This is Not a Game

This week I heard some news about a fairly new church in South Carolina that knocked the wind out of me. The details are not important, but suffice to say that there are some differences of opinion among the leaders of the church that appear to be unresolvable. First of all, I am sad whenever people who claim to be following Jesus cannot resolve their differences. I do not think that is what Paul means when he uses the words “one body” to describe the unity that we should have. Second, I am sad about all of the people within the church that will get caught in the crossfire. People will have to “choose sides” on the issues, which leads to all sorts of confusion, gossip, and bitterness, and can literally wreck lives.

But the thing that weighs the heaviest on me about this situation has nothing to do with this other church. It is the seriousness of my own role in helping pastor a church. Contrary to many of the attitudes in the “church planting” world, this is NOT a game. This is not a contest to see who can come up with the “coolest” church and get the most people to show up. People’s eternal lives are at stake. And as I have written before, that scares me to death.

As much fun as we like to have at Midtown, I hope that we will never be flippant with or cheapen the name of Jesus. I pray that God will continue to use us simply to point people in Columbia towards him. That He will give us unity and protect us from the many pitfalls that could destroy our church and damage people’s lives. And that I and the other leaders of our church will be the kind of men that are worthy of leading others in this mission.