1 Corinthians 12:4-20
"Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good...All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body."
1 Corinthians 12:27
"Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it."
Ephesians 2:10
"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
It's been my experience that lots of Christians tend to make the focus of their faith on the afterlife. This is, perhaps obviously, neither wrong nor inherently bad. Jesus talked plenty about a Kingdom that we would enter into with him in the afterlife. He told the man on the cross with him that, "...today you will be with me in Paradise." He also told of a place of "outer darkness" which would seem to imply another afterlife destination that was the antithesis of "Paradise." Very clearly, we are to believe that if we accept Christ as our savior and live faithfully as his follower, we have some sort of reward waiting for us on the other side.
However...the single thing that Jesus Christ preached about most often during his ministry was not the afterlife. The single thing He preached about most often was establishing God's Kingdom in the hearts of people here on earth. There is not a topic in scripture that Jesus taught about more than bringing the love and grace of God the Father to our lives on earth. Learning this information transformed my faith. I've always felt a nudge towards service. It always seemed to me like the works of Jesus Christ would suggest that we, as Christians, are called to be more involved in the service of others. I think what I've learned about the teachings of Jesus in the last five years (hence my series on the parables that I've been writing about) would suggest that he is directly calling us to action in our faith. It's not enough to just say, "I believe!" I think he expects us to take action on that belief, take action in our faith, and live a life that would suggest we believe that our afterlife depends on it.
This was the basis for starting our non-profit recently, "Many Parts, One Body." Sam's Godfather, Matt, and I have joked about buying a food truck for a few years now. My idea was that we could operate it a bit like Bon Jovi's restaurant "Soul Kitchen" where guests are encouraged to pay what they can. Payment is completely optional, if I understand correctly. My idea was to run a donation-based food truck that could feed the hungry for free on the donations of those who could afford it.
This past summer, Matt and I were sitting out in Colorado together one night when the idea came back up. I guess you could say that the "nudge" I had felt in the past was a bit stronger this time around. To make a long story short, the question was asked, "What's stopping us from doing something like that now?" Neither of us could come up with a good answer, and a week or so later "Many Parts, One Body" was born. Since that July night, Many Parts, One Body has raised thousands of dollars that we will be able to serve our community with. We've already served 63 meals at the Drumm Farm Center for Children and I am currently preparing over 100 pounds of pulled pork for a fundraiser for mobility challenged and terminally ill kids this Saturday. All thanks to your generosity.
I don't know what I expect MPOB to become. For now, my goal is to find somewhere to serve on a monthly basis. We've also looked at expanding our ministry to boxed meals that we can deliver to people where they are in the Eastern Jackson County and Kansas City areas. As I've said previously, every dime that we collect will go directly toward the purchase of food or means with which to serve food to our community.
I was doing some back of the napkin math yesterday and figured it's gonna cost roughly $600 to feed 275 people this Saturday. A little more than $2 per person. The fundraiser we're catering for is dedicated to getting kids who are wheelchair bound outdoors and you should see the track chairs they have available for these kids. It's a ministry that's near and dear to my heart and everyone involved is volunteering their time to make it happen. A local restaurant was going to charge them around $3,000 for the food for the event. Instead, thanks to your generosity, that money will go directly back to the kids that MDS (Missouri Disabled Sportsmen) is serving. You guys provide the money, we provide the time, and the kids benefit. That's what God's Kingdom here on earth looks like to me.
Later this month we have a serve planned in downtown Kansas City at Linwood Church. Every single Saturday an organization called "Lazarus Ministries" opens the doors of Linwood Church to the community. They offer clothes, toiletries, shoes, and other basic necessities to anyone in the community that needs it. Then they serve them lunch, restaurant style, in the banquet room in the basement of the church. It is one of the coolest things I have ever been a part of. On September 28th we are lucky enough to get to provide all of the food for their lunch that day. We'll be serving it to a community that is down on their luck at the moment, and, in my experience, could not be more grateful for the opportunity to gather in communion with other people for a warm meal.
Jesus once said that "...whatever you do for the least of these, you did also for me." I like to use the example that, "Everyone you meet is Jesus in disguise." How we treat these people in our society is a reflection of the love of Christ that lives in us. Not everyone is called to get out and serve lunch. Somebody has to provide the means for these services. Going to work every day, making money, and using it to help fund these projects is in every way "serving." Running a business that provides jobs for people so that they can afford to go out and serve is in every way serving. Serving looks different for everybody, but everybody is called to serve. Hannah, Matt, Heidee and I would like to thank everyone who has donated to our mission so far. Your generosity allows us to get out and be "the body." We can't do this without you, it takes a village, but we're happy to get to be a part of this journey together and we can't wait for what's next.
Facebook and IG: “Many Parts, One Body”
Website: manypartsonebody.org
