Today's Scripture Reading (March 14, 2024): Acts 14
As someone who has been involved in a bad church
split, I know how emotionally destructive splits can be to all who are affected.
I admit this, but I also understand that I am not alone. It amazes me how many
pastors, in moments of honesty, have been through similar circumstances. One of
my colleagues has been through two splits during his ministry. It is easy to
blame the Pastors involved, but, as with almost every conflict, the blame must
be placed on both sides of the fight.
As with every conflict, both sides also often
try to stir up people who aren't actually part of the disagreement so that they
can feel validated or win the argument. I don't think they realize that there
are no winners in church conflicts, only losers. In my case, there was a vote,
and what hurt the most was watching people who had not been to church for years
walk into the church so that they could vote, not because they were part of the
disagreement but because they had been stirred up by one side to take a stand
against the other.
A denominational leader said it takes a decade for either
the pastor or the church to recover from the conflict. He might have been
mistaken. It has been fifteen years since I experienced the split, and there
are times when it feels like it happened yesterday. I am still struggling to
recover from the fight. And it is something I never want to have to go through
ever again.
All of this only proves that I don't measure up to
Paul. Paul seemed to meet with church conflict almost every place he went. And
yet he repeatedly stayed and faced the fight, regardless of the personal cost.
Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my
mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in
prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed
to death again and again. Five times I
received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with
stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in
the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have
been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow
Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in
the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I
have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been
cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face
daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches (2 Corinthians 11:23-28).
At Iconium, there is a move of God that resulted
in many believers among both the Jews and Gentiles of the city. But there is
also opposition. The unconverted Jews at Iconium decided to stir up resistance
among the Gentiles who previously wouldn't have had a position in the fight. I
might have decided (or was forced) to leave the place of conflict, but that
wasn't Paul's decision. He and Barnabas chose to stay. "So Paul and
Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who
confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to perform signs and
wonders." (Acts 14:3).
Tomorrow's Scripture
Reading: Acts 15
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