Split-Proofing the Church
Too often I hear about conflicts in churches. Divisions that lead to church splits are a sad and all too common occurrence in the body of Christ. The effects of a church split, regardless of the cause, can be devastating. Church splits distress and dismay mature believers, disillusion new believers, cause havoc in the lives of preachers and their families, and bring reproach upon the name of Christ. I’m not saying that we’re on the verge of split here at this congregation. Rather, I want us to heed the warning of lessons learned from split-crippled churches. Hopefully this will remind us to work diligently to foster unity and preserve peace.
Sin is the ultimate culprit in church splits. One sin that causes multiple problems is a lack of forgiveness. No Christian is perfect, and no preacher or elder or deacon is perfect. When all these imperfect people get together, disagreements, hurt feelings, and misunderstandings are inevitable. If we have unrealistic expectations of one another, like perfection, then disappointments will happen. Our response to one another must be to forgive in kindness and compassion (Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13). Once we are committed to forgiving, we will see each other’s differences in new light. But if we react to differences of opinion by taking sides and gossiping, the split will widen, more harm will be done to church members, and our message to the world will be compromised.
A church split may happen when someone seeks to manipulate people and/or events for their own ends. Pride can easily creep into a person’s motives and warp their behavior. James says, “What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? You want what you don’t have…. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong- – you want only what will give you pleasure” (James 4:1-3 NLT).
Ultimately, the church is only as strong as its individual members. Christians are influenced daily by an immoral culture, and one hour a week on Sunday is wholly inadequate to counter the culture. The world’s standard is about self-promotion, and other people have value only insofar as they are willing to idolize us the way we idolize ourselves. Such an attitude always leads to “dissension and jealousy” (Romans 13:13). The only remedy is for us to “do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves” (Philippians 2:3 ESV).
Church splits are prevented through forgiveness, repentance, and humility. If there is disagreement, both sides should repent of anything said or done in an unloving manner. In humility, each should forgive and commit to go forward in the bonds of Christian love. There must be no place in the Christian’s heart for holding a grudge or being passive aggressive.
The causes of divisions in the church are many, but ultimately the main reason for a church split is that someone has taken their focus off of Jesus Christ and begun to use the church for their own ends. We are to be the body which does the will of the Head, Jesus Christ. If everyone is focused on what’s best for the church and doing the will of God, then there may be disagreement, but it will be worked out in a loving and appropriate manner.
-Paul Merideth, Watterson Trail Church of Christ, Jeffersontown, KY
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