The Truth about Church Divisions.

100% of the time, church divisions are unhealthy. Here's why.

"I pray also for those who will believe in me..that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you." - Jesus

Jesus prayed that prayer on the eve of the final day of his life. This prayer took place at the Passover dinner, famously known as The Last Supper, just moments after Judas left the dinner party to betray Christ to the authorities in exchange for a small pouch of coins.

As Jesus prepared to enter into his final day on earth, his prayer was for unity for his followers, who are collectively known as "the church."

Here are several reasons Jesus devoted his final, Last Supper prayer to the unity of believers.

Jesus understood betrayal.

“We often like to think of Jesus from a deistic perspective - fully God. But Jesus was also fully man. Jesus feels and Jesus hurts.”

No one understands disunity better than Jesus. Judas, the man who betrayed Jesus, was one of Jesus' closest friends. They ate together, they traveled together, they laughed together, they cried together, they served one another, and they served with one another - they even had communion together. But Judas' lust for money drove him to betray his relationship with Jesus.

We often like to think of Jesus from a deistic perspective - fully God. But Jesus was, is, also fully man. Jesus feels. And on that night, he felt the pain of betrayal. There are few things more painful than a family member turning on you; and within the context of the church, we claim to be family. So, with the pain of betrayal fresh on his mind and heavy on his heart, Jesus asks his Father to give his followers unity, to spare them the type of pain he was experiencing in that very moment.

Jesus understood the pain that is caused by disunity. Betrayal hurts. Divisions hurt. Jesus hurt.

Remember this if you find yourself be a negative, divisive force within your church.

Church divisions destroy the Body of Christ.

Church divisions are unhealthy 100% of the time.

When a doctor diagnoses a body with a broken or damaged autoimmune response, they immediately develop a treatment plan. A healthy body should not be attacking itself. A healthy body should have systems that nurture and support each other.

The idea here is simple: a body attacking itself is unhealthy. 100% of the time, church divisions are born out of toxic bitterness that people have towards one another within the church. This could be cause by pride, envy, or covetousness. One of the names for the church is "the Body of Christ." Church divisions are a disease = the Body attacking itself.

Church divisions is not church planting.

One argument for church division is church multiplication. If a church splits in two, you now have two churches! The more the better, right? Church divisions are not church multiplication. The writers of the New Testament constantly remind the church to avoid division at all costs and here's why:

"If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand." - Jesus

Church planting is healthy. Church reproduction is healthy. Just like people reproducing, the Body of Christ reproducing is healthy, natural, and within the will of God. The members of the Body slandering each other, competing with one another for titles and positions, and ultimately tearing apart churches: that's demonic.

Here's how a church gets planted: a church member, or group of members, believe they are called by God to serve people whom the church is not currently reaching. They come to the leadership team of the church and ask for their blessing and support in branching out and launching a new church. The church comes together to bless this new group of people, and sends them out to plant the church.

Or, I suppose you can just gather a group of angry and bitter church members and attempt to overthrow the pastor and take over the church. If that doesn't seem like a viable option, you can just rally as many people as possible to your cause and simply leave the church, reopen a new church down the street, pretend like you're reaching the community, and call it a church plant. Get the point?

Divisions diminish the message and effectiveness of the Gospel.

One of the central messages of the Gospel is unity. In case you missed that, re-read this article. A lack of unity within the church diminishes the efficacy of the Gospel.

Jesus preached unity. Jesus prayed for unity. Jesus lived unity. That's one of the things that made Jesus so attractive.

I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." Author Unknown

When it comes to church divisions: what would Jesus do?

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It's really quite simple. Disease must be treated: in physical bodies, and in spiritual ones. As a pastor, if you witness disunity growing within the Body you serve - address it immediately. If you are the source of disunity, repent immediately. A kingdom, or a body, or a church, divided against itself, cannot stand.

#pastoralleadership #churchplanting