Morning Brew: Wednesday, Nov 4

Are you healing divisions within your church or creating them? Let’s be honest with each other. It’s just you and me. No one else is reading this with you. Are you healing divisions within your church or are you helping to create them?

Do you bring people together or drive them apart? Do you spread rumors? Do you gossip? Is there a pastor or church member that you secretly wish would leave your church? Is there a program or event that you wish your church would take away or keep forever? Is there a style of music happening that you don’t like? Do your actions outside of the church building match the words you say/sing inside of the church building? Is there a group/type/race of people you wish would stop coming to church or you wish the church would stop reaching out to?

Churches will always have some level of conflict. Church is nothing more than a bunch of sinners saved by grace but still wrestling with the remnants of their sin nature. Conflict at some level is unavoidable. But our job as Christians, your job as a disciple of Jesus is to heal divisions rather than create them, to bring people together rather than drive them apart, preserve the unity of the church rather than your personal agenda and preferences.

10 I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. 1 Corinthians 1:10

The church at Corinth was a church divided. Paul brings that up as the first and primary issue in his letter to them. Read the rest of the letter and you can see the subsequent issues that resulted from a divided church. Do you want a church that can reach the world? Be a church that unites, not divides. And it starts with you, reader.

PRAYER: God, may I seek and protect the unity of my church. My I build up and not tear down, may I bring together and not divide. May we stand united as a church. Amen.