Day 21: Protecting Your Church

Sorry that I'm getting to this late tonight. I worked today and am having issues with my laptop. I think it needs a new battery. But oh well, there are other more important things to concern myself with. It works off the cord and for now, that's good enough. Back to the book.

Today's chapter is all about protecting the church. When I think of protecting something, I think of defending it from outside attacks. But in the church, a lot of times what happens is the attacks come from within. This is something I have experienced in the past. Maybe you have seen it, or experienced it too. I don't think I've ever left a church because of internal conflicts, but I have have seen people leave our church over it.

So, there are things I can do that will help prevent internal conflicts. Remember yesterday, I said that God wants unity, not uniformity. He made us all different for His purpose. A church full of people just like me wouldn't be very exciting. Always remember, God didn't want us to all be the same. If he did, we would be. Plain and simple. But, to protect unity in the church, I do need to focus on the things we do have in common. Foremost on that list is God.

God and the Bible are the anchor, something we all believe in. Once we loose focus on the things we agree on, we can move past the differences right? But why is it SO HARD? It seems I'm wired to notice differences in people. I have to move past that if I want to keep unity in the church. God commands us not to judge one another. Focusing on what makes someone different is a sure fire path to division in the church.

I don't think I have high expectations of others, I don't expect people to be perfect, I just wish they were more like me. But, I'm a train wreck, so that's not realistic either. I can protect the unity in the Church the same way I protect fellowship with other believers. I own up to my own short comings and with grace accept the short comings of others. Besides, there are so, so many talented people in our church, if I am holding them under a microscope are they doing it too? It's only natural to think that if I'm judging other, they are judging me too. That road leads to paranoia.

One thing I do not do is gossip. Part of it is just that I don't want people talking about me. Part of it is that I tend want to hear it "from the horses mouth". Unless it's about me and you, don't come to me with a problem. However, if you have a problem with me, come to me second, after you've talked to God that is. That's God's plan for conflict resolution.

There's one more thing that is important for keeping unity at church. I have to support the leaders and pastors. I think I do a pretty good job of that. I love our pastors and all the leaders at our church. I've said it before that they model what they preach. They model what I've been learning about in this book.

The Bible verse is again from the Book of Romans:

So then, let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up.
Rom 14:19 (NLT)

The quotes in these last three days have been really relevant to the reading, but for more on these subjects, the Book of John (not the Gospel), and the Book of James both offer excellent advice for living in harmony with each other, within the church, and within small groups.

The questionWhat am I personally doing to protect unity in my church family right now? I have been working on reaching out to people in church, and have been working towards becoming a small group leader on this book to help others understand the importance of living for God's purpose.

Remember: It is my responsibility to protect the unity of my church.