Tag Archives: edification

Field Guide to Church Fauna: The Uplifting Builder

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The Uplifting Builder (edificat totali) is unfortunately an all too rare species in the ecclesiastical phylum. The Builder has amazing eyesight, able to find the good in almost any situation. In addition, their talent for communication is outstanding, finding edifying words for almost every situation.

Environmental changes have placed these noble creatures on the endangered list. As the surrounding society becomes more strident, so do church interactions. Great care must be taken to preserve the breeding grounds of the Builders so that their numbers may be preserved.

Builders can feed off one another; mutual edification is the healthiest for the church. There will always be plenty of other species available to expose flaws and critique ideas; the Uplifting Builders must be supported as they work to accentuate the positive and provide the spiritual boost that all members of the church need.

The crabs and the ants

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In Cuba last week, I shared an old sermon illustration about how to keep crabs in a bucket. They say that if you put one crab in a bucket, you’d better have a good lid, because the crab can easily climb out. If you place two crabs in a bucket, however, there’s no need for a lid. When starts to climb out, the other one will pull him back down.

Contrast that with ants. They will pile themselves one upon the other to allow the colony to reach a higher place. When flooding comes, they roll into a ball, a mass of ants that floats on the water. Some of the ants will drown, but the colony survives.

I know which one I think I should be as a Christian.