5 Ways to Improve Congregational Unity

Intro:

Good evening.

This evening I want to talk to you about unity.

Specifically, I’ve got 5 ways to improve congregational unity, in no particular order.

(I’m sure we could probably think of a lot of other things to add to this list, but here are 5 that I thought of), starting with …

Rally Behind Your Leadership:

(And I would add, as they rally around the doctrine of Christ).

This first and foremost has to do with supporting our elders.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again — Our elders have a lot on their plates, more than many of us realize in fact.

We need to do everything we can to support them, to pray for them, and to not make their job any more difficult than it already is.

We are obligated to follow our elders’ lead as they faithfully follow the Word of God.

Hopefully we are aware that the New Testament teaches that congregations are to be led by a plurality of elders.

Acts 20:28 speaking to the Ephesian elders says: “Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.”

You don’t see a system of churches having one pastor in the New Testament — You see a plurality of pastors which are also called elders, shepherds, bishops, overseers, and presbyters (all terms for the same thing).

The Holy Spirit puts these men in their positions, and there are specific qualifications that must be met according to 1 Timothy 3 and Titus chapter 1. (I hope to qualify to be an elder one day — perhaps 15 or so years from now — It is something that every Christian male should aspire to qualify himself toward). (Even if he does not particularly desire the office, at least aspire to qualify himself)

It is the congregation’s obligation and duty to submit to the elders.

Submit means to put oneself under the authority of — to obey.

The test of submitting, when you think about it, is not when they ask you to do something that you already wanted to do in the first place — The test of submitting is when they ask you to do something that you DON’T want to do — One who is willing to submit to the elders will do so willingly in spite of his personal feelings that may differ.

Caveat — regarding doctrinal matters, we all understand including our elders — If they were to go against God, then we ought to obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29).

Hebrews 13:7 - “Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct.”

Hebrews 13:17 - “Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.”

God’s design is that a congregation be unified behind her elders who faithfully follow the doctrine of Christ.

Elders have a tall task to lead the flock in accordance with God’s will — Let’s do our best to aid them in that endeaver.

I would add that elders can and do delegate certain tasks to deacons, to preachers as well — (For instance, elders are told in 1 Peter 5:2 to “Feed the flock of God which is among you.”)

Our elders do that themselves in teaching and preaching themselves.

And also in assigning preaching and teaching to me, to our deacons, to Bible class teachers, etc.

Leading in those roles can also be very challenging, and support, encouragement, and prayers are very much appreciated for all who lead in these various areas.

Quit Complaining:

(Which hopefully we’re not complainers, but … if we’re honest, we all have our moments).

This is a habit that is best avoided altogether before it even starts.

The Bible teaches in multiple places that complaining is a sin.

Philippians 2:14–15 - “Do all things without complaining (“grumbling” ESV, which is an onomatopoeia) (“murmuring,” KJV) and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.”

(Read 1 Corinthians 10:1-12, emphasizing verse 10) - (The Israelites complained A LOT in the wilderness after leaving Egypt!).

Don’t do it!

The preacher’s office is not a complaint department.

Your best buddy in the congregation is not the complaint department.

And even the elders aren’t (first and foremost) a complaint department (and what I mean by that is, let’s say you have a problem with someone in the congregation ...).

Does the Bible say you immediately take that up with the elders?

Or does it say you go to that person between you and him alone (Matt. 18:15)?

One of my instructors at MSOP used to tell us that when church members would come to his office to complain about someone or something, he would pull out one of those massive 5 inch binders and give them a pen and say:

“Alright here’s the complaint book. List your complaint and sign your name to it.” (They never did!)

The old anonymous “People are saying,” but they didn’t want to attach their name to it!

The devil loves to get us complaining doesn’t he? (It harms our unity and our purpose as a congregation)

Avoid Personality Conflicts:

This is a big one.

The reason this is a big one, in my estimation, is because … any time you get two or more people together in a room, you’re going to have … ???

Two or more different personalities!

Sometimes they mesh quite well; sometimes they tend to rub each other the wrong way a little bit.

It is a normal thing to have some personalities get along better with each other than others in a congregational setting …

But we can’t let personality conflicts keep us from maintaining unity!

What happens when personality conflicts DO interfere with unity?

People tend to start forming up battle lines over who they do and don’t get along with very well.

Cliques get formed, certain people start avoiding other people.

Sometimes racial strife occurs.

Sometimes it’s an “us versus them” of the younger members versus the older.

And it just isn’t good.

Do you remember when the church at Corinth started dividing up over who had baptized them?

1 Corinthians 1:10–16 “Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you. Now I say this, that each of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, lest anyone should say that I had baptized in my own name. Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Besides, I do not know whether I baptized any other.”

Paul goes on in 1 Corinthians 1:17 to say: “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.”

Might we make the cross of Christ of no effect when it comes to OUR lives if we are dividing up over something as trivial as different personalities?

Get to Work:

One of the ways that the devil loves to operate is to get people while they are unbusy.

“Idle hands are the devil’s workshop,” they say.

It is important for every member of the body of Christ to realize his role in edifying the body of Christ.

(Repeat) (We’re going to see this in Ephesians 4 in just a moment)

But don’t forget that we all have talents, and the parable of the talents (Matt. 25) teaches us the principle that we need to:

Identify our talents,

USE our talents,

And not make excuses for wasting talent.

Yes, a talent in the parable is a sum of money, but the principle that Jesus taught us is stewardship of EVERYTHING God gives us, including our abilities to serve in the body of Christ.

So with that in mind, let’s read:

(Eph 4:1-3, [V. 4ff just mention - 7 one’s], Eph. 4:11-16).

If we are all busy WORKING which causes edification and building up of the body of Christ, then there will be no time for things that the Devil likes to distract us with that tear down the body of Christ.

Finally …

Love Others as Your Self:

The 2nd of the two greatest commands is that we must love our neighbor as ourself.

The world would be a much better place if we all got just that right.

The church’s unity would also greatly benefit if we get this right as well.

Let’s mention the Golden rule.

Matthew 7:12 - “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”

Notice that Jesus did NOT say: “Do unto others what they did to you.”

It’s easy to misquote that if we aren’t careful.

And finally, two more verses:

Philippians 2:3 - “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.”

Romans 12:10 - “Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another.”

Conclusion:

Tonight we’ve looked at 5 things that can help us improve congregational unity at the Marietta Church of Christ.

Support the leadership - especially the eldership.

Don’t complain.

Avoid personality conflicts and the like.

Get to work, maintaining good usage of your talents for the Lord for the edifying of the Body, and …

Love others as your own self.

We have a great congregation here.

Great congregation’s still need reminding of these things to continue to endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

(Invitation).