In 1917 Russian Orthodox bishops met in their periodic convocation. Unfortunately this particular meeting denigrated into a very heated disagreement.
A few doors down the street another meeting was taking place; the Bolsheviks were plotting the overthrow of the Czar. Their meeting ultimately became the Russian Revolution and the beginning of what we now know as Communism. What was the Church arguing about while the Empire was crumbling around them and evil was moving against the nation? Candles. Yes, candles. Should the church candles be 18 or 22 inches long?
In the 1890s there was a small Baptist church in Mayfield County, Kentucky. The church had two deacons, and these two men were constantly arguing and bickering with each other. One particular Sunday, one of the deacons put up a small wooden peg in the back wall so the pastor could hang up his hat. When the other deacon discovered the peg, he was outraged. “How dare someone put a peg in the wall without first consulting me!” The people in the church took sides and the congregation eventually split. Over 100 years later, residents of Mayfield County still refer to the two churches as Peg Baptist and Anti-Peg Baptist.
The disagreements in these stories probably seem a bit trivial to us, but unfortunately they are true. Most church splits occur not over major doctrinal issues, but rather on things that have nothing to do with faith. Paul was frustrated with dissension in the Church at Corinth. In 1 Cor 3:3-4 he writes, “For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? For when one says, “I follow Paul”, and another, “I follow Apollos”, are you not being merely human?" The need for unity within the Church is so important that God included this passage (and several others) in his Word.
satan thrives in disunity. He loves it when Christian brothers and sisters sow strife and dissension. Conversely nothing frightens him more than a church that is united in Jesus Christ. Jesus prayed that his followers “would all be one” (John 17:21). Unity in His Church was so important to Jesus that he prayed to the Father that we be of one mind, one purpose, in one Spirit. In Colossians 3:8 Paul tells us “..[to] put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.”.
Being in unity doesn't mean we always agree on everything. It means that we honor and respect each other even if we do not agree (we could be wrong!). It means being a community that shares each other's struggles and victories. It means being united under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. The Lord has spoken very clearly to us that this unity is to be the very culture of the Church and in our communities. We, through the grace of Jesus Christ can make that happen.
Shalom!
Jim