Nothing destroys a church like problems within party politics! The Corinthians, for example, were on the verge of a church split and Paul begged them to get along. Some quarrels are not worth the adrenaline and you don't have anything material to gain in the struggle: like Gen. George S. Patton's book Patton's Principles: A Handbook for Managers Who Mean It, where he posits that you should pick your battles; some just generate more heat than light! Don't fight and quarrel (and the servant of God must not quarrel according to 2 Timothy 2) over non-issues that have to vital doctrinal significance! Remember, above all Saint Augustine's dictum: "In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, charity."
A true believer, who belongs to the universal and catholic church of Christ should be in fellowship with all members of the family worldwide, and not just his own sect or denomination or party or even clique. What this boils down to is the tendency to judge and criticize and Paul warns against both of these weaknesses of man. It has always been from within that the enemy makes the most inroads: domestic terrorists, the syndicate or organized crime, traitors, double agents, spies, and even ourselves as Pogo said, "We have met the enemy, and he is us." John said, that the enemy is the world, the flesh, and the devil--that is our carnal nature or old man is working against God's will and is always present to defeat us and take away our victory.
Sometimes we can't agree on a leader, and we must realize that the only true leader is Christ, the only head of the church, who acts through the entire body of Christ, where no member can despise another. Sometimes it is the leader's fault for not mediating because often the buck stops there! If we can't agree on a leader like the Corinthians, then maybe we can agree on an arbiter like when they chose Paul to settle their dysfunctional family feud. As you may know, many families are very dysfunctional and as a body in Christ we are family, so there are likely to be jealousies, competitions, rivalries, contentions, etc., in the body, as sure as there is sibling rivalry and similar problematic relational situations. There may be some member who has a gift of wisdom and experience to settle a matter and be a daysman, middleman, or mediator in the dispute. We are all called to a ministry of reconciliation and to represent Christ to the world.
In sum, we can learn to walk hand-in-hand or to be in fellowship, without seeing eye-to-eye or agreeing on everything. There has to be room for disagreement (no one has a monopoly on wisdom and is infallible--not even the Pope) and we must learn to disagree without being disagreeable, contentious, argumentative, judgmental, or divisive. The reason we should strive for unity is because God is a unity or a union of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--they are one in essences and will ("I am in the Father and the Father is in Me.") and there is no conflict in the Godhead--division is against the nature of God and we should be aware of red flag issues and not go there if it is likely to upset people--they must be ready for the meat of the Word before it is fed. "[To equip the saints] until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood" (Ephesians 4:13, ESV). Finally, Ephesians 4:3 (ESV) says: "[I urge you to be] eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." Soli Deo Gloria!
A true believer, who belongs to the universal and catholic church of Christ should be in fellowship with all members of the family worldwide, and not just his own sect or denomination or party or even clique. What this boils down to is the tendency to judge and criticize and Paul warns against both of these weaknesses of man. It has always been from within that the enemy makes the most inroads: domestic terrorists, the syndicate or organized crime, traitors, double agents, spies, and even ourselves as Pogo said, "We have met the enemy, and he is us." John said, that the enemy is the world, the flesh, and the devil--that is our carnal nature or old man is working against God's will and is always present to defeat us and take away our victory.
Sometimes we can't agree on a leader, and we must realize that the only true leader is Christ, the only head of the church, who acts through the entire body of Christ, where no member can despise another. Sometimes it is the leader's fault for not mediating because often the buck stops there! If we can't agree on a leader like the Corinthians, then maybe we can agree on an arbiter like when they chose Paul to settle their dysfunctional family feud. As you may know, many families are very dysfunctional and as a body in Christ we are family, so there are likely to be jealousies, competitions, rivalries, contentions, etc., in the body, as sure as there is sibling rivalry and similar problematic relational situations. There may be some member who has a gift of wisdom and experience to settle a matter and be a daysman, middleman, or mediator in the dispute. We are all called to a ministry of reconciliation and to represent Christ to the world.
In sum, we can learn to walk hand-in-hand or to be in fellowship, without seeing eye-to-eye or agreeing on everything. There has to be room for disagreement (no one has a monopoly on wisdom and is infallible--not even the Pope) and we must learn to disagree without being disagreeable, contentious, argumentative, judgmental, or divisive. The reason we should strive for unity is because God is a unity or a union of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--they are one in essences and will ("I am in the Father and the Father is in Me.") and there is no conflict in the Godhead--division is against the nature of God and we should be aware of red flag issues and not go there if it is likely to upset people--they must be ready for the meat of the Word before it is fed. "[To equip the saints] until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood" (Ephesians 4:13, ESV). Finally, Ephesians 4:3 (ESV) says: "[I urge you to be] eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." Soli Deo Gloria!
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