The following is an article written by a church leader. I will not say where or who it is, but it causes me great concern for the future of this particular congregation.
In the following comments, I am not speaking to anything specific, but this is something that's always good to file away back in the soul someplace. The unity of God's church is crucial to the goals of the kingdom of God. Much can challenge the church's unity. For example, the church will always face crossroads of decisions. Many will have strong opinions in various directions. How we handle those choices may have far-reaching consequences. In Acts 15, the church met over the potentially explosive issue of whether the Gentile converts had to be circumcised or not. James uttered the meeting's verdict:
It's easy to overlook that James was a leader of the elders of the church where the circumcision group worshipped (Acts 12:17; 21:18; Gal. 2:9). If anyone were sympathetic to the circumcision group, James was. But whatever sympathies he may have had, James surrendered them in favor presenting a united front. Neither James nor any of the Jews stood up and said, "Well! If that's the way this church is going, I'm gonna quit coming!" or "I'll start my own church" or "I'll withhold my weekly contribution!" James did not view the meeting as a time to jockey for position or play one side against the other or get his way, but to hear the mind of the Spirit. May his tribe increase!
Three men in a boat far from shore began arguing about their individual space in the boat. Each claimed he was not getting his share. Finally they drew lines and divided the boat into three equal sections. Then one of the men began to drill a hole in his section, arguing that he could do whatever he wanted with his section. The other two protested, "But we're all in the same boat!"
If at any time the church's decision is not what you wanted, please don't draw lines and make "your section." If you dissent, make sure no one else knows it. Don't drill your hole. Vow to accept those decisions and not work against them. Because if you cannot listen to your brother or the church, are you really able to listen to the Holy Spirit? The church is, after all, the Holy Spirit's temple.
Does this sound scary to anyone else besides me??? Especially in the last paragraph where it basically says that if you don't like the decisions that the church makes, then be quiet and don't say anything. I believe this is a direct disregard for God's word. We're all human... we all make mistakes and Satan is always at work to influence our decisions. What makes church leaders immune from this? We all have to be sure that we keep God's word as our main source of all our decision making. We should always be sure that all the teaching we hear is in line with what God teaches us through His word.
So should we sit aside quietly and let decisions be made in the church that are disagreeable with the Bible? Absolutely not! I'm not saying we should cause problems in the church and cause disagreements, but like it says in 2 Timothy we should be kind and gently instruct when we are faced with things that are not in accordance with God's word.
I hope that I have made my point here... I don't like having disagreements in the church, and I always want there to be unity. We should all agree that God's word is the final authority in every decision we make in the church.
In the following comments, I am not speaking to anything specific, but this is something that's always good to file away back in the soul someplace. The unity of God's church is crucial to the goals of the kingdom of God. Much can challenge the church's unity. For example, the church will always face crossroads of decisions. Many will have strong opinions in various directions. How we handle those choices may have far-reaching consequences. In Acts 15, the church met over the potentially explosive issue of whether the Gentile converts had to be circumcised or not. James uttered the meeting's verdict:
It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood (19,20).
It's easy to overlook that James was a leader of the elders of the church where the circumcision group worshipped (Acts 12:17; 21:18; Gal. 2:9). If anyone were sympathetic to the circumcision group, James was. But whatever sympathies he may have had, James surrendered them in favor presenting a united front. Neither James nor any of the Jews stood up and said, "Well! If that's the way this church is going, I'm gonna quit coming!" or "I'll start my own church" or "I'll withhold my weekly contribution!" James did not view the meeting as a time to jockey for position or play one side against the other or get his way, but to hear the mind of the Spirit. May his tribe increase!
Three men in a boat far from shore began arguing about their individual space in the boat. Each claimed he was not getting his share. Finally they drew lines and divided the boat into three equal sections. Then one of the men began to drill a hole in his section, arguing that he could do whatever he wanted with his section. The other two protested, "But we're all in the same boat!"
If at any time the church's decision is not what you wanted, please don't draw lines and make "your section." If you dissent, make sure no one else knows it. Don't drill your hole. Vow to accept those decisions and not work against them. Because if you cannot listen to your brother or the church, are you really able to listen to the Holy Spirit? The church is, after all, the Holy Spirit's temple.
Does this sound scary to anyone else besides me??? Especially in the last paragraph where it basically says that if you don't like the decisions that the church makes, then be quiet and don't say anything. I believe this is a direct disregard for God's word. We're all human... we all make mistakes and Satan is always at work to influence our decisions. What makes church leaders immune from this? We all have to be sure that we keep God's word as our main source of all our decision making. We should always be sure that all the teaching we hear is in line with what God teaches us through His word.
And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will. 2 Timothy 2:24-26
So should we sit aside quietly and let decisions be made in the church that are disagreeable with the Bible? Absolutely not! I'm not saying we should cause problems in the church and cause disagreements, but like it says in 2 Timothy we should be kind and gently instruct when we are faced with things that are not in accordance with God's word.
I hope that I have made my point here... I don't like having disagreements in the church, and I always want there to be unity. We should all agree that God's word is the final authority in every decision we make in the church.
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