Comments on: The Wounded Body – Division

By: Larry Temple

Larry Temple — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 18:19:00 +0000

Nathan, here is an Article I thought you might find interesting along these lines..http://www.touchstonemag.com/archives/article.php?id=16-06-050-f

By: kristarella

kristarella — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 22:41:00 +0000

Thanks for your post Nathan. Challenging as usual.There's some division that is necessary, while to outsiders it might look like a denominational divide, really it's an "are they teaching the truth of the bible" divide.Within our own church it's always a challenge to love and serve everyone, not just the ones we know well."Two members can be a part of the same church body and never speak to one another. This ought not be."This one is difficult, mainly because it's not in my nature to a) talk a lot or b) talk to people I don't know. Reading, praying, serving supper… those things, those active things seem easier than just getting along-side people.Re: post formatting, I did find this post easier to follow with the subheadings.Cheers

By: bigkafka

bigkafka — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 20:09:00 +0000

Nathan – I got a little frustrated with your post because you didn't define what you mean by division. Conflict is great. It is an opportunity. Of course, we mess it up — probably primarily because of pride, we consider that conflict means we must be right …I really appreciate what you wrote about denominations and about super-star pastors…I guess the pastor should be the sheep with the bell – I'm starting my bell bearing denomination….thanks for the post. When is the next one ?

By: Creitz

Creitz — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 14:15:00 +0000

Thanks to Will and Brett for your concern for the church. I definitely think we need to have leaders who will set the example of how to be unified. I see leadership in the church primarily as the pace setters. They need to model unity and show others how to respond to conflict. I'm certainly not suggesting to bury conflict but to bring it out in the open and deal with it in the love and peace of Christ. Thanks again for your comments.Thanks to you Helen for giving us an example of a church striving for unity…there are a lot out there. It's not like any church says, "we want division in the church." It's just that so often the division comes upon the leaders and overwhelms them before they really know what to do about it. Let's pray for our churches. The Spirit of God in our midst is the answer to the problems.

By: Helen Fuller

Helen Fuller — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 06:54:00 +0000

I am blessed to attend a church that has building community has a primary focus. As a multi-cultural church we face the challenge of building bridges between people from differing backgrounds and cultures. One of the key things I have learnt over the years is how not to take offence. We can be so quick to react but if we make the choice not to take offence there is less cause for division. If we make the choice to forgive there is less cause for division. If we chose to prefer others over ourselves there is less cause for division. If our aim is to build the kingdom of God we will do all we can to strengthen community and deal with division.

By: Brett

Brett — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 22:44:00 +0000

I wholeheartedly agree with you about division in the church… and especially in the local body. If our local churches are fighting each other of the color of the walls, what songs to be singing, or which Bible tanslation is best then we've left the mission Jesus passed on to us in a basket on the front steps.And I understand where you're coming from about pastors and the need for humility as a sheep ourselves. But at the same time we are to watch over the flock, and when division begins cropping up we have to step in and defuse it before it ignites and leaves the church rebuilding what it once had. The ploys of Satan are coy and as pastors we have to shepherd the flock entrusted to us as one who will give an account.That said, not all division is bad. Sometimes God might reveal division in a local church that helps move out some people who He is trying to show the door. Division also might arise as an opportunity for clarity. The mission becomes more clear and some people lose interest in really chasing it. I recently had a family leave our launch team because they weren't ready to be that involved in a church. They liked to sit and soak. I pleaded with them to keep going because it could be a growth edge for them but they chose their tuft of grass over being close to the Shepherd. But they needed to go for the health of our body.Division can also be ultimately good because it forces clarity. Take the recent theological discussions, er conversations, that have clarified theological positions and seemingly forced us to reaffirm the classic doctrines of the Bible. (Or I guess if you're swimming in the other pool, to reimagine classic doctrine.)Good post, my comment is much to long but I will keep reading.

By: Will

Will — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 19:22:00 +0000

Having served in 4 churches with moderate to severe financial issues, one of the greatest weaknesses I have seen is how the church allows money to influence everything that it does. Needless to say, the lack of money is also one of the causes of conflict as well, with the “money” people, like Trustees, the Financial Secretary and the Treasurer, having defacto veto power over ministry initiatives.