Do you ever feel like a wheel in a brick world?
What do I mean by that? Think Legos with me for a moment. Yes, those plastic bricks that have been a part of childhood since they came to America in the early 1960's. When I was a kid (Just a few years after that arrival) Legos came in a box with all different, random pieces. They would be various colors and sizes. The good sets came with a few sets of wheels. I would always get excited to get a new set so I could have more wheels!
Now, if those parts could think, they would see that set of wheels as being very different from them. The bricks would see that they all look similar and seem to have the same function. They snap neatly together at the top and bottom and join perfectly, but that wheel does not fit. He does something that the rest of the bricks can't but they just can't seem to understand how he is part of the rest of them.
Being a wheel in a brick world and should sound familiar to us tech types. We have functions that are different and seem unique and the rest of the church doesn't understand quite how we fit at times. But just like those Legos, there is no way this group is ever going to "roll" without us.
If you remember those old sets, they weren't designed to be a specific model like they are today. They came with an "idea book", that had pictures of what this diverse group of bricks could become. I would normally toss that book aside and just get building on my own design. The Bible actually is God's "idea book". In those pages we get pictures of how we could, and should, fit together. Consider the words of the Apostle Paul:
"For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another." Romans 12:4-5 (ESV)
Or the words of Peter, whose name means the stone - the ultimate first century building block:
"As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." 1 Peter 2:4-5 (ESV)
Both men show us that the parts are being fitted together, exactly as God has designed. Both men also speak to our uniqueness and necessity in the building of the whole. As the techie, your role is vital to the spiritual house. Even though we may get tucked away in a booth away from the rest of the crowd, we are certainly not disconnected in God's eyes. Even though our efforts may be misunderstood or under appreciated, God sees the whole design and values every part.
Just like the Lego brick can connect at the top and the bottom, we need to connect as well. Of course, we need to spend some time in connecting above with God, but we need to be connected with the rest of the design as well. Take some time to get connected this week. Maybe it's going to a Bible study where they don't need your "skill set" or go to that fellowship with the rest of the body. Maybe you can start your own connection. How about giving some of the other bricks a tour of the tech booth? Who knows, there may be more wheels out there than you realize.
Jeff Chaves is the Chief Creative Officer of Grace Pictures Inc., which he co-owns with his wife, Peggy. He got his start in video production as an Army Broadcaster in the 1980s. Full-time he serves as the Pastor of the Las Vegas Rescue Mission.
