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Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:27-31

If we were to bring together a brilliant group of doctors, psychologists, and sociologists, and if we were to ask them the question, "What are the signs of a healthy brain?" they would probably list three things:

connectedness

communication

caring

Think of that with me for just a few moments.

The first sign of a healthy brain is connectedness. A healthy brain is beautifully and amazingly connected to the rest of the body. It's the brain that signals to us how to respond in every situation. It's the brain that prompts and directs every part of the body so that we know how to live and think and move and react. The brain tells the foot where to step and where not to step. The brain tells the hand what to touch and what not to touch. The brain tells the mouth what to taste and what not to taste.

And if there is a disconnect, if the brain somehow gets disconnected from any other part of the body, then we have a big problem and an unhealthy situation.

Let me illustrate that. I have a doctor friend who was playing golf at a country club in Houston some years ago. He stood over his golf ball, ready to hit his drive. Suddenly, as he looked at his golf ball, his vision became distorted. Abruptly, he turned to his friends and said, "Take me to the emergency room; I have a brain tumor." Because of his training as a doctor, he knew immediately that there was a disconnect between his brain and his eyes, and he knew immediately what that meant. He knew he had a problem. He knew that he had an unhealthy brain because the first sign of a healthy brain is connectedness.

The second sign of a healthy brain is communication. A healthy brain enables us to communicate well and sometimes eloquently what we are wanting, feeling, thinking, needing, and expecting.

For example, when a football player takes a hard blow to the head and a concussion is suspected, the first thing the team doctor will do is ask the player some simple questions such as: "Where are you?" "What is your name?" "What day is it?" If the player can't figure out and communicate the correct answers to those elementary questions, then the doctor knows that there is a problem with the brain, and that finding indicates strongly that this is an unhealthy situation—probably a brain concussion—because the player can't think straight and can't communicate.

The third sign of a healthy brain is caring. A person with a healthy brain is able to receive love and to pass love on to others.

About five years ago, we launched our Parenting Center here at St. Luke's and brought in a brilliant doctor from the Houston Medical Center to speak to parents and teachers of preschool children. This doctor had done extensive research on the effect of love on the development of the brain. The doctor put up on a screen two pictures side by side. The pictures depicted the brains of two small children. The brain on the left side of the screen was the brain of a healthy child who had been loved and cherished by his parents. All of his life, he had been held and rocked and patted. All of his life, he had been talked to and sung to and encouraged with words and acts of love. All of his life, every day of his life, he had been reminded and reassured and shown in numerous ways that he was loved and treasured and cared for.

The brain on the right side of the screen was the brain of an abused child, a neglected child, who was left alone in his crib all day long. No one fed him. No one talked to him, and no one held him. He was left all alone all day.

Now, don't miss this. The brain of the child who was cared for and loved and cherished was three times larger than the brain of the abused and neglected child! And there is a sermon there somewhere!

Connectedness, communication, and caring—these are the signs of a healthy brain. They are also the signs of a healthy church! Let me show you what I mean.

First of All, the First Sign of a Healthy Church Is Connectedness

The theme of our stewardship program a few years ago was "Get Connected." It was a great theme because a healthy, wholesome, vibrant church has a strong spirit of connectedness with God and with people. That's what it's all about—connecting with God and people.

Dr. Fred Craddock is one of the great preachers of our time. He tells a story about something that happened to him on an airplane some years ago. It was way back in the days when you could smoke on airplanes.

Dr. Craddock was on the flight to Denver, Colorado. He was seated in the no smoking section of the plane, as was his custom. Dr. Craddock was seated on the aisle. Just as they took off, directly across the aisle from Fred Craddock, a large tough-looking man pulled out a big cigar and lit it up and began to puff clouds of cigar smoke into the air. Dr. Craddock didn't want to cause a problem, but that cigar smoke was suffocating him. He decided to be discreet, so when the flight attendant came by, Fred Craddock stopped her.

In his words, she was a very, very attractive young woman. Dr. Craddock said to her, "Am I in the wrong section? I asked for no smoking." "This is no smoking," the flight attendant said. And just then she noticed the cigar smoke, so she turned to the man who was smoking and very politely told him that this was the no smoking section and he would have to extinguish his cigar. The man looked at her with hard eyes and just kept right on puffing that big cigar.

She went on down the aisle to attend to other matters. When she came back and saw that he was still smoking, she mentioned it to him again. He just took a big puff and blew cigar smoke in her face.

A little later, the beautiful young flight attendant came back up the aisle. She was carrying a tray full of soft drinks. Just as she got to the spot directly between Fred Craddock and the cigar-smoking man, the plane hit some turbulence. The flight attendant went over with those soft drinks, and they all spilled, first on the man's cigar and then into his lap. Then, the plane hit another air pocket, and would you believe it? The beautiful young flight attendant lost her balance and fell right into Fred Craddock's lap! Dr. Craddock said, "Now, don't tell me there's no God. Once in a while you have an experience where you say, Now, it's so obvious. God really shouted there"(Fred B. Craddock, Craddock Stories [St. Louis, Mo.: Chalice Press, 2001], 39-40).

Now, let me ask you a very personal question: Do you know there is a God? And are you connected to him? At its best, this is what the church does—it connects people to God! At its best it becomes the conduit through which God reaches out to touch people with his amazing grace, his redemptive love, and his saving power. At its best, the church becomes our hearing aid, enabling us to tune in and hear the voice of God, the call of God, the will of God.

Also, at its best, the church helps us connect with one another. This is what the apostle Paul meant when he said, "We are the Body of Christ . . . members one of another, connected together in every way . . . and connected strongly to God" (paraphrase of Romans 12:4-5).

When we say "the church is the Body of Christ," what does that mean? It means that we are the continuators of Christ's ministry, and this is precisely why Christ came into our world—to connect us to God and to one another. Let me ask you something: Are you as closely connected to God and to other people as you could be or should be? If not, come to church. Get more involved in the life of the church. This is the place, this is the community of faith that can help you feel connected to God, to life, and to other people. That's why we need to be in church every Sunday. That's why we need to make church attendance a priority in our lives. It's the best way I know of to stay connected to God and to other people.

The Second Sign of a Healthy Church Is Communication

This means communication with God through prayer and worship and Bible study and service projects—all the Holy Habits—and communication with each other through words and hugs and acts of love. How crucial communication is in the life of the church! But sometimes communication is difficult. Let me show you what I mean.

A couple of weekends ago, I flew to Salina, Kansas, to speak at the installation event for the new bishop of Kansas. The committee orchestrating the significant experience had planned a full weekend of activities: a concert on Friday night; my speaking twice on Saturday morning, and then a formal service of installation of the bishop on Saturday afternoon.

I arrived at the hotel in Salina, Kansas, at 6:30 Friday night, just as everyone was leaving for the concert. I encouraged my hosts to go on to the concert; I would check into the hotel, get a bite to eat, and join them at the concert a little later. I checked in and discovered that the hotel was very nice, but it had no restaurant. But then I noticed about a hundred yards up in front of the hotel was a steak house, so I walked there to get dinner.

The place was packed. It was Friday night, and folks were everywhere waiting to get in and get a table. The hostess said, "How many?" And I said, "One, just me." She said, "You're by yourself?" "Yes," I said. Then she said, "I'll tell you what. It's going to be a long time before we can open up a table for one—forty-five minutes to an hour—but if you don't mind eating at the bar, you can be seated right now and order immediately."

Now, let me digress to tell you that I am an absolute teetotaler. I've never had a drink of alcohol of any kind in my life. The most dangerous thing I've ever passed over these lips is cherry-flavored soda! I looked up at the bar, and it was completely empty. Right above the bar, the Houston Astros were playing on television, so I decided to go for it. The hostess smiled and seated me at the bar. I ordered my meal and started watching the Astros. Then I thought, I have got to tell June (my wife) about this. She was in Tennessee that night helping her mother recover from recent surgery.

I pulled out my cell phone and called her and said, "You will never believe what I'm doing right now. I'm in Salina, Kansas, and I have 'bellied up to the bar.'" I went on to explain, and we had a good laugh.

The next night I went back to that same restaurant and the situation was exactly the same. So in order to get my meal quickly, I went back to the bar again and ordered. This time Kansas and Texas Tech were playing football on TV. As I watched the game and waited for my meal, I laid my cell phone up on the bar. Almost immediately it rang, and I thought, Oh, that's June calling. I picked up the phone and said, "Well, I'm bellied up to the bar again." There was a long pause, and then I heard a voice say, "Dad, is that you?" It was our son Jeff calling. I had a hard time explaining why I had said what I had just said. Sometimes communication is difficult, especially if you don't know the context.

But put that over against this. Last weekend my wife, June, and I were having breakfast with our daughter, Jodi, and her family when suddenly June said this (I'm going to quote her precisely): "You know, this morning when I first woke up, I was thinking about . . ." and Jodi said, "I know it, Mom. I was thinking about that, too." June didn't even finish the sentence and Jodi knew what she was thinking about, knew what she was going to say. That happens all the time! They can finish each other's sentences!

I asked Jodi about that: "Jodi, how did you know what your mom was going to say?" I loved her answer. She said, "Daddy, she's my mother!" Isn't that beautiful? She is so connected to her mom that she just knows. She knows what she's gong to say before she even says it. She knows because she's tuned in to her mom. That is connectedness and communication at their very best!

The point is, if we live with somebody in a loving, trusting relationship over a period of time, we begin to think like that person thinks. If we spend enough quality time with Christ, we take on "the mind of Christ." In my opinion, the best way to do that is to get involved in the life of the church. It's always been true, and that's why when we join the church, we make that promise to God to support the church with our prayers, our gifts, our service, our presence, and our attendance! Being in church regularly helps keep us connected to God and to one another, and it keeps us in close communication with God and with one another. First, there is connectedness; second, communication.

The Third Sign of a Healthy Church Is Caring

It's that special spirit of receiving God's love and passing it on to others. When we in the church do that, that's when we are most powerfully the church.

A woman was asked by a coworker, "What's it like to be a Christian?" The woman replied, "It's like being a pumpkin. God picks you from the patch, brings you in, and washes all the dirt off of you. Then he reaches inside you and scoops out all the yucky stuff. He removes the seeds of selfishness and greed and prejudice and hate and pettiness. And then he carves you a new smiling face. And finally he puts his light of love inside of you to shine for all the world to see." That's our job as a church—to share the light of Christ and the love of God with the world.

If we are going to be a healthy church, then we need connectedness and communication and caring. Because, you see

a healthy church is connected tightly to God and to people;

a healthy church communicates well with God and with each other;

and most important, a healthy church reaches out to share God's love and care with everybody we meet.

If you want to help us do that then

Come to church!

Come to church every Sunday!

Make church attendance a real priority in your life!

Let God, through the instrument of the church, enrich your soul.