For because of God's gracious gift to me, I say to all of you: Do not think of yourselves more highly than you should. Instead, be modest in your thinking, and each one of you judge himself according to the amount of faith that God has given him. We have many parts in the one body, and all these parts have different functions. In the same way, though we are many, we are one body in union with Christ and we are all joined to each other as different parts of one body. So we are to use our different gifts in accordance with the grace that God has given us. If our gift is to preach God's message, we must do it according to the faith that we have. If it is to serve, we must serve. If it is to teach, we must teach. If it is to encourage others, we must do so. Whoever shares what he has with others must do it generously; whoever has authority must work hard; whoever shows kindness to others must do it cheerfully.
Romans 12: 3-8
When our three children were teenagers, they had a variety of jobs – 3rd-shift photo processor, Subway sandwich designer, Merry Maids cleaning crew member, audio-visual assistant, baseball coach. The same thing happened in nearly every job: After they'd been on the job for 2 or 3 days, they thought they knew more about how to run the organization than the manager did. They knew it all, but their co-workers and bosses didn't seem to appreciate that fact.
When I was a student here at Manchester, I knew it all, too. I had simple answers to complex problems. I knew how the nation should handle Viet Nam, civil rights, education. There wasn't much I didn't know.
Now I don't know as much. With a few years of maturity, I have a better sense of what I know and what I don't know. I suspect you are the same. We know that the situation in Iraq is complicated and has a very uncertain future. We know that the debate about affirmative action in colleges is so complex that it has no simple answers that bring advantage to every student. We know that questions about medical ethics, agricultural advances like genetic engineering, mass media, treatment of gays and lesbians, personal freedoms and national security, and financial aid discount rates are complex matters.
What does a board of trustees of a small college in the Midwest do in the face of the extremely complicated issues in higher education ... issues that directly affect their school? Challenges like managing an endowment, dealing with a volatile stock market in a tight economy, student drinking, unfunded mandates from the federal government, almost unbelievably rapid technological change, and even leaky roofs?
What do we do when we finally grow up enough to realize that our youthful, confident, individualistic “know-it-all” responses are too simple and often wrong?
Simply, we need to know that we do not face these complicated challenges alone. We face them as a body, as the Board of Trustees and a senior management team. Not one of us, but one body. One body with persons who have many different gifts ... a body of persons with different talents, the variety of which we can use synergistically to face the problems and respond to them with good decisions. And in all of this, we are guided by the wisdom of God who really does somehow know it all.
We face the challenges of higher education in 2003 as a collective body of persons who love and support Manchester College. We face them, not unlike the body of Christ, as a group of persons with different gifts, each gift important, each person important. No one of us can know it all, but together, our understanding can be much fuller and our decisions wiser.
Paul wrote in his letter to the church at Corinth 12:14-26
Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say “because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not stop being a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not cease to be a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact, God has arranged the parts of the body, every one of them, just as God wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be. As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don't need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don't need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable, we treat with special honor. . . . But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked honor, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; and if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.”
What if Paul wrote to the Board at Manchester as he did to the church in Corinth?
Now the Board of Trustees and the senior staff are made up of many persons, not just one. We have fun-loving members and more-somber members. We have members who support the war with Iraq and members who oppose it. We have members who fish and members who dance. We have members who go to the doctor and members who are the doctor. We have members who want the College to change and members who want it to stay more the way it was when they were in school. If the academic affairs committee members were to say, “because we are not the finance committee, we don't belong to the College,” those persons would still be a part of the Board. If Trustees Bentley or Paula or Carolyn were to say, “because we are not accounting graduates, we don't belong to this group,” they would not cease being a part of the Board. If the whole Board were accounting graduates, where would the love for music and where would the tie-dyed shirts and where would the improvisation troupe and where would the understanding of psychology be? How could we design a good science building if we had input just from the numbers people? In fact, our forebears who loved Manchester College arranged the parts of the Board, everyone of them, so they would be in the right spots. God did the same with the church. If we all had the same gifts, how could the board do its work? If we were all pastors, how could we analyze the complex investment problems? If we were all physicians, how could we understand the marketing plan details? If we were all teachers, how could we evaluate the financial aid discounting competition?
As it were, there are many parts, but one Board made up of retirees, teachers, financial analysts, persons who are patient with the dumb things that students do when they're 20 years old, lawyers, social workers, consultants, mothers, inventors and even a person who sells hammers by the truckload. We have many different talents and perspectives, but one Board.
Mel and Susie wouldn't say to Marsha, “We don't need you.” Bill wouldn't say to Dan, “We don't need you.” And Parker wouldn't say to David or Bob or Freddie, I don't need you.” The board needs all its members. Not just the persons on the executive committee. Not just the persons who can make big contributions. Not just those who are articulate when they speak. On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are particularly indispensable, and the parts that we think are less prestigious, we treat with special honor, on the board and on the campus. The custodians, the secretaries, the dishwashers, the coaches, the hall directors, the plumbers, the set up crews, the grounds crew, the newest board members (Stanley, Robert, Helen), the quietest board members, the board members whose financial gifts are sacrificial – we treat with special honor.
Just like God who combined the members of the body and gave greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so we too give special honor to those who help us see what we've not been able to see clearly before – Bruce, Harriet, Amadea, Steve. And we try to get along with one another, across our differences because we know we are one body.
So that there should be no division, board members should have authentic concern for each other – Maria, Jeanne, Cynthia, Rich, Don, Phil, Becky, Ralph, Carol. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it just as we mourned when Wayne Smith died and left us without that his crusty and loving perspective. If one part is honored as was Jim Adams who was the U.S. Professor of the Year, every person rejoices. If someone helps the Board understand something better as with Jerry, Mike, Ken, and Rufus, the entire Board is enriched. If someone says, “wait, I don't understand this line in the budget,” the entire board is better informed.
We need one another because we have different gifts. We are many people, but one Board. We will share our gifts best during this board meeting because they are different abilities. But at the same time that we bring different talents, we are unified by our commitment to Manchester College. Different gifts – common commitment.
May God's abundant blessings continue to surround and uphold this varied and wonderful Board of Trustees.
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