A Divided Church #4

This might be the last of this "series" on things that cause division in churches.

The fourth is: Local/Denominational Standards & Theology

Liberals and post-modern types that hate any kind of standards may be cheering right now, but wait, it's not what you think.

My point is: Don't try to change the church! Why is it someone can start going to a church or join a denomination and believe they have a responsibility to change their local church. If it was good enough for you to start attending, then why is it not good enough to remain as it was when you found it?

I am not saying that local churches should be resistant to all change. I am talking specifically about local & denominational standards and theology.

If a local church has a corporate conviction on something and I am in the minority then I need to get use to it! Adapt. And if I cannot adapt, then I need to move on to a different church where I can more easily adapt. Conflict and division come when there is a small minority of people in the church who wish to overthrow the corporate conviction.

For example, there is a conviction in a local church that no one should wear shorts in a worship service and I, as a Christian, don't agree. I have three options: (1) adapt to the corporate decision of the local church (2) leave the church or (3) cause division in the church by persisting in wearing shorts to worship services.

Of course we all feel that the change that "I" would institute would be best for the congregation as a whole even though they do not yet know it or are not currently aware of that truth.

But please, do not try to change the theology or local/denominational standards of a church! It's just what we have decided to stand on! It's who we are and if you want to be part of the church, at the very least you will have to tolerate that.

If you are of the Calvinist persuasion do not try to change the church I go to. We just do not believe in that. (And I won't try to change your church either.)

If you speak in tongues, do not try to get our church to accept your definition of the gifts of tongues.

I wouldn't go to a Catholic church and try to get them to skip communion. I wouldn't go to a Baptist church and try to get them to baptize by sprinkling. I wouldn't go to Pentecostal church and try to get them to stop "speaking in tongues."

I'm not going to go into an Episcopal Church and try to convince them not to ordain homosexuals... well, yeah I would, but that is a black/white, wrong/right, light/dark, moral/immoral issue!

Anyway...

What is effective ministry?

Go into any Christian book store and walk into the pastor's section and you will be inundated with book after book about the same thing, but described in different ways.

"Effective Ministry"
"Relevant Ministry"
"Powerful Ministry"
"Exciting Ministry"
"Passionate Ministry"

Those all sound like book titles to me. (The funny thing about it is that you can drop the word 'ministry' and add 'worship' and you have a whole new set of books. Then you can drop the word 'worship' and add 'prayer' and get another set of book titles.)

But I am talking about ministry right now...

What confuses me is the purpose of some "outreach," "witnessing," and/or "ministry" events.

For example, how effective is it to simply walk into a restaurant and wipe off all their tables and then leave? Or a ministry I heard about recently where a church rented a gas station for a few hours and simply gave away free gas? Or what about the ever relevant "free car wash" ministry?

I fear the church has resorted to a kind of social welfare mentality in it's ministry! A youth group, not too long ago, decided to witness for Jesus be simply handing out bottles of water to people at some kind of community gathering.

I really like the one I heard about where a group went to a mall and decided to "be friendly" to people coming and going. (They didn't tell anyone about Jesus, but one in the group almost smiled a man into conviction.)

Our local Green County Ministerial Association operates (at enormous expense) a local food pantry and bill paying for those struggling financially. These two functions are the two primary purpose of the Green County Ministerial Association. While I think they are two very positive things in our community I wonder how effective they are at making a difference in eternity?

I wonder if we're not really saying: "Let us help feed you and keep your electric on as you go on your way to Hell."

A Divided Church #3

Adjective Churches

This is a third major category of thing that brings division in church today.

Think about how often we tell about a church by describing it as a "black" church or "charismatic" church. If it is predominantly made up of a minority group we will label it that way. (Hispanic church, Korean church, etc.)

We also often reference a church by the average income level of those who attend. This can especially be seen in a small town or rural setting. Everyone knows where the "rich" church is located and where the "poor" church is located.

We also describe churches as "urban," "suburban," or "rural."

Obviously the previous are adjectives to the noun: church, but I think the problem arises when we hold more tightly to the adjective (descriptors) than we do the noun (church). For example, if we are a part of a "Hispanic" church and we may be prone to reject non-Hispanics in light of the fact they take away our identiy as a "Hispanic" church. We may reject rich people in favor of holding to our goal of being a "homeless/poor" mission church. We may reject people who could change our adjective. (Interesting topic of a possible future blog would be about rejecting people because they would change our noun... church.)

At our KY District Assembly last week the General Superintendent, Dr. Warrick, preached about claiming to be a Christian teacher. The problem, he said, was that we need to be a teaching Christian rather than a Christian teacher. Now, you could say that is all semantics, or you could recognize that the noun is different and the noun is the foundation the adjective rests upon. The noun is what is most important!

For the record, I think it is great to be a Cuban church, a redneck church, a holiness church, an upper-middle class church, or any other kind of church. The problem arises when we value our adjective (descriptor) over our noun (church). That brings division!

Homosexual Marriage...

I don't think I need to say anything more than this video does.

A Divided Church #2

Worship Wars

This is the second major thing that divides many churches today. It is sadly ironic that those two words ('worship' and 'war') are in the same sentence describing one thing.

It is most often divided into two sides: (1) traditional and (2) contemporary.

Although to really spice it up you can divide into a number of other categories...
(3) liturgical
(4) emergent (they have their own style?)

I could go on, but I am trying to make a point. An individual's personal preference is just that... a preference. In other words there is no God ordained style. Or is there?

We accept a Pentecostal style along with a United Methodist style (they are pretty diverse) along with a Presbyterian style worship. Where do we draw the line with appropriate worship, if we draw it at all?

John 4 tells the story of Jesus' interaction with the Samaritan woman at the well. When Christ begins to deal with her about her sinful lifestyle she wants to change the subject to: worship wars!

John 4:19-20 "The woman said to him, 'Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.'" (ESV)

Her issue did not have so much to do with style as it did physical location, but it was still a "worship war" issue.

Choose sides! Do you like hymns or choruses? Do you like responsive readings or testimonies? Do you like bright, well lit sanctuaries or dark, mellow coffee houses?

We so quickly get off on the wrong issue. Jesus brought the Samaritan woman back to the real issue in John 4:21-24 "Jesus said to her, 'Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.'" (ESV)

The true worshipers of God will worship the Father in Spirit and Truth (not style or preference)!