Pip: What if the Church isn’t broken — it’s just waiting for more of us to actually show up for it? That’s the kind of question that’ll ruin a comfortable Sunday morning.
Mara: This episode follows one thread from Lindsay Leahy: what it looks like when the Church becomes genuinely participatory — in its leadership, its responsibility, and the way people speak and act together.
Pip: Let’s start with what that actually means in practice.
Together We Flourish
Mara: The frame here is a distinction between the Church as institution and the Church as Jesus envisioned it — and what changes when you let the biblical picture actually shape how you function, not just what you believe.
Pip: The anchor image is Paul’s Body of Christ, and the post quotes it directly: “The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you.'” — 1 Corinthians 12:21.
Mara: The upshot is structural. A body works because every part contributes — different gifts, different roles, equal dignity, shared purpose. That’s not just a feeling to cultivate; it’s a description of how the Church is meant to function.
Pip: And the post is careful to say this isn’t an argument against leadership. Pastors, authority, accountability — all of that still stands. The shift is from leadership as position to leadership as stewardship.
Mara: Right. Stewardship asks what has been entrusted to you, what gifts you carry, and how you use them for the good of the whole. Influence becomes something earned through trust and contribution rather than conferred by title.
Pip: Which quietly relocates responsibility. Decisions move closer to where the work actually happens, knowledge gets shared rather than protected, and success stops being about individual achievement.
Mara: The post gets very concrete about what this looks like in practice — in how we think, speak, and act. Instead of “That’s not my role,” ask “What might God be asking me to contribute?” Instead of complaining, ask “How can I help?” Instead of telling people what you think, ask “What do you see?”
Pip: That last one is doing a lot of work. Most organizational cultures treat listening as the pause before talking.
Mara: And the post names what the goal actually is: not more programs or more meetings, but more people meaningfully engaged in the mission — discovering their gifts, taking responsibility, making Christ visible in the world.
Pip: The closing question the post leaves is personal and direct: if you want a more collaborative Church, are you willing to collaborate? Transformation doesn’t begin with them.
Mara: “It begins with me. And then it becomes us.”
Pip: Grit, gratitude, and grace — and apparently, a willingness to ask harder questions of yourself before you ask them of anyone else.
Mara: That’s the thread worth carrying forward. What’s yours to steward?
Grit, Gratitude, and Grace 