Archive - Church RSS Feed

The Conflicted Church: The Issue Behind the Issue

April 22, 2011 in Church, Conflict Resolution with 1 Comment

In conflict there tend to be issues, interests, and positions. Issues are what underlie conflict, interests are the things at stake, and positions are where we stand in the midst of conflict. As I see it, interests are what drive the positions we take on issues.

Many find themselves reluctant to adopt new ideas because they have a vested interest in the old. Some will always suggest that “the old is better” (Luke 5:39). They possess an interest so significant that they resist anything that threatens it- whether right or Continue Reading…

The Conflicted Church

April 20, 2011 in Church, Conflict Resolution with 4 Comments

I grew up thinking the New Testament Church was the model church. I still do; but I couple that thinking with a healthy dose of discernment.

You’d think in its infancy it would be perfect. It burst onto the scene in the power of the Spirit, experiencing astonishing growth (Acts 2). What could be better?

The stunning growth continues (Act 3), but lingering around the corner was something that would signal that all was not well. Could the church, one initially Jewish in origin, come to accept Gentiles who would take on the faith of Jesus?

God had to shake up Peter, an apostle mind you, to get him to see what was breaking in (Acts 10-11). This was a most precarious situation, to be sure. In Acts 15, though, it is clear that a Jewish Church isn’t so comfortable with Gentile converts. Even Peter- the one God sought to assure through the experience with Cornelius- felt pressure to cave to Jewish intimidation, despite what God had already proven to him (Galatians 2). Shoot…Paul has to hold his feet to the fire about it!

The early church struggled with change. I think Jim Woodroof captured this tension well in The Church in Transition. While this book wasn’t universally received among Churches of Christ, it wasn’t because the things he elucidated weren’t true. He dared to question certain thoughts about the early church, and he was excoriated for it in certain circles. But you can’t read the book of Acts objectively and not recognize the issues with which the early church struggled. It was a conflicted church, struggling to embrace the changes God had for it.

As I’ve before stated, conflict is normal. Anytime and anywhere you bring people together you invite tension and conflict into that domain. How it is dealt with pivotal, though. It is a point of transition, a crossroad to be sure. From it, we can go any number of directions.

Paul speaks to the heart of this saga in Romans 14-15. If you think it was incumbent upon Gentile Christians to conform to all the ways of Jewish Christians, you are misguided. It has been contended that in order for there to be true unity, there must be total uniformity. But this simply isn’t so. Romans 14-15, unquestionably, disproves this notion. In order for Jewish and Gentile Christians of Rome to have unity, they didn’t have to agree on every… single… thing. That simply wasn’t reasonable, and what wasn’t reasonable then is no more reasonable now.

This must have been a tough pill to swallow. Maybe this is why, today, the Church is made up predominantly of non-Jews? I don’t know. But what I do know is that the early church resisted the direction God was taking it.

Things are hardly different today. We have yet to learn from the mistakes of our forefathers. Reconciliation, though, begins with acknowledging the problem. If we ever are to achieve unity, we must learn to appreciate the uniqueness of others and accept that other need not necessarily see everything just like I do.

 

 

 

Church Systems

June 15, 2010 in Church with 2 Comments

We gravitate towards different things for different reasons. One of the reasons I’m pursuing a degree in Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation is that I am tired of not effectively handling conflict. My desire for peace has thrust me into something through which God can use me to make a difference.

Brad Palmore recently completed the MACRR program and was instrumental in convincing me to pursue it, as well. Brad has begun a series of blog posts that deal with Church Systems. His insights are deep and will test you, but it has been worth it so far. I can’t wait to see where he goes. But if you yearn to better understand Church Systems- how they operate, why they operate the way they do, and why things have developed the way they have- then I think you need to subscribe to his blog. Here is a link to his first post in this series.

Do They Get Along?

June 1, 2010 in Church with 3 Comments

If you are in need of insurance, Clovis NM is the place to come! Insurance agencies are in abundance. Take your pick from any of the big boys: Allstate, Farmers or State Farm. Or you can go with one of a number of independent agents. There’s definitely no shortage of insurance agencies from which to choose.

Consequently, I’ve noticed that when it comes to Farmers and State Farm agencies, in particular, there are more than just a few of each. On my short drive to the office I count four different State Farm agencies and there is at least one more not on my route to the office.  Knowing the insurance business is extremelycompetitive, I wonder if all the State Farm agents get along. Is there enough business to go around, or does the competition create tension? Do these agents, serving the same company, get along? I’ve come to learn something of an answer to the question. After all, I’m a fan of my State Farm agent, Mike Morris, the one not on my route to the office.

Over the years, I haven’t had the best of relationships with other preachers in communities where I’ve lived. My relationship with ministers of other faiths was non-existent, but it wasn’t much better with those of other Churches of Christ.

Especially in the South, Churches of Christ are ubiquitous in communities. Large cities are prone to having tons of congregations. Sadly, though, a lot of small communities are prone to having a significant number of them, as well. I’m no longer certain whether this is good or bad. We are a people who’ve been prone to division. Much of that division is born out of people believing they were doing the right thing, which may or may not have actually been the case. That it looks so terrible that communities of 10,000 or less might have five or more congregations, I wish more would see. All you have to do is ask around and you’ll discover that we’ve marginalized ourselves because we struggle to get along with one another.  

My time in Clovis, though, has been different for me personally. I have a wonderful relationship with Larry Tittle, the preacher for the West 21st Street Church of Christ. He’s become a very dear friend to me. In the year that I’ve been with 16th & Pile, we have done a lot together. We’ve played golf, had coffee, ate lunch, worshiped, studied, and prayed with each other. We’ve done all of these activities, and more, on more than one occasion.

I am proud of the relationship Larry and I have forged. Sadly, I am on my way to the NM Christian Children’s Home and will no longer be preaching at 16th, but that doesn’t mean we will no longer be getting together. After all, Portales, NM is only 20 miles from Clovis.

Here’s what I love most: for the last twelve months, anyone who might have wondered if the preachers from the 16th & Pile Church of Christ and the West 21st St. Church of Christ got along could be answered in the affirmative!

Let’s Call a Meeting…

December 14, 2009 in Church with 4 Comments

Bovina Bulletin Board

Bovina Bulletin Board

Well, this is the final bullet point from a great bulletin board found at the Bovina Church of Christ. This last bullet point is a frustrating one. It is a virtual microcosm of congregational struggles across the land. It might reflect the degree to which the modern church has slipped its moorings from God’s original intent, and as a result impeded the church’s effectiveness in the world.

I’ve both seen and heard of church’s that have struggled to help even it’s own members because it was believed that a meeting needed to be called before responding. How unfortunate it is that churches have hobbled themselves to this degree! I’m not against meetings. Believe me, they are quite expedient. But matters as pressing as the mission of God can’t, and shouldn’t, always wait for the last Sunday evening of the month.

I suppose the New Testament church had some kind of “business” meetings. It seems logical. The New Testament, though, is relatively, if not completely, silent about them. In Acts 15 a gathering of Christians from various congregations and areas was conducted at Jerusalem to hash out matters pertaining to Jewish Christian and Gentile Christian relations and implications of Gentile acceptance of Jesus as Lord. But the issues they tackled were of a more doctrinal nature, and not so much about how one church carried out the mission of God. In fact, it is relatively clear that this “conference” actually transcended common church autonomy.

What compounds the frustration is that often, not always but often nonetheless, calling a meeting doesn’t guarantee things get done. One reason congregational business meetings are so poorly attended is because so little seemingly is accomplished by them. Church business meetings, across the board, don’t have the reputations they do because they are adored. In my almost ten years of local work, in churches both with and without elders, church business meetings are the subject of jokes, cynicism, and a ton of sarcasm. The almost universal consensus opinion about them should speak loudly and clearly to us.

My utmost prayer from having considered these bullet points is that we’ll quit making excuses for why things don’t get done in our churches. After all, excuses are all those bullet points are. God is ready to use us, but will we answer His call?
Page 1 of 41234»