A little bit of biology

I have started writing in books. This scares me. It means I have become a proper student who wants to find the right quotes and fast. I even bought special pencils with rubbers on the end to make it easier. 


I am reading (well, scanning very fast to get it read quickly, underlining as I go) 'church on the other side - exploring the radical future of the local congregation' by Brian D. McClaren. I think I bought it because I read a random quote somewhere and I was led into a spontaneous purchase.... He talks about how we need to 'See the Church program in terms if interrelated systems rather than quick fixes' and asks that (almost) classic question 'If your church could be compared to a physical body, what would its essential systems be?' He doesn't stop there though and he goes on to mention all the different systems of the human body. Now if I am a scientist of any sort then I am an a Physicist as the idea of cutting up sheep's eyeballs always freaked me out (and we weren't allowed because they didn't trust us with knives at school - we just got to pull apart some sort of flower with blunt scissors as our tool). That means that I had to look up all the words.......and it made me think.....


To work properly all of the essential systems of the body need to be working....

• The muscular system - makes motion happen, makes the heart work, helps you stand up straight
• The digestive system - Creates energy from food, gets rid of rubbish
• The Skeletal system - provides support and protection, produces blood cells (the carry the stuff we need around)
• The epithelial system (I had never heard of that word before today!) - aids in sensation, absorbs stuff (selectively), carries stuff
• The lymphatic system - carries stuff, defends, produces antibodies
• The reproductive system - reproduces!
• The circulatory system - breathing, nutrition, excretion.....

All these systems are intertwined into one big system that makes up the whole body. The support, the defence, the nutrition and the parts that make waste go away are just as important as the parts that make things happen, that create energy, that reproduce and that make us stand up straight. 


When we talk about the church being a body we so often focus on hands and feet and eyes (because the Bible does - so fair enough!) but reading this has also reminded me that a body has systems that make it work. Those systems make community, build up, reach out, defend against bad stuff and make things happen (and those systems need to be monitored to make sure they are working properly).


'.... we see that God has carefully placed each part of the body right where he wanted it'                       1 Corinthians 12:18