What causes dislocations in the body?

The past couple times Chris Jr. has had a shoulder dislocation, it has caused me to ponder the question: What causes dislocations in the body?

In his particular case, he has a genetic connective tissue disorder that allows for hyper-mobility in is joints as well as the tissues are easily torn. There is much to be learned with EDS as they currently don’t know the gene that causes this defect and, therefore, presently have no means for preventing it. While Chris Jr. is still evaluating things, we could foresee him going into the medical profession to aid in awareness and future efforts to combat this condition. For more about EDS, we encourage you to click here.

For today, what we’d like to focus on dislocations in the Church body. In today’s discussion, the Church isn’t necessarily the local church gathering, it represents a body of believers in fellowship with one another. Romans 12:4-5 NIV states: “For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”

So, as this verse indicates “in Christ we, through many, form one body”. However, what I observe regularly is just as my son has dislocations in parts of his body, our church has dislocations in many parts of our body. So, what causes dislocations in the body? Well, let me offer a few thoughts.

Connect in the wrong place:

First, just as eyes and ears have unique roles in our body, members of the body each have unique gifts and talents. That being said, we often find that these members don’t spend quality time understanding their unique gifts. More often, however, is that they have a general understanding of their gifts and talents, but aren’t connected to the right areas of the body to contribute.

Let’s use an example. Let’s say David has the gift of adminstration. In other communities, or even his work, he excels in that particular body as he’s able to exercise this gift of administration. However, in our body, we ask David to go out into the world and find others to join our body. We want him to show up at community events, be the life of the party, socialize with all the people, and encourage them to come and be part of our body. Does anyone see a problem here? Yes, David is clearly connected to our body in the wrong place which if not already will result in a dislocation.

Trust & Fear of Conflict:

Anyone who as spent any time reflecting upon relationships that are dysfunctional versus working well knows that trust and a fear of conflict are two foundational characteristics that must be present. Without these foundational characteristics within the body, members will suffer multiple dislocations. I can almost guarantee where you’ve seen dislocations within your body, there has been a lack of trust associated with a fear of conflict.

Let’s give an example. Sue is the nicest lady, however, has a tendency to be negative. Anytime other parts of the body engage with her, it always ends up with her being a bit of a drain due to her negativity. As you get to know Sue, you realize that her negativity comes from a lack of trust in others. This likely deals with circumstances in her past that she was hurt and now lives life with a “victim” mindset.

While others in the body love Sue, they really have difficulty wanting to engage with her. You know, our body is made up of “nice” members and we don’t want to hurt Sue’s feelings. She’s already been hurt enough in her past by others she doesn’t trust, so, we “fear conflict” with her. Can you relate? Well, can you also see how the body’s “fear of conflict” is going to continue to build mistrust within Sue’s relationship within the body leading toward a dislocation longer term? Oh, and this dislocation may not be Sue, it may be other parts of the body that can’t deal with Sue and simply want to move on. Either way, it’s dysfunction within the body that will lead to a dislocation.

So, these are only a few examples of why body parts fail to fully engage in the body. I encourage you to truly assess your “gifts and talents” and then have no “fear of conflict” in sharing what you see is the best fit in the body. Doing so, will result in your building “trust” within the members of the body creating a much stronger body. Make sense?