What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.
1 Cor. 14:26 ESV
Be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts.
Eph. 5:18–19 NLT
Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.
Col. 3:16 NLT
[emphasis mine]
A Body Life Church is a fellowship of believers who seek to minister to each other by calling everyone to faith in God, love of Christ, and service to others. Body Life is about relationships: a growing, deepening love affair with God and mutual concern for one another. This mutual concern is reflected in a quick response to spiritual and physical needs, frank and open discussions, and forgiving and selfless attitudes.
Body Life is about coming to the primary Sunday worship service ready to minister whether one is the pastor, a worship team member, or a parishioner. Body Life is coming to church services prepared to give life as well as receive it. Body Life is not sitting passively sitting in the pew, but outwardly looking for opportunities to bless others.
True Christian ministry is the overflow of the Life of God in us. Ministry is not a position, but a relationship with a person, Jesus Christ. We spend time with Christ, Christ reveals himself afresh to us. The overflow of that experience is life, that life encourages and blesses others. Ministry is not a title, but the release of our love of Christ for others. When all of us engage in true ministry as overflow to one another, we are walking in Body Life.
Body Life ministry begins with each parishioner attending services ready to bless, encourage, and exhort others to greater trust in Christ. Body Life ministry is a celebration of spiritual gifts; all members of the body are encouraged to discover and trust the Holy Spirit with the use of their giftings. Body Life says that every member is valuable, every member is is a conduit for God’s grace, every member can be used by God to bless others.
Body Life ministry is a recognition that all believers are ministers, not just the clergy. The purpose of the ministerial priesthood is to build up and equip the entire body of believers to be ministers in the church and for the world. Body Life ministry is a pervasive spirit of love and unity, resulting in an attractive, persuasive evangelistic witness to the world (Eph. 4:11-12; John 13:35).
Every Sunday at Lamb of God: A Three Streams Church, we take time in our worship service to minister to one another in the Spirit of Christ (1 Cor. 14:26; Eph. 5:18-19; Col. 3:16) We come prepared to share a word of prophecy, release a word of knowledge, explain a scripture text, or share a devotional thought during an allotted ministry time. We pray that each week God graces us with his Holy Spirit that we might do the words and perform the works of Jesus.
In Colossians, the Apostle Paul includes Body Life as a true mark of Christian worship and devotion (Col. 3:15-17). In Ephesians, fullness of the Spirit is linked to encouragement, inspired singing, and thankfulness (Eph. 5:18-20). In First Corinthians, mutual ministry is encouraged for the building up of the church. Peter encourages us to maintain an urgency in our worship relying on Christ to empower us to minister to one another because the second coming of Christ is imminent (1 Peter 4:7-11).
The church is a living organism. In the physical body, the hand moves when the brain says to. So too the members of Jesus’ spiritual body takes direction from Him as our Head. Jesus gives each member gifts and talents, making himself alive within his church. He equips his people to love one another, and to serve in unity his kingdom. This is Body Life.
Ray Stedman, Body Life