6:The Corinthians Learn to Harmonize Vital Ministries in the Body
About 5 minutes, applies 1 Cor. 12 ─ 13
Participants (No need to memorize lines; the aim is to relive sacred events, not to perform)
Discipler
Mercy
Harmonizer
Specializer
Prompter          Shout a brief line and Echoes repeat it.
Echoes             Children and all adults who want to take part. Echoes need no script.
Discipler                 Well, here I am, you lucky people! I am Mr. (Mrs.) Discipler.
I have come to take Jesus to those lost pagans over there.
(Point to a faraway part of the room.)
Our Lord’s final and most important command
is to make obedient disciples of Jesus.
Prompter & Echoes The Great Commission!
Mercy                      Now wait a minute! My name is Mr. (Mrs.) Mercy.
Love in action is our Lord’s Great Commandment!
I feed the hungry and serve all who suffer.
I will go feed those same hungry pagans. (Point as Discipler did.)
Prompter & Echoes The Great Commandment!
Discipler                 We disciple makers put salvation in Jesus before all else.
So my Great Commission work surpasses yours, Mr. (Mrs.) Mercy.
Mercy                      Not so! Hungry people will not listen to the Gospel. Feed them first!
So my Great Commandment work surpasses yours, Mr. (Mrs.) Discipler.
Harmonizer              Hey, you two! Stop sparring! I am Mr. (Mrs.) Harmonizer.
Now we have Jesus’ Great Commandment and his Great Commission.
You both are building a wall between the two.
Prompter & Echoes A wall of misunderstanding!
Harmonizer              Jesus and his apostles blended the two ministries perfectly.
The Apostle Paul told us exactly how to unite the two ministries.
Let me help you both reconsider and reorganize,
to work in loving harmony and enhance both ministries.
Prompter & Echoes Blend both ministries!
Discipler                 But how can we harmonize such fundamentally different tasks?
Harmonizer              Do it the same way Jesus, Peter and Paul did.
Loving each other helps each other use each one’s spiritual gifts.
Love does not compete; do not let your gift overshadow others’ gifts.
We teachers often abuse our gift, letting it eclipse others’ vital gifts. Take 1st Corinthians chapters 12 and 13 together,
as Paul obviously meant them to be, to see what I mean.
Prompter & Echoes Help us understand this!
Harmonizer              Chapter 12 says to work together as a body under the one head Jesus.
Let the Holy Spirit keep the body’s joints well-oiled, working as one. Chapter 13 says only sacrificial agape love enables us to do this.
Mercy                      But why must we blend our different gift-based ministries?
Isn’t it more efficient for us to specialize in a separate mercy effort?
Harmonizer              Only in emergencies. Let me illustrate.
When Elijah hid in the wilderness from bloodthirsty Queen Jezebel,
how did God keep him from starving?
Prompter & Echoes Ravens flew to him with food!
Harmonizer              Yes. Now pretend that those people over there need both food and Jesus. (Point as Mercy and Discipler did.).
Mercy and Discipler, you are now God’s ravens. Hold out your wings.
Mercy & Discipler  (Hold out your arms.)
Prompter & Echoes Tweet! Tweet!
Harmonizer              Your left wings are Jesus’ Great Commandment, to show loving mercy.
Your right wings are Jesus’ Great Commission to make disciples.
Now, fly to those needy people with both food and the Gospel.
Specializer              (Shout, as you run and grab the birds.) Stop! Stop! Wait!
I am Mr. (Mrs.) Specializer.
I will make your work more efficient by specializing.
Mercy, I will clip your right wing, so you can focus only on mercy. (Pretend to clip the right arm’s feathers with large clippers.)
Mercy                      (Drop your clipped wing.) Ah! Now I can specialize with efficiency! (Flap your one good wing, and fly in a small circle.)
Oh, oh! I’m just going in circles!
Specializer              The same for you, Discipler. (Pretend to clip the left wing.)
Focus only on your specialty!
Discipler                 (Drop your clipped wing, and fly in a small circle.)
Harmonizer              Actually, all of us have clipped wings.
No one has all the gifts to do all the gift-based ministries.
Discipler and Mercy, come join forces!
Mercy & Discipler  (Join your weak arms, flap your good arms, and fly to the needy people.)
Harmonizer              All spiritual gifts reinforce each other when used in loving harmony.
Mercy                      I see! By joining mercy work with church planting,
both will spread right along with a growing movement.
Discipler                 Absolutely! Church planting is more powerful if we do it as Jesus’ apostles did; they combined healing and mercy work with evangelism.
(Discipler and Mercy hug.)
Prompter & Echoes In the Holy Spirit’s uniting power!
Mercy & Discipler  (Hug)
