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5G. Mentoring Baby Bodies 
The frailer parts of the Household Body have a particular significance. Paul writes, "These parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,"(20). Children have a particularly special place there. Though regarded in law as their parents' property, in the Household Body they are honoured. Jesus' followers tried to discourage mothers from bringing their babies to him but he insisted on blessing them.
His assertion rocked his listeners on their heels and challenges us too. "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."(21). Jesus emphatically taught here, by word and action, that babies and children hold passports to the Kingdom of God. They do not have to qualify like adults but already possess full membership. Only when young people reach the age of discretion do they need to act on their Christian faith. Prior to that time, they are automatically part of God's Kingdom. Children are individuals rather than small versions of adults as far as evangelism is concerned.
The Early Church in Rome acted on this principle when they rescued and cared for abandoned babies (often females) who were left outside on the doorstep for wild dogs to carry off and feed upon. The Christians created orphanages to care for these precious ones.
Mentally Challenged Persons
Like infants, mentally challenged persons may never develop the ability to make choices for themselves. They may remain in childlike faith within God's Kingdom until their lives' end. Some Downs Syndrome children, for example, though delayed in their mental development, have an abundance of love. They frequently throw their arms around you when you arrive and do not want to let go. Such simple, uncomplicated affection and uncluttered faith is appropriate for God's kingdom. Jesus calls his full-grown disciples to this kind of childlike faith.
One Weak Part
In the Household Body, as in the human body, when one part is weak the others compensate for it. If one kidney shuts down, the second steps in and often enlarges to work for both. When an ear goes deaf, the head automatically twists so that the eye can lip-read the words spoken. The body does not excommunicate the ear because of it's deafness. It stimulates it as a valuable member, but simultaneously turns to the other for help. The frail and the elderly as well as the physically challenged are due greater honour and are vital to the Household Body.
Church buildings need elevators and hearing impaired equipment otherwise our actions declare, "we don't care for the weaker parts." This dishonours the Body of Christ. The local school, the library and the supermarket were normally all accessible, but not necessarily God's house. Unknowingly, a congregation's inaccessible building gives a subtle message to the community, "the physically challenged are not welcome here!" The sign outside may read, "Welcome" but the lack of accessibility gives the opposite message!
Bonding
Caring, both for the weak and for one another, bonds the members of the Household Body together. Mentoring is where your resources in Christ become the other person's resources. We all have mentors in our lives whether we realize it or not. Barnabas mentored Paul. Paul mentored Timothy and so on.
As a child in the early fifties, I remember two spinsters, Miss Church and Miss Butt, collecting insurance money every week from my mum and dad. They gently encouraged me, my brother and sister into a schoolhouse Sunday school and planted the seeds of my later commitment to Christ. Another of my mentors as a teenager was George Hoffman. George was a scout leader and prompted me to take part in church and scout activities, though my family was barely able to afford it. On one occasion, George even gave me a pair of hiking socks because he cared. Hiking socks still remind me of the gentle mentoring of that great man of God. Christians mature as they support each other on their spiritual journeys. Husbands and wives encourage one another by spending time together, holding hands and talking.
Mentoring
Mentoring in a marriage means making a total commitment to the other person. A hen and the pig were ambling down the road one day when a truck roared past bearing the sign, "HAM AND EGGS" "See," clucked the chicken, "you and I are partners." "Yes," snorted the hog, "but for you it's a day's work - for me it's a total commitment." Christian marriage involves a total commitment. It is the apex of the mentoring process.
The Church's Heart
In the Gospels, Jesus is pictured as a masterful mentor who moves among people almost without them knowing. Rather than cloning disciples like pet dogs, he encourages them to think for themselves. Without realizing it, they invariably embrace his ethical code. Jesus gives us an example in his own life of what we should do, not just what we should say! A University professor was confronted one day by a motley-looking hound which ambled into his lecture hall barking aggressively at the rostrum. After vainly trying to shout over the racket, the professor gave up and turning to the dog exclaimed, "If you're going to stay, you'll have to behave yourself and act like the rest of the students." To the class's delight, the dog curled up on the floor and was soon peacefully asleep!
Question for Discussion
1. "Effective sustained growth involves presence, proclamation and promise". Which of these aspects of ministry does your church do well, poorly or not at all?
Notes
(21) Matthew 19.14.
"We are living members of his mystical body"
