Letters to Christ's Beloved Church

Division in the Church

There are two kinds of division scripturally, one that is created BY God for his purpose, and one that is an attack of the enemy, or due to the sinful nature of man.

When a church finds itself under constant division, or in one large division, the question the pastor and/or elders/leaders must ask is,

What is the will of God here? Where is God leading me or us as a church?

In my experience, three things are needed for all leaders and ministry that will help navigate through hard times:

One: An attitude of active rest.

Psalms 46:10 NKJV
[10] Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!

https://bible.com/bible/114/psa.46.10.NKJV

II Chronicles 20:15 NKJV
[15] And he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the Lord to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.

https://bible.com/bible/114/2ch.20.15.NKJV

Zechariah 4:6 NKJV
[6] So he answered and said to me: “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the Lord of hosts.

https://bible.com/bible/114/zec.4.6.NKJV


Matthew 6:13 NKJV
[13] And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

https://bible.com/bible/114/mat.6.13.NKJV

(Note that in the Lord’s Prayer we are asking God to deliver us from the evil one. We are not delivering ourselves.)

Beyond those verses regarding the rest that God commands us to we know that the first day of man was the Sabbath rest, and we are fully aware of the scriptures in Hebrews that encourages us to enter into his rest. It is difficult to stop, to be still. To let God be God.

So this battle is his. Not ours. The victory is his. There is a time and a season to everything and certainly there are times where we lift up the sword and we fight, but the battle belongs to God. Our job is to listen, to repent ourselves when necessary, and to look to his perfection and for his mercy and help when we and others have completely failed. Welcome To The Cross.

Our attitude of resting in his grace, the attitude of rest, which I personally still struggle with daily, is your stance, your spiritual posture.

We can be swinging our swords in battle, we can swing a bat or a golf club, but if we do not have the stance that is needed for whatever it is we are trying to do, nothing else will be effective.

In Christ, REST.


Two: Ask. Pray. Have people praying.

But when you ask and pray, ask according to His will.

Very often I hear people ask me to pray, or ask others to pray for their will. While it is true that God hears our requests, and there is a balance here, we are to pray for God’s will to be done, not ours.


Some examples of praying our will:

“Lord, please let me get this house I put a bid in for.” Instead of, “Lord, if it is your will, please let me get this house.”

“Lord, please let this person be my wife/husband.” Instead of, “Lord, please direct my steps and this person’s steps and let us marry the one you intended.”

“Lord, please let this person be our new pastor.” Instead of, “Lord, please direct our steps to hire the person you desire to lead us.”

We can certainly bring our requests to Him, but we are to follow Christ’s example,

Luke 22:42 NKJV
[42] saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.”

https://bible.com/bible/114/luk.22.42.NKJV

LOL and then of course there’s the famous children’s prayers – for God hears children’s prayers – God please give me a bike, or a Ferrari….🤷‍♀️

As we grow into maturity, we need to very carefully pray according to God’s will. God is full of grace, mercy and love, but how does James tell us we should pray?

James 4:2-3, 13-16 ESV
[2] You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. [3] You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

Then he deals further down with our attitude regarding humility before God and acknowledging and allowing for God’s will (not ours.) Godly humility is so powerful.

[13] Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—

[14] yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

[15] Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”

[16] As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

https://bible.com/bible/59/jas.4.2-16.ESV

And we see a similar humility and submissive spirit in the Apostle Paul:

II Corinthians 12:7-10 NKJV

[7] And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.

[8] Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.

[9] And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

[10] Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

https://bible.com/bible/114/2co.12.7-10.NKJV

Three: Listen. Listen. Love.

Any mature Christian can see quite quickly that my husband is the spiritual leader in our household.

I talk. He listens.

If our maturity spiritually is measured by agape love, which is patient, all you have to do is get on the highway with somebody and see who is mature and who is not.

Yes, I’m still a work in progress…🤷‍♀️

James 1:19-20 ESV
[19]  Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; [20] for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

https://bible.com/bible/59/jas.1.19-20.ESV

I am not going to print all of First Corinthians 13 out, but feel free to review it if you have not yet perfected it…🙃

One of the biggest things I struggle with very simply is loving.

I am blessed with knowledge in Scripture and love it, but the Bible tells me that without love, my knowledge is nothing, and so I constantly have to stay at the cross of Jesus Christ and remember that the only thing that’s anything, is him and what he has done for me.

The Apostle Paul teaches us as well, all of his studying, all of his theology, he counted as nothing compared to the knowledge of Jesus Christ and the danger of pastors and teachers very simply is that we forget this.


We brought nothing into this world and we will take nothing physical with us out of it, but those lives we have reached for Jesus Christ with his love are eternal, and while I do not know this for a fact, surely they are our reward before the Father?


So we can have knowledge and know exactly what the people under us need to do, but then God throws a wrench into the mix, because the Sheep for some strange reason…

do not line up in perfect order,
they are not marching in beat and singing in Perfect Harmony
nor are they making sure that their wool is perfectly clean
and they certainly aren’t doing exactly what we tell them to do.


At least I know my kids don’t do that…( and don’t tell anybody, but I don’t do it either.)

Nope. We tend to stray, get hurt and the silliest ways, and basically act like sheep.

So we can have knowledge, but what we need is love.

We know exactly what is needed for those under us, but all too often what we fail to see is that while we are striving to direct them into the perfect solution and vision, the spirit of God is striving to cause us as well as them to grow, refining us and teaching us what it means to love – Like Jesus Christ loves.

Patience, kindness, self control – understanding that our vision for our children or a group of people or our church might be that everything get implemented yesterday, but the sheep are going all over the place and then we have to go back to the great Shepherd, and ask for wisdom.

Remembering that training in righteousness takes a lifetime.

Lord Jesus, what is your will for my life and for this church?

Isaiah 9:6 ESV
[6]  For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

https://bible.com/bible/59/isa.9.6.ESV

The government is on Your shoulders, not mine.

So while we are little by little trying to help Implement change according to the direction that God is giving us within the church that God has put under our care,

…whether that be the church of God or the family,

…we are growing in love and grace and learning to be patient.


We may want to reach the world for Jesus Christ, but God may want to reach the people inside the home or the church and strengthen them for five or 10 or 40 years, until they’re properly ready to take on the vision God has given.

Remember Moses? Ready to take on the world and kills an Egyptian, and spends 40 years on the backside of a desert. But the time was not wasted because the 40 years he spent back there, no doubt we’re 40 Years of preparation for the 40 years he was going to bring the people of God through that same desert. Patience.

Remember Joseph? Has not one but two dreams that his brothers will bow down to him.

Then get sold as a slave, thinks he has it pretty decent under Potiphar,

…then gets lied on and ends up in jail unjustly
… then interprets some dreams and thinks he’s going to get freed…
… then wait two more years if I remember correctly, and finally is brought before the pharaoh.

But the most important and amazing part of that story is this right here:

Genesis 45:4-5, 7-8 ESV
[4] So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt.

[5] And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life…


[7] And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors.

[8] So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.

https://bible.com/bible/59/gen.45.4-8.ESV

To everything there is a time and a season.

Can you imagine what would happen, and this absolutely has to be by the spirit of God, if that was the attitude we took toward the people that were coming up against us?

That may or may not be the proper response to your situation, whoever you may be. Just don’t be afraid of considering it as a possible response.

God is still in charge In This Moment In Time. There is a work he’s doing here and we need to figure out what it is, and if we can’t then we need to be still and just simply wait on God.

*******

When I started I said there were two kinds basically a division so I’m going to list different divisions in Scriptures. The story of Joseph was one.



Divisions God Created for His Purposes

One: Tower of Babel

Genesis 11:1, 6-8 ESV
[1] Now the whole earth had one language and the same words.

[6] And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.

[7] Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.”

[8] So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city.

https://bible.com/bible/59/gen.11.1-8.ESV

Two: Rehoboam and Jeroboam

2 Chronicles 11:1-4 ESV
[1]  When Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled the house of Judah and Benjamin, 180,000 chosen warriors, to fight against Israel, to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam.

[2] But the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah the man of God:

[3] “Say to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin,

[4] ‘Thus says the Lord, You shall not go up or fight against your relatives. Return every man to his home, for this thing is from me.’” So they listened to the word of the Lord and returned and did not go against Jeroboam.

https://bible.com/bible/59/2ch.11.1-4.ESV


This whole story starts back a bit. Because of King Solomon’s sin, God said he was going to tear part of the Kingdom out of his hand and give it to somebody else. This starts in second Chronicles chapter 10 when Jeroboam rises up against King Rehoboam.

King Rehoboam’s natural response was to gather an army to attack Jeroboam, which would make logical sense. Rehoboam was King David’s grandson. A usurper was taking over the kingdom.

But now there is a division in the Kingdom of Israel. Israel is now divided into what will be known as Israel and Judah. Yet the spirit of God is working on both sides.

When I perceive the division from the Roman Catholic church and the Protestants – I’m not trying to make an exact reflection – it is very similar in my eyes.

The division that came, came at a time where the leadership in the Catholic Church was very ungodly.

One of Martin Luther’s contemporaries urged him to slow down, to give it time. Martin Luther did not agree, they were divided. Who was right and who was wrong in that is up for God to judge. But in spite of the mess God was still working.

Truly, the very large body of the Catholic Church did transition into many of the things that Martin Luther was advocating for, only it took 100 years. And I do not know how many Lutherans know this, or how many Catholics know this, but not that long ago, I believe within the past 50 Years anyway, there was effort for reconciliation between the two and documents written and apologies made. And there was reconciliation.

So the Spirit of God was working on both accounts and in both groups in his mercy and Grace and kindness and gentleness.

Martin Luther certainly had his errors that were quite evident, so did the Catholic Church.

(To this day one of the things that drives me absolutely bonkers – and yes! I understood what Luther meant and those words worked for that time and season, but still! – was how we can quote, “Solo Scriptura,” “Scripture alone,” except those words are not in the Scripture🤯! But any good Lutheran pastor surely must disagree with me or you would be jeopardizing your degree…🤷‍♀️🙃 Grace.)

But the spirit of God is working nonetheless, where Jesus Christ is lifted up as Lord and where Faith Works by love. And our Lord is kind and gracious and loving and does not give us perfect knowledge or understanding, because salvation belongs to God alone and we would be ridiculously arrogant and prideful if we always got it all right.

He has not commanded that our knowledge be perfect, but that rather we love and in that Christ calls us to be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect. Mt. 5:48 Because he gives the rain upon both the godly and the ungodly.

And so we are commanded to love.

But here, both in the division between Israel and Judah and the division between the Roman Catholic church and the Protestant churches is the perfect example of division and how the Spirit of God works through the Brokenness of mankind.

God’s spirit continues to move, continues to call and to draw and his compassions are still new every morning and great is faithfulness, as he desires all to come to the knowledge of Jesus Christ.


My closest friend from my childhood is Roman Catholic and her mother who was my mother’s best friend was Roman Catholic and we had no division between us.

Doctrinal differences, yes. Division, no.

This is because
…the unity we have in Jesus Christ

…and the agreement on our foundational beliefs

…as well as the active living faith that works by love

…takes huge precedence over anything that would try to divide.

We will be going on 50 years of this friendship in Jesus Christ. A friendship that has sustained me personally through some of the hardest seasons of my life.

Differences, but NOT division.

So people can have differences, differences of thinking, differences of opinion and even differences of Doctrine, yet not be divided, because the common goal is Christ and the faith that works through love.

I will add that most of the Roman Catholics that I knew had a good understanding of Grace and we were not divided there.

But I will have to hold this for another week because that will take another three chapters to discuss that division.

But suffice it to say the Roman Catholic church is divided from the Lutheran Church.

The Lutheran church has its own divisions, based on various differences in doctrines, and truly one of the most frustrating things as a Christian is dealing with the divisions within the church for which Christ Jesus paid his blood,

because the scripture is clear that we are to be United so the world will know that Jesus is the son of God and his Lord. So this unity is important. Agreed?

John 17:20-23 ESV

[20]  “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word,

[21] that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

[22] The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one,

[23] I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.

https://bible.com/bible/59/jhn.17.20-23.ESV

Wow. This is the first time I noticed he said it three times, “that they may be one.” This Unity thing must be pretty important to Jesus.

We know that God is capable of unity. God is Not divided.

The question is NOT whether or not God can bring us into Unity or whether unity in the Holy Spirit is important.

The serious question is,

…how important is Unity to us?

…And what price are we willing to pay for it? Peacemakers understand the price of unity.

But it has to be by the spirit of the Living God. All to God’s glory.


I will never understand division in a church or family.

I think people just don’t understand, number one, the value of unity and number two the power we have when we make very simple choices to make the unity the precedence.

How much of a precedence?

You know the saying that you quote at a wedding for a marriage, “till death do us part?” Well that’s a pretty good precedence.

How long would it take to resolve an elder’s meeting if nobody was allowed to go home until the issues were peacefully resolved? I know that getting people to that point would take some doing, but everybody fast and pray until the issues are resolved peacefully.

Please don’t do that unless the spirit of God directly tells you to do that because that will not work if it’s not anointed. And you have to be willing to die to self, to pay the price.

But, each individual has to seek God.

You can give up your job, you can give up the house, you can give up makeup, you can give up eating out, you can give all your money to the poor, you can live in a tent, all those things are far secondary to the relationship in a marriage.

But the only way we’re going to have that kind of love and steadfast faithfulness is through Jesus Christ.

But to everything there is a time and a season.

There are simple starting measures. But each individual needs to be led by the spirit of God for the people and sheep under their care.

When my children were little I spent a lot of hours awake at night praying as the spirit of God led. Now my body is older and I’m more tired and I don’t have the strength that I used to, but I trust others to pray now.

But when the girls would get mad at me, and often rightly so. I had bipolar tendencies, I had come out of an abusive relationship prior to marrying my husband, I had a lot of issues when my older girls were little, a lot of things I had to constantly say sorry for, some of them pretty serious, but the one thing that we would do, if somebody was hurt, we would not let the sun go down on our anger or on the hurt. And I would pray by their bed and read the scriptures, there is so much power in reading the Bible out loud, it hurts me that so many people do not understand these things, but I would read the word of God until the peace came and the healing came.

Now some of the wounds were deep and took years to heal, but they were only by the power of God.

Because he did it.

Not because I did it, there’s no price you can pay for emotional hurt done to a small child.

There’s no number of hours of prayer anything else to compensate for the pain.

No, you don’t pray because the prayers fix the children.

You pray to the god of Heaven and Earth who created every human in their mother’s womb and knows every DNA and every chemical in our bodies, and you come to him for mercy and Grace and ask him to restore what was broken.

And in his mercy and Grace, he does. But when there is a relationship, that is of God, and sometimes there are times and Seasons where they are divided as we have seen, but when it is the time and the season for the relationship to be strong and to exist, you do not stop praying until relationship is restored.

Our family prioritizes relationships, but we can do that because we know that God is our provider.

When my husband and I would have spats, there were times, not all of the time, where he would prioritize our fixing the relationship over being 2 hours late for work, and yes it was nothing shy of a miracle that he didn’t get fired.

When there was a major riff in our family, I would pull my kids out of school, they would be kicking and screaming, not literally, because they’d much rather be with their friends in school, than spend the day at the house cleaning with Mom!

But mom had to clean and we were going to be together until the relationship was restored.

Another tactic that we used though again not all the time was if somebody had a pretty serious punishment, I would get into the punishment with them and share it with them.

So if one of the kids lost Electronics and again I didn’t do this all the time and usually, it’s by the spirit of God so I don’t understand how to tell people how to walk, Basically you learn how to listen to God and just do what he tells you to do, but that comes by spending more time with him than the world, but anyway there would be times where for example somebody lost an electronic, so I would lose my electronic too. Or somebody got 30 minutes dish Duty as a discipline, but Mom would provide chocolate and popcorn or get in there and help with the dishes.

We have to remember that it’s your kindness that leads us to repentance oh Lord. One of the most powerful breakthroughs I had was after a huge battle with one of my children, the spirit of God said go take her out to a movie. She was selling not wanting to talk, she been angry at me for days and I had not been able to break through. And prior to that I have to say that three people were interceding for this situation very fervently, so it wasn’t just me, it’s never just about us. But I went into my daughter’s bedroom and said hey there’s a movie you want to see this out you want to cut school tomorrow and go out for a movie tonight? Now I want to make it really clear again because this is really important, the groundwork has been done through 45 minutes of three people interceding in tears for what was going on, but they broke through, and the result was when I asked that question the daughter began to cry and said why are you loving me and being kind to me when I’ve been so mean to you? And in that moment there was healing, deep healing it was much needed and I knew she had been needing to cry. We need to know that we are loved. Yes we need to repent to be sorry for our sin and strive and work little by little at not doing it again, but we need to know that we are loved, no matter what, till death do us part. That’s the love Christ has for us.

Rebellion often, though not always, is a result of someone deep down believing they aren’t worth that much. So they’re going to fuss up and they’re going to cause all sorts of trouble, Because deep down inside of them, usually subconsciously, is the cry that says, this is the time you’re going to cast me out.

And until they understand, till death do us part, the Rebellion isn’t able to be broken through, because the basis of the Rebellion is the belief that they are not loved. Insecurity if you will.

And here is the challenge, because that is not in my opinion a pastor’s job, he has many to take care of, that is the parents job. That is the job of a mother and a father. But how does it work when people don’t have parents that are that mature in Christ or they haven’t had that kind of love? Surely the church is our family as well. These are questions I have not answered. Surely the heavenly father loves them with that never-ending love, yet again, to everything there is a time and a season.

So these are things I struggle with, because my gift is Mercy. But I do not understand things, because from my experience there is a spiritual barrier when somebody is not your blood child. I have tried to intercede for other people’s children the way I intercede from my own children, but it does not have the effect I am not saying the prayers don’t work, I don’t understand things. So I guess there is individual responsibility? But those are things I don’t understand. Because of the Brokenness of my mental realm and brain, I have failed and fallen horribly in my walk and truly the sinful nature is part of that, but there is something to having a mother that is always praying for you. I always knew that I was loved no matter what, even when I didn’t know it if that makes sense. Or perhaps a better wording is that I was always loved, even when I didn’t know it.

I spent 10 years not talking to my parents. That is not an exaggeration. And when I returned, there was not one word of scolding, only love. That was not only true for my parents, but one of my pastors that was involved in the separation.

But here is the very interesting part, both sides believed they were doing the will of God. I believed I was walking in obedience to separate from them. God will explain things to me when I see him. They believed I was wrong. There was division for 10 years and then in his time God brought it back together. And there was healing and restoration.

So yes, we all have that love at the cross of Jesus Christ, but Paul says that we are living letters, and so when we love like Jesus Christ loves, that is the living letter of God’s love to the individual.
.
The word of God teaches us that love never fails. And these are just my thoughts, but from my thinking then, perhaps we should never fail to love?

Divisions that come from the Devil or Human Sinful Nature

As I think on the divisions in the New Testament I cannot think of any scripturally Within the church that were generated by God. Anybody please feel free to comment if you think of something, so perhaps the New Covenant is different there than the old? I would have to study that out.

There are instances of conflict. There is a conflict that can happen, without it being devastating or causing division.

Conflict is two people with different thought patterns or ways of doing things colliding and needing to come to agreement. Sometimes the agreement is that we step away, we agree to disagree.


We see one instance of Paul rebuking Peter. Gal. 2:11-14 So conflict, but not division.

We also see the division between Paul and Barnabas over John Mark in Acts 15. And if we are looking for perfection, we will not find it in the early church, or in the current Church.

However we will find it in Christ.

My personal take on that was they were different personalities. Barnabas more Mercy oriented, Paul more prophetic. But even in spite of the disagreement we do not see a criticism by God in the scripture. They just parted and went Separate Ways and as far as we can see both were used for the Kingdom of Heaven in the directions that they took.

We mentioned the scripture that iron sharpens iron, and so conflict is not necessarily a bad thing. Whether we resolve it by the spirit of God or whether it brings division is the issue.

When the spirit of God moved in New York City across the churches in the 80s it was a beautiful thing to witness.

The spirit of God had moved strongly in power. In our conservative LCMS Church and within our circles, Not only was there the anointing for speaking in tongues and many miracles, but groups of churches would meet in Albany and one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen is 1,000 people singing in the Holy Spirit and tongues as well as in English it’s one of the most beautiful music that you’ll ever hear.

But when it started there was division.

Many were against the move of the spirit of God stating that that was not for this time and season.

I know there are people who do not believe that tongues and miracles are for today but there is no concrete scriptural evidence for such a theory, rather the contrary.

Usually those who think that base their theory on a scripture in First Corinthians 13 where it says that these things will cease, knowledge, tongues, prophecies, when Perfection comes, which is agape love. My apologies to the world; my love is not yet perfect. I’m very grateful for the gifts of the holy spirit including speaking of tongues and miracles that I am blessed with.🤷‍♀️ It may be that I am more immature than others, and I say that most sincerely, but my love is not yet perfected.

What is very very very very very very very dangerous, and yes I mean that, is when you hear a pastor say without a shadow of a doubt in their opinion that those things are not by the spirit of God. With all due love and respect and sincere warning, if somebody says that somebody speaking in tongues is not by the spirit of God, we are in danger of blaspheming the Holy Spirit. Jesus told the Pharisees when they were calling the spirit of God inside of him a demon, that they were blaspheming the Holy Spirit.

But the spirit of God moves differently as he sees fit.

So regarding division again,

…one group of people would accuse the others because they were speaking in tongues and walking in this kind of flow in the Holy Spirit.


…The other group that was speaking in tongues and flowing in the Holy Spirit would accuse those who were not of not being spiritual or being obedient to Christ.

In my opinion, this was a missed judgment on both sides.


Now this is my opinion so God have mercy on me here, I do fear God.

I do believe that in that circumstance in New York, it could have been dealt with better In Love. But most certainly God is Judge, not I.

I have two Pastors in my family, one that was very involved in this move of the Holy Spirit.

The other far more traditional and conservative, while very wisely not criticizing it, for he is a man of God, felt that there were misuses in the movement and I tend to agree with him.

I believe the spirit of God was working with both sides, not necessarily with those who were trying to completely put it down, but a better understanding would have been that not everybody has to flow in this particular flow.

It is not scriptural to assume that all are going to talk in tongue or do miracles.

A better understanding would have been to adhere to The Words of Christ, “judge not and you will not be judged.”

So in that first environment there was hurt and Division that I believe would have been better done without.


Compare that to a church that I am in recently, where the elders and the pastors felt led to transition the traditional sanctuary into a place for children’s ministry.

This was a huge sacrifice on the part of a large congregation; many who preferred the traditional service in that sanctuary as it had been for probably 50 years.

But it was done in beautiful Harmony, and the mostly older members that desired to keep their sanctuary submitted to the leading of God, the pastor and the elders in a most beautiful humble way.

The result was that many children over the past 10 years have been brought to Jesus Christ through the surrendering of that sanctuary.

One of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen in my life was one of the older ladies probably in her seventies speaking to another older woman who is in charge of many things, and saying,

I don’t like change. I really don’t want to have to change the time of my church service and I don’t want to give up the old Sanctuary we’ve already always worshiped in.

And the other older woman who was a leader within the church, gently patted her on the hand and said,

There, there I know, but we know that the pastors know what is best for the church and for the children.

And the other lady sighed and said,

Yes I know.

And that was the end of it.

I’ve never seen such an amazing thing in my life.

That is the faith that works through love, willing to surrender to God’s leading of the Spiritual Authority, at quite a cost, in my opinion.

– And if you don’t think it’s hard to give up a sanctuary after 50 years, just “simply” give up your Starbucks and give the money to the poor for the rest of your life.

Quite easy isn’t it? Sorry. That was sarcasm.

Humans don’t change quickly.


Then we come to the many scriptures in the New Testament warning against division.

And we see Christ’s words regarding Unity, as well as division.

John 17:20-23 ESV
[20]  “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, [21] that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. [22] The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, [23] I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.

https://bible.com/bible/59/jhn.17.20-23.ESV

Romans 16:17-18 ESV
[17] I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. [18] For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.

https://bible.com/bible/59/rom.16.17-18.ESV

2 Timothy 4:9-10 ESV
[9]  Do your best to come to me soon. [10] For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.

https://bible.com/bible/59/2ti.4.9-10.ESV

1 Corinthians 1:10-11 ESV
[10] I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. [11] For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers.

https://bible.com/bible/59/1co.1.10-11.ESV

1 Corinthians 3:3-4 ESV
[3] for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? [4] For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human?

https://bible.com/bible/59/1co.3.3-4.ESV

1 Corinthians 11:18-19 ESV
[18] For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part, [19] for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized.

https://bible.com/bible/59/1co.11.18-19.ESV


Romans 16:17-20 ESV
[17] I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. [18] For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. [19] For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. [20] The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

https://bible.com/bible/59/rom.16.17-20.ESV



So ungodly division, division because of the devil working or because of the flesh, that is destructive and we need to pray to God that that might not be in our lives or in our family’s lives or in our Church’s lives.

More importantly we do need to teach the importance of unity to those in our care, just with words but with our actions showing that it is important to us.

And so one of the things that has to be discerned, do we have any wolves among the Sheep? It’s a serious question.

Matthew 7:15-27 ESV
[15]  “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

[16] You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?

[17] So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.

[18] A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.

[19] Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

[20] Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

[21]  “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

[22] On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’

[23] And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

[24]  “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

[25] And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.

[26] And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.

[27] And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

https://bible.com/bible/59/mat.7.15-27.ESV

Acts 20:28-32 ESV
[28] Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.

[29] I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock;

[30] and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.

[31] Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears.

[32] And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

https://bible.com/bible/59/act.20.28-32.ESV

3 John 1:9-11 ESV
[9] I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority.

[10] So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us. And not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church.

[11] Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God.

https://bible.com/bible/59/3jn.1.9-11.ESV

So you have a couple of different things going on in these scriptures. One is somebody who is trying to completely turn somebody or a group of people away from the faith.

In a church people need to understand the pastors have a lot on their plate much like a parent. And we are to respect and honor the authority above us. And to honestly just trust God. God really truly is there. If there is a pastor that is doing something wrong and it’s serious, that can be brought before the church as long as it’s done in the way that Jesus commands first one-on-one then a second person coming and then bring it before the church.



The Bible makes much more sense when we are walking with God. Anyone can read it and see God’s truth and come to Christ for salvation, but sometimes the scriptural advice is based on different times and seasons.

A father farmer may leave an instruction book for his son when he’s away to plant the corn, water the corn and reap the corn.  Perhaps the instructions are a bit more complicated with different paragraphs and chapters in between. 

Then somebody unrelated comes along and looks outside the window and it is spring and looks at the instruction and reads where it says to reap the corn.

That’s not going to make much sense unless you know the father and understand the times and the seasons. That is not the best example but hopefully it helps a little bit. The scripture teaches us that to everything there is a time and a season. Eccl. 3

Jesus Christ reflects on this dividing of threads and understanding times and seasons when he referred to himself and John the Baptist:

Luke 7:31-35 ESV
[31]  “To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like?

[32] They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, “‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’

[33]  For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’

[34] The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’

[35] Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.”

https://bible.com/bible/59/luk.7.31-35.ESV

I struggled with these verses for probably 20 years till the Lord granted me Grace to understand them better. (…to everything there is a time and a season!)

But all too often we humans want things to just be one way. We want it to be simple, but then we wouldn’t need a relationship with God, would we…?

John the Baptist lived in the desert, wore camel hair and ate locusts and honey.

Therefore we are to live in the desert, wear camel hair and eat Locusts and honey, right?

The Pharisees criticized him. They said he had a demon.

So now we see the opposite with Christ.

He comes and sits down and eats with the sinners, and guess what?

The Pharisees criticize him too.

I’ve watched humans do that quite often in the church.
.
One group of people will criticize people that are nuns and monks, or the pope, or people we deem “legalistic.”

Surely they were not called to not be involved with evangelizing the world!

We criticize them because they are just spending their time secluded in prayer, abstaining from the world, instead of entering in.  And we find Bible verses that defend our position and we criticize, forgetting that Anna and Simeon both stayed around the temple praying. And that there are many good examples within scripture of those that did live such a lifestyle, but we have other scriptures to prove our point and so we judge.

All the while ignoring the scripture that commands us not to judge and that before their own Master they will stand or fall and that they will stand because God is able to make them stand. Rom 14:4

I have also walked with friends that lived very conservative lives, not drinking for the sake of Jesus Christ and living a very simplistic almost monastic life. And they subtly or overtly criticize those that do not live the way they do.🤷‍♀️

But wisdom is proved right by her children.

The things we see with our eyes are superficial.

God looks at the heart.

One person may love God with all their heart and living a simplistic lifestyle is the way they share it.

Another person also loves God with all their heart, drinks alcohol along with their friends, uses language that technically isn’t scriptural, all the while hungering for the lost and broken within their circle to come to know the healing and salvation that is in Jesus Christ.

You might also have others in either of those circumstances that do not love God. Their motivation is purely superficial, either for evangelizing, or secluding. Their motivation is pride and they desire for others to look at them and see how good they are, rather than out of a pure heart that has been saved by the grace of God and desires God’s will to be done.

So what we do know is what Christ commands us to do:

Matthew 7:1-5 ESV
[1]  “Judge not, that you be not judged.

[2] For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.

[3] Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?

[4] Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye?

[5] You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

https://bible.com/bible/59/mat.7.1-5.ESV





As we are dealing with the division we need to have wisdom and come to God and ask what’s going on here? What time is it? What is the season?


Otherwise opposite advice can be confusing, but to everything there is a time and a season. So some Bible scripture tells us to pray, to confess our sins and we will be healed, for example.

Personally I have witnessed that in my life.

As a child around 12 years of age I had scoliosis and was supposed to get a brace. You know obedience to the word of God my mother brought me before the pastor in the Elders of the lcms church in New York where we were they prayed for me and anointed me for oil, and got healed my back there on the spot, as well as grew one of my legs out that was a couple of inches too short. There were at least 10 people that witnessed it. And my mother had her hand on my back and felt it straighten. When we went back to the non-Christian doctor in Manhattan he was very puzzled and came back and said I don’t understand it but she no longer has a curve more than normal. It wasn’t until after the roughly 45 minutes of waiting for the results of the final x-ray then my mother just graciously said okay thank you they prayed for her and church. So that was that time and season and that was the will of God for that season. And I had seen other Miracles and healings beyond that as people walk in obedience to Christ and to God. But then there was a season in my life where I was very very ill and no amount of prayer was doing anything. I sought the Lord and I thought Godly counsel and the word of God for more than one pastor and counselor was the one in the flesh. This was an illness and a pain to be born for the season that I was in. And so in that season then we worship and we follow Paul’s example.

So when you are working with division in the church, there are many threats that need to be discerned and it is good to reach out to people that have wisdom in different areas, practical as well as spiritual, to help work through the differences.


And along with this, ask God to provide prayer warriors to come alongside. Every church should have people praying. I believe every minister of the Gospel needs a prayer team. Billy Graham accredited his success almost solely to a little old grandmother who’d he’d known for years who prayed night and day for him. And then he gave credit to the prayer teams that would pray before during and after the Evangelistic outreaches that he held. He would refuse to hold a meeting unless the local churches were all in agreement that he be there. And he required the local churches to have their people there, so that people weren’t just birthed into the kingdom and left to die, but we’re rather placed in to churches. That was a side, sorry but the point is pray and have people praying.

God hears our prayers and answers them, as we pray according to His will.

The leaders or lay people whose hearts desire GOD’S will can rest assured He is with them (Emmanuel) and is working all things together for the good of those who love him. No matter what it looks like right now.



People involved in a division usually fall into one of three categories

To complicate matters, when we think of division, most people think that one side is right and the other side is wrong. (Current American politics…🙄)

But when somebody is mature, they understand that all too often the situation can be more of iron sharpening iron. Both sides have something to offer; both sides have strengths and weaknesses.

When God’s Holy Spirit is at work within God’s people he brings it together in a beautiful way for the building of his kingdom. When we allow Jesus Christ to be Lord, he uses the friction to refine both sides.

I have witnessed that over and over again in my 25 years of marriage that I just celebrated today as I write.

We grow in love.

We learn to submit to one another according to scripture. And we learn to submit to God, which for me as the wife means I am to submit to my husband by the spirit of God, as he submits to God and loves me as Christ loves the church.

This Godly submission has been greatly under attack by the Antichrist Spirit within the church for at least over 70 years from what I’ve seen. It would take a full book to teach on this because much of the teaching that was once understood sadly has been lost even within the churches. But Godly submission to God and to one another and to Godly Authority is one of the most powerful forces in the universe.


The most perfect example of that is Jesus Christ dying on the cross for our sins and submitting to his Heavenly Father with the ultimate sacrifice. That kind of submission makes absolutely no sense to this world, but when the Antichrist Spirit which is the spirit of lawlessness, which refuses to submit to Godly Authority, when that Antichrist Spirit Creeps in to individual lives and within the church, it does cause much destruction and chaos, not just an individual lives, not just even within the church, but where the church is no longer actively working in one of it’s god-given strengths,

Darkness will take over. Even as we have witnessed Islam taking over even in America, because one thing Islam has right now that has been much lost in the American and Western Christian church is the concept of authority.

Again that is a different topic, but it is very important and it plays into division because often division is a result of not understanding or walking in Godly Authority, which works through agape love. This can be pastors not submitting to God’s Authority and not respecting the elders of a church or walking in humility and love with the members. Spiritual abuse, as well as any other form of abuse, within heads of churches will cause destruction to the concept of Godly Authority unless it is publicly repented of.

Yet nothing is impossible with God and we know he saves and there is Grace but I’ve seen much Destruction come from spiritual abuse that has lasted for at least three generations. So pastors need to be very careful in their care of the Sheep and walk in the fear and love of the Lord, meditating on scripture and on God’s commands especially in Timothy and Titus to those who are in charge of the care of the Sheep.

Pride will also come against Godly Authority. Self-centeredness and a thinking that we are better than somebody else. We obviously are right and they obviously are wrong just ask us. Elders and members of congregations can be divisive when they do not want to submit to the authority of the pastor and whatever rule is set up within the church, as they are leading by the spirit of God. But there are many threads that play in here. How do you know that the pastor is right and the congregation is wrong? Or vice versa? So there is much grace needed and a good understanding of the fear of the Lord and the love of God will help tremendously. If people do not understand that we will give an account to God for everything here, then there is a tendency to exalt one’s own position, rather than to seek the will of God.




Well this could use another 6 hours but I don’t have six more hours so this is as good as it gets for now. Summary what do you do when there’s constant division or a serious division. The first three steps I outlined. Take an attitude of active rest. Pray and get people to pray. Listen listen love.

But there is one really important thing here that I want to stress, people have different gifts and abilities. Mediation is something that is studied by people and that some people have a gift in. If there has been ongoing for a long time division within the church it is time to pull in a professional and let people know that it’s time to pull in a professional. You know how it feels when somebody’s going to the principal’s office? Or when the cops get called in? The church absolutely has to have people they can call in when something keeps going wrong. I highly recommend five and two for advice. They are trained in helping churches to thrive and if they cannot answer questions they should have some idea of who can. But it paid Conflict Management person might be a good resource, though definitely I would suggest a Christian but even in the secular world there is practical knowledge had resolving conflict in ways that are not divisive are hurtful.

If we have those resources available in society today, in my opinion it is good stewardship to use them.

http://www.fivetwo.com

Because of our mental health issues and past trauma my family has used counselors for years and I do not think we would have resolved many issues that have gotten resolved without them. I know that there is nothing impossible for God but I am thankful for the flu vaccine and we use it. It is the same with conflict resolution. Use the resources that are available.

Determine if people are trying to take people away from the faith. Do we have somebody that is no longer preaching sound Doctrine or agreeing to sound option about the faith of Jesus Christ? That needs to be dealt with and within the lcms I believe you can call in people over you to help if need be in that situation.

Recognize your own flaws and weaknesses. Are you Evangelistic and unwilling to listen to somebody about business? Are you gifted at business and concerned with the Sheep within the fold and not worrying to listen to people about evangelism? There has to be a balance it can’t be all one or another. Listen listen love.

Scripturally we are called to confess our sins and acknowledge your own faults as readily as we are willing to judge the fault of others. If we are willing to publicly correct others we need to be willing to be publicly corrected. But any correction should be done in a manner that Christ commands.

Find people gifted it outlining what’s going on. Gets a church on the same track as far as goals go and vision. Don’t be afraid of a church split, just make sure that you help directed in a Godly manner. It may be for example that one group of people are just concerned about taking care of the children within the school and protecting those within their Circle. Another group of people may be highly Evangelistic and called too much more extreme lifestyle. While it would be best if the two groups could pursue the direction God gives them in the unity of complete body within that one Church it may be there’s a need for separation so that each group can accomplish their god-given task.

We had a division within my family when I became highly allergic due to my autoimmune to mold and other triggers in our physical house. That was the hardest thing we’ve ever gone through and it was very complicated to convince people that I was not leaving or divorcing my husband. However after seeking advice from five professional counters and three pastors, all agreed I need to leave my house. But this was very painful. However God had a purpose in the division and without going through all of the details there have been huge breakthroughs in the spirit Realm in our family through the 12 months of separation. However, what was very strange was some Christian people, even people close to me, wanted to subtly prophesied divorce. We can stand on the word of God that is not the will of God and I told one person we would die before that happened. And God is my witness that I meant it. If it came to that, I would go sleep outside the house in the snow if I had to. I spent nights in a homeless shelter, does this all sound like the will of God? And many would say no but I firmly believe it was because the spiritual breakthroughs that we had on every area were huge.

So the most important thing is to do our best to listen to the spirit of God and obey the word of God and know that we are growing. All of us. Pastors elders and sheep. And we are all sheep. Sometimes people need rebuked, but from what I see we are always commanded to love.

Love always protects so if there is something that is of a spirit that is trying to harm the Sheep, we are commanded to protect but we need to do so in the power of God and ask God to help us to have discernment.

One thing that I see is a weakness in the Lutheran Church, I have even heard pastors tell me that the fear of God does not mean fear it means honor. That is completely contrary to the word of God fear the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Fear means fear. Sometimes we Stray From Grace into licensuousness the Bible teaches us that Grace teaches us to say no to ungodliness. The Bible teaches us that Faith Works by love and faith without works is dead. Let us be careful that we had here more to the word of God than to Luther. And if our theology comes into conflict with scripture, let us be sure to change our theology, not the scripture. We are saved by grace alone, but Grace is never a licensed to sin. When people do not understand the consequences of sin, which in this generation because of lawlessness is very difficult to teach, then there will be division because each individual is not really truly serving the Living God but the idols we have made in his name.


So Father in heaven, even as you are merciful and you take my messes of staying up 6 hours typing when I should be sleeping because I have to work in 4 hours, please help us. Lord help these people on your children to draw into your presence and take seriously all of your word. Lord God across the world people are literally dying I’m giving up their lives for the name of Jesus Christ, surely we can give up a little bit of sleep and a little bit of time and maybe even our Starbucks, or whatever it takes, to walk in unity.

Father I pray that these people that read this understand the seriousness of these things. You are merciful and you are kind and you are loving, but the thief comes to steal kill into destroy, and each one of us will stand before you in the day of judgment and give an account for how we lived down here and for every careless word we speak. So as the Apostle said, because of the Judgment that we know we will face before you, we seek to keep our conscience clear before God and Men. Lord we ask for forgiveness of our unbelief, when we choose to believe part of your word but not all of it. We ask forgiveness for the lies We have spoken in your name, when we have said that you are merciful and gracious and loving, but conveniently left out that you are also just and that you hate evil. And father we pray as you have taught us to pray,

Our Father Who Art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Lord help people to understand what that means. Your name is hallowed when we walk in faithfulness to your truth and Grace, living lives to show your love. So please don’t let this just be words we pray, but allow our hearts and Minds to bring this into action.

Thy kingdom come. Not the kingdom of the flesh, were the devil or this world, but your kingdom come here in this church and in every individual’s life, your lordship in every situation. And more if we need to then let each one of us one by one attest that Jesus Christ is the Lord Of Our Lives publicly before all recommitting what we spoke at our confirmation.

Thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven.

Your will Lord not ours.

And father we pray that you give us this day our daily bread, Spirit soul mind and body

And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lord let forgiveness be the air we breathe, let all that we do reflect your love.

And let us not into temptation but Deliver Us from the evil one. Please father. For thine is the kingdom and the power of the glory forever and ever amen