The whole is greater than the sum of the parts

An old story is told about five blind men who were asked to describe an elephant. One felt the tail and said an elephant was like a rope. Another felt a leg and said an elephant was like a tree. A third was brought to the side of the elephant and said it was like a wall. After feeling one of the elephant's ears, the fourth blind man said an elephant was like a giant leaf. Feeling the elepant's trunk, the fifth man decided that an elephant must be like a great snake.

All five men were right. Yet all five were wrong. Each had correctly described one part of the elephant, but no one had adequately described the whole. The elephant is more than the sum of it's parts.

If we try to describe the church, we end up with the same thing. No description of one part really describes the whole.

Rob Burkhart describes the facet of the church in his book, "Awakening the Sleeping giant"

"The church is a worshiping community that gathers to magnify God.

The church is a community of like-minded people connected by their new life in Christ who actively seek to strengthen these bonds of fellowship.

The church is made up of disciples who gather to engage in activities that contribute to their spiritual growth and development.

The church is a living witness of Christ on earth and endeavors to proclaim His good news to a lost and dying world through its words and deeds."

Let us be careful to not put God in a box today.