LOVING CONFRONTATION IN THE CHURCH If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. (Matthew 18:15-16 NRSV) In this scripture Jesus gives us the steps on how to loving resolve conflict or confrontation in the church. We must first try to resolve the issue with the person before bringing others into the situation. If only we would follow Jesus teaching, there would be peace in our churches--peace in our lives--peace in our world! Following is a short reflection on how we SHOULD NOT handle conflict in the church. I believe this will make you laugh--it made me laugh out loud. It is called Disharmony In Worship: There was a church where the pastor and the minister of music were not getting along. As time went by, this began to spill over into the worship service. The first week the pastor preached on commitment and how we all should dedicate ourselves to the service of God. The music director led the song, I Shall Not Be Moved. The second week the pastor preached on tithing and how we all should gladly give to the work of the Lord. The director led the song, Jesus Paid it All. The third week the pastor preached on gossiping and how we should all watch our tongues. The music director led the song, I Love to Tell the Story. With all this going on, the pastor became very disgusted over the situation and the following Sunday told the congregation that he was considering resigning. The musician led the song, Oh Why Not Tonight? As it came to pass, the pastor did indeed resign. The next week he informed the church that it was Jesus who led him there and it was Jesus who was taking him away. The music leader led the song, What a Friend We Have in Jesus. (King Duncan, Collected Sermons) Help us Lord not to cause conflict in our churhes, or anywhere at all. Amen. Pastor Marjorie
Posted on: Thu, 04 Sep 2014 04:17:27 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015