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With so many ideologies in today’s world, people find disagreement anywhere from the right way to recycle, to how to vote.
In today’s interconnected world of unlimited media content, news cycles, consumerism, cultures, and subcultures, we often face a whirlwind of clashing ideologies. With so many ideologies in today’s world, people find disagreement anywhere from the right way to recycle, to how to vote.
While there’s plenty of division within the world, we even see division within the Church. Church history is full of parting sects based on differing beliefs and religious reform. While there may be reason for reformation in the face of corruption or deviation from God’s word, how does the Church ultimately remain united? Afterall, Jesus came to establish God’s Kingdom –– uniting Jews and Gentiles alike.
In today’s blog I will be going over the importance of pastors keeping their churches united in a world of clashing ideology.
You may have met or talked to someone lately who didn’t like the sign in someone’s front yard, couldn’t believe the bumper sticker on a car, rolled their eyes at what someone shared on social media, was ridiculed for what stores they support or don’t support, or couldn’t believe the movie someone loved or loathed. If this is the case, you may have picked up on a sense of derision (and division) in society.
Put simply by Aaron Earles of Lifeway Research: “Americans don’t agree on much except that they don’t agree on much.”
Citing an Ipsos Global Advisor Poll, Earles points out that 57% of Americans agree that the country “is divided by ‘cultural wars.’” The poll shows that Americans share this belief based on “what they see on TV,” the news, online, and conversing with others.
With a little more than half of the nation agreeing on being divided by “cultural wars,” what are some of these hot-button issues that separate us?
Lifeway Research has broken down general categories of tension, and shows the percentage of people who answered that the nation faces division over these categories. These are some of those categories listed:
Of course tensions within the nation go even deeper than this. Tensions can be anywhere from ideologies within politics, even beyond parties; I.E. traditional views vs. progressive views. Tensions can be deeper than simply “poor and rich”; perhaps ideas of unequal opportunity or nepotism. When it comes to gender, tensions can range from equal pay, gender roles, sexuality, or identity. Ideas of culture vs. integration, stereotypes, or discrimination add to the tensions of immigration and race.
Any one of us can feel these tensions at any point in our day.
As Christians, we are not simply absolved of the tensions of the world.
When it comes to the Church, a 2018 Lifeway Research study showed that those who attend a Protestant or nondenominational church were divided on whether or not they prefer attending a church that shares their political views. In this study, 46% of surveyees agreed that they do prefer a church that shares their political views while 42% disagreed and 12% weren’t sure.
Controversial topics aren’t always as simple as agreeing or disagreeing on an opinion. Rather, everyone of us has a different background or experience that shapes the way we think or perceive things.
Where some may be surprised to see such differences of opinion, experiences, or cultures within the church, we have to remember that the Church body is open to all people of different backgrounds. In the Bible, John’s vision even shows us “a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages,” standing before God and proclaiming His salvation (Revelation 7:9-11). This is the ideal Church.
With so many different backgrounds, formed with so many different opinions and perspectives, how do we have unity within the Church?
While we may be exposed to so many messages, ideologies, and opinions on a daily basis, the way we can truly grow closer to God, and therefore closer in unity as the Church, is to study and meditate on what God’s Word tells us.
As important a time as any, pastors should place emphasis on:
Some churches may take a heavy, outspoken stance on divisive topics, such as partisan politics. While it’s not wrong to stand up for what you believe in, the Bible can often be used to service political ideologies of the world rather than putting the Bible first.
Furthermore, certain members of the congregation may not fully agree with these ideologies –– drawing a dividing line from the pulpit. As brothers and sisters of Christ, we should be able to address these topics and talk about them. Most importantly though, the focus should be placed on the Bible and how that informs our worldview.
Meditating on the Bible allows us to not only understand God’s word, but it also begins to change our own ideology. The more time we spend taking in the things of the world, from the content we consume, to the media we read, and the news that informs us, the more it begins to inform our own views of the world. When we spend time with the Bible, reading it and meditating on it, that worldview begins to naturally align with God’s.
As pastors place more emphasis on the Bible, teaching closely to what the Scripture says, and encourage ways for the congregation to seriously spend time with the Word, churches will be built on a stronger foundation of faith that begins to see less division.
With God and His Word as the foundation, we as the congregation have an order of authority of which to base these hard conversations on. In disagreement, we can learn together how we might be able to answer some of these difficult questions based on what the Bible tells us.
Because humanity has always had a history of fighting and dividing over disagreements, the Bible recognizes this and addresses the importance of unity within the Church.
Unity is talked about in the apostles’ letters and even spoken from Jesus Himself. The book of Acts paints us a picture of the Church, showing what it looks like to serve, worship, and live with one another. In Paul’s letters to the churches, we find pleads of:
“I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose” (1 Corinthians 1:10).
In Matthew 18:15-19, we even see Jesus guide us on how to address and handle conflict with people in the Church.
The Bible is rich with verses that speak on the unity of the Church, allowing pastors the opportunity to really communicate the importance of unity from a Biblical perspective to their churches.
Making sure your church is built on a strong biblical foundation of shared beliefs can be difficult when it comes to navigating divisive topics.
Thankfully there are sermon preparation tools that can assist pastors in creating strong messages that lay the foundation of God. With these tools, pastors can generate effective sermon outlines, quick search verses and Bible stories, create character studies, and come up with modern day examples of Biblical stories.
While humanity is imperfect and continues to fight over the clashing ideologies of the world, the Church can unite over the foundation that God has laid for us.
In growing closer to the life that God has called us to live, we can start to become the answer to Jesus’ prayer:
“I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me” (John 17:22-23).
