, body and social wellness without being embraced by God’s people? Would you rather see your children grow up in a Christian community rather than in a spiritual greenhouse, cherished but utterly alone? Facing the task of child raising, are you feeling utterly alone today?
Our families need a community of faith. In the community we are served and supported, and we may serve and support without being overwhelmed by the impossibility of taking on service alone. When we all devote ourselves as a body to serve each other, we will not be burned-out.
And a body we are; that’s what God’s word teaches us, right? I can’t cut my thumb off and demand it to know and tend to the rest of the body. My thumb serves me and I also serve my thumb’s needs. Both our relationship is more than providing mutual needs for survival. As a whole body, we can carry out actions according to a will -- the will of Christ, our head.
Without being a people, a community and a body, there is no way that any ministry will bear fruit. Without it, our future – our children - is lost.
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