Church Fights Are Nothing New

Acts 15:36-16:5

“The disagreement became so sharp that they parted company…” (Acts 15:39). That’s the way that Acts describes the falling out between Paul and his fellow evangelist Barnabas. Indeed, because of their inability to agree the two former partners headed off in entirely separate directions. This passage may sound all too familiar to our modern ears. Just about every week I hear reports of individual Christians or entire congregations “parting company” over “sharp disagreements.” Such news should sadden us all. Unity is one of the most powerful resources that God’s people can bring to bear in the world today and when that unity is threatened it diminishes all of us. Fingers are pointed and blame is assigned at the precise moment when hands should be offered in peace and forgiveness sought in humility.

But let’s not miss the bigger picture contained in Acts. Yes, Paul and Barnabas disagreed so strongly that they ceased to work together. But it did not keep either one of them from working, from doing the Lord’s will as each man understood it. At the end of the day it was, as it had always been, God’s church, the body of Christ as work in the world. And it appears that God chose to work through both Paul and Barnabas to convey the good news of the gospel. The two men may have differed with each other, but it was by no means a hindrance to God’s will.

Disagreements rise and fall, but God alone remains Sovereign over human history. Does parting company serve a purpose? I believe it can. There are times when the best thing to do is to simply step away from a situation. But that says more about us than it ever will about God. God is perfectly capable of working through the “other guy” as much as through us.

Imagine that!

Prayer: O God, forgive us when our inability to work together causes us to part ways but help us to understand that your will is done despite our own perspectives. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

When Is Enough Enough?

Matthew 18:10-20

What in Matthew’s gospel may sound like a lost cause may not be all that final. Jesus is discussing conflict within the church when he says, “If the member refuses to listen to (two or three members), tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector” (Matthew 18:17). The key terms here are church, Gentile, and tax collector, and they deserve some careful attention.

First of all, we know that Jesus is really talking past the disciples to us because the church is a post-resurrection reality, birthed at Pentecost. How then are we to deal with the likes of Gentiles and tax collectors? Jesus can’t mean that we give up on them entirely. The mission of the church, as given by Jesus later in Matthew’s gospel, is to go and “make disciples of all nations (i.e. Gentiles)” (28:19). And Jesus himself has already expressed his concern for tax collectors in particular by calling a tax collector named Matthew to become a disciple. When Jesus’ choice of dinner companions (“sinners and tax collectors”) was questioned he answered, “I have come to call not the righteous, but sinners” (9:1-9).

When Jesus says that those who refuse to listen to the church should be treated as Gentiles and tax collectors he is not giving up on them, but singling them out for a renewed effort at reconciliation. So I would suggest that Jesus’ words in Matthew 18 are not a warning to those who disagree with the church, but a reminder to the church – as the body of Christ at work in the world – “to call not the righteous, but sinners,” and “to go and make disciples of all nations.” In other words enough is never enough.

Prayer: Lord, open our hearts to those who need the good news, and grant us the patience to live you word into reality. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Reality Check

Acts 15:36-16:5

To its credit the book of Acts does not present an unrealistic picture of the early church. Our reading for today proves the point. “The disagreement became so sharp that they parted company; Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus. But Paul chose Silas and set out, the believers commending him to the grace of the Lord” (Acts 15:39-40). It really doesn’t matter what the argument was about. It happened, and the author of Acts makes no effort to hide the “sharp disagreement” from us. I think that is important.

I’ve spent the majority of my life involved in the church at various levels and in various ways. It can be a messy place, with disagreements over some interesting things. People get their feelings hurt. Friendships sour. Entire congregations split. It happens, and to say otherwise would be dishonest. Acts makes no attempt to hide the unpleasant truth and as far as I’m concerned that adds veracity to its story.

But shouldn’t the people of God be above that sort of thing? Shouldn’t “church folk” get along, live in perfect harmony, agree on everything? Sure, the church should be a place of joy and of unity, but first and foremost it is a place for real people with real problems—like pride and fear and anger and insecurity. Real people are going to have real misunderstandings. But our very real God is going to be at work nonetheless, and though there will be unpleasantness and turmoil from time to time, there will also be real signs of grace and mercy, opportunities to grow in faith and in love. The church is about moving towards the reign of God. We aren’t there yet, but we really are getting closer.

Prayer: Lord of all, help us to work through our very real disagreements in mutual love and respect, supporting one another even when we see things differently. In Jesus’ name. Amen.