"God has so composed the body"

For communion at the end of the retreat, I think I'll use this passage:

Just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

...There are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you," nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you." On the contrary, the parts of the body which seem to be weaker are indispensable, and those parts of the body which we think less honorable we invest with the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving the greater honor to the lowly parts, that there may be no discord in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. (1 Cor 12-13,20-26)

These lines also comforted me after last night's disappointment. I think the song and words of Jesus I read before the church meeting will be all I contribute to that ongoing discussion. It's about leadership, but it seems apparent to me what people want is institutional leadership, someone empowered to handle the problems they see in the group. That doesn't seem to have much of anything to do with the body of Christ, in my opinion.

God arranges the Body, and God moves to correct and heal its problems. That is the reality, whether we think it is sufficient or not, whether we think we need a king (or "leadership team") or not. Our unity and cooperation is not created or managed at church meetings. It exists and is recognized and experienced when we are in touch with—and obey—the Head.