Wednesday, February 01, 2006
a divided people*not sure how exactly to go about blogging about this. highly sensitive issue but i will try to be as candid as possible. to the people who i may refer to, pls dun take everything the wrong way k
was having lunch with my cousin and her husband when we started talking about a problem in their church. its the very problem that my own church is facing too. as they shared more about it, i was really comforted that things were not actually very bad in my church.
what am i actually referring to? a pretty serious problem know as church divisions. a situation when the members of the same church belong to opposite "camps". sometimes, things esclate,very sadly, to a territorial battle between the different groups. to think that such things happen in a christian setting that preaches of a unity in Christ.
to share a little more about what has been happening at my church. some of you may know that i belong to both the youth groups, 'crosslink' and 'youth ministry' that operate on saturday and sunday respectively. what started as an amiable relationship between both groups deteroiated to one that was full of tension about a year plus back due to a variety of reasons. a sizable number of us got caught in the middle of everything - we were attending and serving on both sides. each had different ways of doing things, differents styles of worship and dunno if this is the right way to put it, different convictions at times. of course, human pride complicated things a great deal too. thankfully, the situation is getting a little better now.
all along, especially when i started holding a position in crosslink, i had been bothered by this issue. i just felt so confused and sometimes irritated by the outlook of things. there were times when it certainly felt as if i was doing certain things out of obligations and duties. really dunno how things are going to improve but i pray that the new com would be wise in the efforts to bridge both ministries together.
but..like i said earlier, relatively speaking things are not too bad in my church. in my cousin's church, the problem is much bigger and concerns a whole lot more people. we are talking about two seperate services in their case. and there, you choose one between the two. bascially the root of the problem is the same as my church - different styles, different views on worship and, if i dare say, on theology too. o well..guess its a kind of power play and when the grown ups are at it..things usually are not so nice. i dun think that i should put the name of their church up here but pls pray for them k.
i think that everyone involved in such a thing knows that its wrong and should never be condoned. yet..we allow these things to perpetuate and sow discord among fellow believers. well..there is much that i can say but i thought that two passages in the bible[thanks liwei for one of them] would be better.
Divisions in the Church
I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that
all of you agree with one another so that there
may be no divisions among you and that you may be
perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you.What I mean is this: One of you says, "I follow Paul"; another, "I follow Apollos"; another, "I follow Cephas"; still another, "I follow Christ."
Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul?
1 cor 1:10-13
On Divisions in the Church
Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.You are still worldly.
For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," are you not mere men?
What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.
So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.
1 cor 3:1-9
yup..there should only be unity among believers. conflicts and disagreements would naturally happen from time to time but never should they be the catalyst for factions within the body of church. in the sinfulness of us all, lets continue and strive to truely learn the godly way of living on this earth.