by Marta Castillo, Leadership Minister of Intercultural Formation
“At this church, we are like the island of misfit toys.”
Since I started attending at Wellspring Church of Skippack, I have heard this comment several times. I smile when I hear it because a picture forms in my imagination of the rich yet strange collection of people, backgrounds, and personalities that we find at Wellspring—and at most churches, really. I sigh because I also hear people acknowledging their brokenness and doubting their adequacy and suitability to be together as the body of Christ.
I had to do a little research on this cultural reference to “misfit toys.” What I found is that the story of the Island of the Misfit Toys is a tale of a young red-nosed reindeer (Rudolph) who is bullied for being different. He and an elf, Hermey (who wants to be a dentist), set out on an adventure to find a place that will accept them. They discover an island filled with misfit toys that have been tossed aside due to the slight ‘defects’ they possess, including Charlie, who was discarded because, instead of being a Jack-in-the-Box, he is Charlie-in-the-Box and Dolly Sue, a doll who wants to be loved. In the end, Rudolph saves the day by finding a home for each misfit toy.
Is there a parallel between the Island of Misfit Toys and churches? Well, surely your church has people who have been tossed aside by the world because of the defects they possess. Surely your church has people who have been made to feel inadequate or mislabeled. Surely your church has people who are lost in this world and feel unsuccessful and unloved.
In the time that Jesus spent here on earth, he took special interest in the misfits. In Mark 2, his disciples are asked, “Why does he eat with the tax collectors and sinners?” On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Abigail Van Buren once said, “The church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints.”
In 1 Corinthians 12 we are reminded, “Those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together … that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”
In the story, Rudolph saves the day by finding homes for the misfit toys. As churches, we become “home” for all sorts of misfits (ourselves included), treating those who are weaker as indispensable and those who have experienced little honor with special honor. We cover those who are unpresentable with special modesty and our presentable parts with clarity and honesty. We can save the day because all misfits fit in the body of Christ.
In the body of Christ, together, we can experience belonging, healing, reconciliation, transformation, shalom, and love. We may continue to be misfits in this world, but in Christ, we are home, accepted, and beloved.
The opinions expressed in articles posted on Mosaic’s website are those of the author and may not reflect the official policy of Mosaic Conference. Mosaic is a large conference, crossing ethnicities, geographies, generations, theologies, and politics. Each person can only speak for themselves; no one can represent “the conference.” May God give us the grace to hear what the Spirit is speaking to us through people with whom we disagree and the humility and courage to love one another even when those disagreements can’t be bridged.