All In 2.0

It’s easy to get bogged down in “what” we do and “how” we are going to do it but quite honestly those things may grow old over time. Our desire is not to be so much about the “what” and the “how” but should always be focused on the “why”. What you do and how you do it changes over time but the “why” should never change.

I am going to give you a number of things today that lean towards the “what” and the “how” but in the end it won’t matter to you what to do or how to do it, everyone, myself included, wants to know why!

The church is one in essence, because it is founded on one gospel, united to one Lord and is the place where the Spirit dwells. Its unity is under constant threat because of the tendency to division that is inherent in fallen humanity, and needs to be continually maintained and actively expressed in fellowship.

So what are some of the key reasons we are seeing the breakdown of unity in our churches? Though my list is not exhaustive, allow me to share fourteen of those reasons.

Gossip. Church members talk about one another instead of talking to one another. Paul calls church members who gossip people “filled with all unrighteousness”.

Actions cloaked in darkness. I recently heard of a church personnel committee and a few church staff members who worked in darkness to fire a pastor without ever meeting with him first or giving him reasons for his dismissal. Then they refused to respond to church members who were asking questions.

Failure to confront church bullies. Some church members seek power in a church they can’t get elsewhere. They are devious and dangerous. They must be courageously confronted.

Self-serving church members. Some church members insist on getting their way for everything from worship style to the order of the worship service. Biblical church membership, however, is selfless and more concerned about others.

Lack of prayer. A church that does not pray together is likely to fragment into special interest groups.

Fear of confrontation. Too many church members would rather sweep problems under the rug than deal with them. I know of one church where two deacons were known to be having affairs. No one wanted to deal with it.

Adopting the hypercritical spirit of culture. This reality is especially true in blogs and social media. I’ve seen many pastors attacked publicly on Twitter and Facebook.

Low expectations. Many churches have no clear guidelines on what it means to be a part of the body of Christ. If you expect little from members, that’s exactly what you’ll get. And some of them will use their idle time to gossip, criticize, and tear down.

No church discipline. The majority of churches with which I have familiarity have no process for church discipline, or they have a process in place in theory only.

Churches known more for what they are against rather than what they are for. This negativity becomes pervasive in the congregation and destroys church unity.

Fear of losing members. I am familiar with one church plagued by a spirit of divisiveness by one particular member. No members have confronted him because they don’t want to lose one of the biggest givers in the church.

Failure to be evangelistic. I have never known a church member who is both evangelistic and divisive.

Power groups. Sometimes the bullies in the church get allies to form power groups. They may be informal groups, or they can be formal groups like elders, deacons, staff, or personnel committees.

The silent and fearful majority. One church member said it is not always good to know the truth. Such a statement is unbiblical and symptomatic of members who let evil exist because they are afraid to confront it.