Where Are You on the Tarmac?

Donna Hostetler, June 16, 2015  

On a recent flight and a lengthy layover I decided to shuttle from one smaller terminal at LAX to the larger one while waiting for my next flight. As the bus navigated its way around the tarmac, I noticed a wide variety of vehicles. There are vehicles hauling luggage, food supply trucks, fuel tankers, police, random cars for moving employees, and the ever-so-ominous large planes whose path is respected by all others on the asphalt. It’s an interesting space to drive through and wonder how all of these vehicles intersect doing their respective jobs without a major incident. It looked rather intimidating at moments, especially for the smaller players on the road.

I couldn’t help but think that the body of Christ, and more specifically church leadership have a similar appearance. It’s all about teamwork.  There is the facility team who support and haul the heavy luggage, i.e. moving tables and chairs or cleaning up after the rest of us. There are those discipleship and children’s or youth leaders who bring the food encouraging us to grow in our spiritual journey. There are the missions outreach individuals who boost our fuel levels for reaching the lost. And there’s the big plane, the leadership team who provide direction to keep everyone on the right path toward the focused destination.

Sometimes we look at others and wonder if their role is better, easier, or more enjoyable. Even the twelve disciples whom Jesus recruited based on unique differences, likely made similar observations. There’s great value in reminding ourselves that God has gifted each of us with passions and there’s importance and necessity of all of the vehicles on the tarmac, at LAX and in the church.

“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.” I Corinthians 12: 4-6