Unity?
….could there be a reason this subject was the only recorded prayer Jesus gave for future followers? Or the fact that this subject is taught with passion numerous times in the New Testament by Paul? Perhaps God knows something we don’t… a simple yet novel thought in our “Christian” world today.
I write this post with mixed feelings. On the one hand my fierce discernment for right and wrong demands right; while on the other, I understand my own shortcomings and need for humility. Yet I have for the last several months practiced restraint. There comes a point where wrong should be exposed and perhaps lessons can be learned.
These thoughts are at the forefront of my thoughts due to the situation at my home church in West Virginia. My Dad has been there as a pastor for 12 years. Nearly two years ago the senior pastor left abruptly following a $15 million building project to take a church in Southern California. Since that time, there has been no progress in finding solid leadership. My Dad put his name in for the position, but for reasons never explained, the elders and search committee would not let him come to the congregation for a vote. Contrary to what I would have done, he handled the situation with grace and humility. Never being one to cause division or strife. Yet he has been treated as one whom you would think he was trying to split the church for his own benefit.
He has been removed from the pulpit three times, all various and incoherent reasons, and has been referenced as the “Jesse problem” by men claiming to lead the local body of Christ. The elders and deacons will not listen to questions from those who ask reasons for decisions. Backroom deals and meetings are common. The church is now $16 million in debt for the building and people are angry and saddened. I don’t want to be harsh, yet I feel time for allowing things to continue without expressing my feelings is over.
This past weekend (my Dad’s 50th birthday celebration) was a difficult one. I have never seen my Dad as upset and hurt as he was then. I know he has made mistakes and is not perfect, but I do know his heart. All he wants is to use the gifts God has given him to shepherd the flock of Christ. Yet now, due to a few men’s pride and disillusionment, his life’s passion is slowly being drained from him.
My entire family is asking…why? This is senseless. How can God allow men like this to be in control of one of his flocks? I know firsthand the politics that can severely hamper the work of God from WITHIN the church. I have a lot to learn about how to deal with it when I know it will show up again. Perhaps that is the reason. I am a firm believer that everything that happens to us as believers is God making us the people He wants us to be. Who we are is more important to God than What we do. He can use sin and ungodly people to accomplish this…and that will forever cause me to be amazed.
So in this difficult and sad time I have several prayers. I pray first that God will be glorified in all of this. I pray also as David did in Psalms that those who seek to slit the body of Christ and mistreat God’s anointed would reap the fruits of their labor. I pray for action within the congregation, this can still be stopped if people step up for their church (or else I fear for a church split, and bankruptcy). And I pray for my Dad that God would show Himself strong to him.
…but what do I know? I am a little partial to my family…physical and spiritual…both need and depend on Unity.