By Lynn Elrod
“Tooth to Tail Ratio” is a military term referring to how many support troops (“the tail”)
are required to support the soldiers actually involved in combat (“the teeth”). In World
War II the ratio in U.S. forces was about 10 to 1. That means that 10 behind the lines,
support personnel were needed to equip and supply one single soldier in the fight.
It’s just a thought, but in some aspects the church is like that. I realized that recently
when I was thinking about ways to thank the different ones who carry out our church’s
mission. I thought about Sunday School teachers, Council members, youth leaders, the
praise team – the list grew. And then it occurred to me that I was listing the visible, “up
front” kinds of people. But without the “behind the scenes” people, the church would
grind to a halt.
The people who copy the bulletin each Sunday, those who maintain the church website,
the ones who fix a leaky faucet or change a light bulb, weed the church landscaping,
run the sound system, contribute financially, bake cookies, pray, or make the effort to
see that their children get to church – every one of them – of us – is an essential worker.
It’s just a thought but if God has designed each of us with some ability that is useful and
needed in our church’s life, then the absence of even one gift, no matter how small it
might seem to be, means that we are diminished as a whole and we are not able to be
all that we could be.
Every one has a gift to give. While not everyone can write a check for $1,000, or sing a
solo, or teach a class, everyone has something that they can do. Everyone has a gift to
give.
Having our children provide bulletin cover artwork is one of the ways that we are going
to try to begin to coax those gifts out of our church family. This Sunday there will be a
job posting on the counter in the kitchen for you to look at with brief job descriptions of
opportunities to share your giftedness. Keep checking it. New opportunities will be
added.
It’s just a thought, but in our current season between our last pastor and the future
pastor that the Lord has for us, everyone giving their gift is more important than ever.
Now is the time to step up; not to step down. Now is the time to step out; not to step
back. I’m convinced that everyone has a gift to give, but it’s just a thought.
What do you think?
1 Peter 4:10; Ephesians 6:7-8
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