Church Unity

Nothing restricts the effectiveness and the power of the gospel’s impact on people and a community more than disunity in a church. The causes of disunity can vary greatly, but the effect is always the same — fewer people are changed by the gospel. Why is this?

First, Jesus told us it would be this way. In John 17:21, Jesus is praying for all of His disciples that would believe in Him through the message and ministry of His followers in His day. He prayed: “May they (all believers through all time) would be one, as you, Father, are in me (Jesus) and I am in you. May they also be in us, so that the world may believe you sent me.”

Do you hear that? Jesus prayed that Christians would be one in Him so that everyone else would see and believe that Jesus is sent from the Father.

Second, disunity distracts the church. We get off mission when we focus on our differences of opinion or when we have broken relationships between fellow believers in the body of Christ. Jesus’ mission was to seek and save that which is lost (Luke 19:10).

The mission Jesus left His followers was to make disciples through sharing Christ, seeing people believe and obey through baptism, and helping those new believers grow in a healthy, fruitful walk with Jesus (Matthew 28:19-20). When the church is arguing, fighting, or mistreating others, they are not living out Jesus’ mandate to us.

So, how should a church respond when disagreements or tension arises? In Acts 6, we see an example of what the early church goes through when some people are feeling hurt and left out. In verse 1, we see that a complaint came from the Hellenistic (Greek speaking) Jews against the Hebraic (Hebrew speaking) Jews because the Hellenistic Jews felt that their widows were being overlooked in the ministry of the daily distributions of food.

When the problem was pointed out to the apostles, a solution was sought. The apostles decided that they needed to continue preaching the word of God, but they did appoint some fellow believers to insure that the widows received what they needed moving forward.

I think this gives us a model for handling conflict within the church.

First, listen when someone has an issue or a complaint. Don’t dismiss. Don’t marginalize. Listen.

Next, do not pull away from the most important responsibility of the church, proclaiming the good news to the lost and helping believers grow in Christ.

Then, work to find solutions to the issue while still focusing on the main objective. Finally, do all of that in love and in grace. When you are offended by someone, show grace. When someone is complaining at the church, show love. Grace and love are always right.

May the church in unity live out the gospel for the good of the kingdom of God.

(Questions/responses: jeff.perkins@mbclife.org)