{"id":21410,"date":"2020-11-08T11:39:28","date_gmt":"2020-11-08T16:39:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/?p=21410"},"modified":"2020-11-08T11:41:09","modified_gmt":"2020-11-08T16:41:09","slug":"conflicts-in-the-early-church-show-us-how-to-deal-with-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/conflicts-in-the-early-church-show-us-how-to-deal-with-them\/","title":{"rendered":"Conflicts in the early church show us how to deal with them"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cLet all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.\u00a0 And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you\u201d (Ephesians 4:31-32).<\/strong><\/p>\n

There is no problem-solving section of the Bible.<\/p>\n

Sorry if that disappoints you.<\/p>\n

What we do find across the New Testament are large servings of healthy food of the spiritual kind, instructions on how to serve God and live well\u00a0and relate to one another in the close confines of\u00a0the forever\u00a0family. Imbedded throughout are insights on resolving collisions between the Lord\u2019s children.<\/p>\n

Hold on.<\/p>\n

Do you mean to say that from the beginning Jesus expected clashes and collisions within His family? That His disciples would be torn apart by jealousies and competitions and divisions?<\/p>\n

It would appear He did.<\/p>\n


\nConflict is biblical.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not only did our Lord anticipate such conflicts, He observed them firsthand among the twelve and addressed them. Here are a couple of instances\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2013A disciple said to Jesus, \u201cTeacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to hinder him because he was not following us\u201d (Mark 9:38). How modern is that? Our denomination is best; the rest of you are failing God.<\/p>\n

Jesus was tolerant of a lot of things, but not this kind of spiritual snobbery.<\/p>\n

\u2013\u201cAnd hearing (that the sons of Zebedee had tried to gain the advantage over the other apostles by asking for the best places in the Kingdom), the ten began to feel indignant with James and John\u201d (Mark 10:41). The genes of competitiveness have been among us from the beginning.\u00a0 \u201cWe shall now give our ranking of the top ten churches in our denomination.\u201d \u201cMy church is better than your church.\u201d \u201cWe may not be the biggest church in town, but we\u2019re the best.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sometimes idealistic Christians want to drop out of church altogether because the congregations they\u2019ve found all have problems of one kind or another. \u201cWhatever happened to New Testament churches?\u201d they ask.<\/p>\n

Answer: They\u2019re all around us, doing exactly what the churches of the First Century did\u2013evangelize, preach, give, love, bicker, fight, and divide.<\/p>\n

Welcome to the real world.<\/p>\n

In resolving relationship squabbles within the Lord\u2019s family, certain scriptures should always occupy center stage. These three get my vote\u2026.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

1)\u00a0Preventing conflict before it starts:\u00a0<\/strong>The parable of Luke 17:7-10 will cure your egotistical need for attention, recognition, and appreciation before it has a chance to sabotage your relationships.<\/p>\n

When you have done everything\u2013get that? EVERYTHING!\u2013the Lord Jesus commanded, then say to yourself, \u201cI have not done anything special. I am only an unworthy servant, just doing my job.\u201d Say it and believe it.<\/p>\n

Do not, however, apply this to anyone else. Appreciate your co-workers, give honor to whom it is due. Say this only to yourself, and mean it.<\/p>\n

This action is directed toward yourself.<\/em><\/p>\n

If church members practiced this principle\u2013the embodiment of Ephesians 5:21\u2019s command to \u201csubmit to one another in the fear of Christ\u201d\u201390 percent of church conflicts would never happen.<\/p>\n

This attitude of submission and humility will allow a believer to\u00a0absorb a wrong and walk away from it, rather than retaliate. As Paul told the lawsuit-happy Corinthian church, \u201cWhy do you not rather suffer a wrong? Why not just let yourself be cheated?\u201d (I Cor. 6:7)<\/p>\n

Imagine for a moment your pastor preaching\u00a0that\u00a0<\/em>from the pulpit next Sunday. (I\u2019m remembering that Steve Brown once wrote a delightful little volume called \u201cNo More Mr. Nice Guy,\u201d in which he calls for the end of \u201cdoormat Christianity.\u201d Even so, there is a time for believers to absorb the hurt and walk away from a fight.)<\/p>\n

Please do not miss this point: The parable is calling for us\u2013you and me\u2013to cure our ego problems before they start.<\/p>\n

2)\u00a0Neutralizing the\u00a0<\/strong>Opposition once it starts:\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0Luke 6:27-35 instructs us on how to respond to\u00a0those who try to hurt us. We are to love them, although not in\u00a0the way we\u00a0might expect.\u00a0 Jesus\u00a0specifies four actions which fulfill the command to love our tormentors: Do good works for them, speak good words to them, pray good blessings upon them, and give good gifts to them.<\/p>\n

The Luke 17:7-10 parable was directed toward ourselves, but the action of Luke 6:27-35 is directed toward others.<\/em><\/p>\n

Do good, bless, pray, and give<\/em>.\u00a0 Anytime someone is mistreating you, retaliate with a bombardment of these four weapons of love.<\/p>\n

Do that and the animosity is stopped dead in its tracks.\u00a0No fire can spread when the fuel is removed.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

When the person stirring up strife becomes the target of more and more loving actions\u2013the more he tries to stir up strife, the more we love him\u2013<\/em>he will eventually get the point and humble himself and repent, or he will\u00a0stop his destructive behavior out of sheer embarrassment.<\/p>\n

Either way, the infection is contained.<\/p>\n

This is not all that should be done, of course, when someone begins to stir up dissension inside a congregation. The lay leadership should call on him and ask \u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d (and listen to the answer), followed by, \u201cWe\u2019re asking you to stop it. Now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, those being targeted by these destructive acts should be responding with good deeds, blessings, prayers, and gifts, the four most basic acts of love.<\/p>\n

Why? What\u2019s the point?\u00a0By these acts of love toward the offenders, we achieve many things, including erasing our own anger. I\u2019m not sure how that works, only that it does. When I do loving things toward the person doing me wrong, I no longer resent him.<\/p>\n

The writer of Hebrews must have had this in mind when he said, \u201cSee to it that\u2026.no root of bitterness springs up causing trouble and by it many be defiled\u201d (Hebrews 12:15). When we do acts of love toward congregational troublemakers, bitterness finds no fertile soil with which to take root.<\/p>\n

3)\u00a0Curing the Infection after it takes hold:\u00a0<\/strong>Acts 6:1-7 shows how the early church faced division head-on. They dealt with it in such a satisfying manner that outsiders, prone to criticizing, were impressed to the point that they wanted in on what they saw.\u00a0 This passage demands a longer treatment in order to highlight the principles at work here.<\/p>\n

And, let us note, these actions are directed toward the conflict itself. (The first two principles were directed toward ourselves and the wrongdoers.)
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

–a) Promptness<\/strong>: As soon as the leaders saw the problem, they went into action.<\/p>\n

Something inside us wants to say, \u201cLeave it alone and it will go away.\u201d Once in a while, it does. But usually it doesn\u2019t. I\u2019ve held funerals for people who delayed seeing\u00a0a doctor\u00a0when troubling signs occurred and paid the ultimate price for their negligence.<\/p>\n

\u201cBe diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bonds of peace\u201d (Ephesians 4:3). That is the assignment of every church leader: Guard the unity of the congregation.<\/p>\n

–b) Proposal<\/strong>: The apostles summoned the congregation and laid out a strategy for resolving the issue. The plan accomplished several goals\u2013<\/p>\n

\u2013it allowed the leadership to stay with their priorities of \u201cthe word of God\u201d (vs. 2) and \u201cprayer and the ministry of the word\u201d (vs. 4).<\/p>\n

\u2013it respected the congregation\u2019s ability to handle this in whatever way\u00a0it chose.<\/p>\n

\u2013it did not abandon the congregation to its own devices\u2013a sure recipe for dissension\u2013but gave direction: \u201cChoose 7 men; men of the highest caliber; put them in charge of this task.\u201d<\/p>\n

–c)Parameters<\/strong>:The disciples were still the church\u2019s leaders. Do not miss this.<\/p>\n

\u2013The disciples\u2019 work was of a\u00a0more critical\u00a0nature than\u00a0passing out groceries\u00a0(vs. 2,4).\u00a0 The seven would be taking a burden off the apostles. When this little group\u00a0did their work well, they would meet needs of the congregation, relieve the concerns of the apostles, and enable the spread of the gospel. A church\u2019s support staff should be honored to have the privilege of removing burdens from their ministers so that they might do the work of the gospel.<\/p>\n

\u2013The seven chosen were to be godly and mature. (vs. 3) Put immature and carnal men in these places of service and you will create far more problems than you had in the first place. A church makes an eloquent statement about itself by the caliber of leaders it chooses.<\/p>\n

\u2013The seven were put in charge of \u201cthis task\u201d and only that. They were not given permanent status, apparently, they were not the business managers of the congregation, and by no stretch of the imagination can it be said that they were supervisors or authorities over the apostles.<\/p>\n

\u2013Once the congregation chose them, the seven were brought back to\u00a0the apostles. \u201cAfter praying, they laid their hands on them.\u201d (vs. 6) They had to pass muster with the apostles, who then commissioned them.<\/p>\n

\u2013The seven were accountable both to the congregation that\u00a0selected them as well as the apostles who commissioned them. The church which selects officers and lay leaders without making them accountable to the pastors is asking for trouble.<\/p>\n

–d) Flexibility.\u00a0<\/strong>The situation demanded a solution for which there was no manual.\u00a0 So, the apostles\u2013we\u2019re not sure what process they followed\u2013came together on a plan and gave it to the church.<\/p>\n

Sometimes we conservatives want to make a manual of the Bible.\u00a0 Now, we know about manuals, don\u2019t we? Buy a washing machine or a cell phone or a new car and you are awarded a thick book which tells you all the features of this model and answers most of your questions.\u00a0 Is the Bible a manual for the Christian life?<\/p>\n

Yes and no.<\/p>\n

It is, in the sense that God has told us in these pages all we need to know for \u201clife and godliness\u201d (II Peter 1:3).\u00a0 We will not be needing a second book, thank you Mary Baker Eddy, Joseph Smith, and others. This one suffices quite well.<\/p>\n

But it is not a strait jacket, not a set-in-concrete form which fits all occasions.\u00a0The Word\u00a0is alive and God-breathed and amazing in how it speaks to all kinds of situations, although not in a dead, harsh way.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m of the opinion that if your church requires deacons, you should get some. If it doesn\u2019t need any, then don\u2019t have deacons. If it needs elders, fine. And so with anything else (within reasonable bounds) the leadership may decide the church requires in order to meet a need that has arisen.<\/p>\n

–e) Peace<\/strong>.They did their work well. And, we note\u2026.<\/p>\n

\u2013We have no idea what they actually did about the problem. Did they interview widows, ask their wives for their slant on the problem, take a poll?\u00a0 What concrete steps did they take? We have no idea.<\/p>\n

The story was never intended to present a\u00a0historical account of who did what to whom, but to illustrate how the first church dealt with division within their ranks. In so doing, they established an outstanding pattern for future generations of churches..<\/p>\n

\u2013The names of the seven, we\u2019re told, are all Greek. If the congregation chose the seven peacemakers from the minority group (the complainers being Greek believers), this speaks volumes about the love and trust in these early believers.<\/p>\n

\u2013The seven are not actually called \u201cdeacons\u201d here. While we believe this to be the origin of the diaconate within the church, there is no way to prove it.<\/p>\n

\u2013Those wishing to situate the deacons as authorities over the ministers have a problem with Scripture. In Ephesians 4:11, the church leaders are \u201capostles and prophets, evangelists and pastor\/teachers.\u201d Nothing is said of deacons.\u00a0To conclude that we are denigrating the work of these men (and occasionally women) is to miss the point altogether.\u00a0<\/em>The church then and now needs the service of faithful members with a heart to work and a willingness to do whatever the task requires without thought of controlling or gaining recognition.<\/p>\n

Thank God for faithful servants, in the pulpit and in the pew.<\/p>\n

Thank God for pastors who serve well with no demand for titles, honors, and recognition. Likewise, we thank Him for deacons and teachers and clerks, for office staff and custodians and groundskeepers who do their work for the pleasure of the Savior and the edifying of His church.<\/p>\n

From time to time, church staff members (that is, \u201cnon-pastors\u201d) will complain that the pastor gets all the attention and recognition, the honors and the applause, and how unfair is that.\u00a0 Maybe it is. But according to Luke 17:7-10, no minister at any level\u2013no disciple of the Lord Jesus at all\u2013should\u00a0resent that others are receiving more appreciation than they. Let us consider ourselves \u201cunworthy servants only doing our duty.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the same time we should show\u00a0appreciation for others who do\u00a0faithful work. This is a paradox of the kind the Lord is fond of giving: \u201cWe win by losing.\u201d \u201cWe gain by giving up.\u201d \u201cWe live by dying.\u201d And, we humble ourselves while honoring others.<\/p>\n

Stay alert\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the problems of resolving conflicts among God’s people is that nothing stays fixed for long. So, when you have done the steps of Acts 6:1-7 and the Lord\u2019s work goes forward, do not expect to be able to tie a bow on it and put the whole business in the attic.<\/p>\n

The enemy is always at work, ever on the prowl in search for your weak points or weak members.<\/p>\n

We must always be on the alert for trouble, constantly training our congregational leaders to deal with trouble, and never surprised or panicked when conflict rears its head.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cLet all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.\u00a0 And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you\u201d (Ephesians … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,27,51],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-conflict","category-church-leadership","category-healthy-church"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21410","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21410"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21410\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21421,"href":"https:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21410\/revisions\/21421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}