The Lay Leader's Corner  October 2025

Greetings from the Lay Leader's Corner.

Well, the Autumnal Equinox has passed, and Fall is definitely here; it's October. Change is in the air. You can smell it, see it, and even hear it as crisp leaves crunch underfoot. If they haven't already, soon the tools of summer, lawn mowers, hedge clippers, and watering hoses will be replaced by leaf blowers, rakes, and lawn sweepers. Yes, as it says in Ecclesiastes, “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.”. And for every season, there is a different set of tools in your garage, shed, or basement.

You may remember, last month, I discussed the changing seasons of the life of the church and that the entire body of the church was needed. As you have heard many times, we are each a part of that body. Relating each of us to a different “body part” of the human body. Now there are some body parts none of us would appreciate being likened to, but remember, every part is important and needed for the body to function well. Don't worry, I'm not going to discuss body parts or even seasons this month. If you haven't guessed by the opening paragraph, I'm going to discuss tools.

Maybe it's because I have been spending a lot of time in the local community theatre's shop working on the set of the upcoming Fall production, with only the tools to keep me company as I work. Though perhaps it was God's way of giving me the time to think of discipleship from a different perspective. To paraphrase Ecclesiastes, “For every job there is a tool, and a purpose for every task under heaven.”. Over the many years of experience working on countless projects, I have had the opportunity to use a variety of different tools. There are hand tools, which rely entirely on hand-eye coordination and muscle, and there are “power” tools, which still need the hand-eye coordination but a lot less muscle. In each category, there is a myriad of options and a great variety because each tool is only meant for a relatively narrow scope of tasks. Though some tools have a wider scope than others, some are designed for just a single specific function. There are simple tools consisting of only one or two parts and complex tools with many precision parts that must operate in harmony to function properly. Tools are found in many places for many tasks. They are not just in the garage or shop but in kitchens, studies, offices, even bathrooms. Every place where there is a task to be performed, there are tools to accomplish that task.

Discipleship is the way God uses us as the tools to build the kingdom. We are God's tool kit, and God intends to use every tool in that kit. Some are simple, straightforward hand tools, but in God's hand, they can be used to accomplish great works. Others are multipurpose or complex; it all depends on God's intention for how we will be used to build the kingdom. We are each designed by God for a purpose in this life. As it is with our tools, some are used quite often, others only seldom, but we are all in the tool kit, and we all will be called on at some time by God. You never know when God is going to pick you out of the tool kit to use. There could be a whole book written on the subject. Wait, God took care of that, too, it's called The Bible. Read yours today.

Peace be with you

Your lay leader,

Timothy Locker, Sr