Our society is deeply divided–cast into political, racial and economic schisms. But what about the church? Is the church today an agent of harmony–or division?
Some Christians eagerly foment discord and even hatred toward those they oppose. Mirroring today’s shout fests on cable news, some in the Christian community seem determined to loudly declare their outrage toward a politician, party or policy. It’s become a game of one-upmanship. When it comes to outrage, everyone wants to out-rage the next person.
But is outrage our best witness in these times? Not according to Derwin Gray, pastor of Transformation Church, a multi-ethnic congregation near Charlotte, North Carolina. He said, in this week’s Holy Soup podcast, “When Christians are participating in the division and the brokenness and the hurt, we have a discipleship problem.”
So does that mean the church should simply keep the peace and turn away and act like the conflicts of the day do not exist? No, Gray said, “Conflict, if it’s done in love, is a good thing.” In his church he advocates engaging tough topics head-on, as Jesus did. The church can be a place of exchanging views without exchanging blows. In the podcast, Gray describes how he observed one of his members, an older white man, wearing a “Make America Great Again” cap. He sat peacefully next to an African-American woman wearing a “Black Lives Matter” shirt. That’s a typical scene at Transformation Church, he said.
Today’s culture desperately needs a model of civil discourse. What if the church could show the way?
Hear how Derwin Gray works to bring people together at his church. Listen to the Holy Soup podcast with him here:
And meet Derwin Gray in person at the upcoming Future of the Church summit. More information on that here.
There may be some out there who can put this idea into practice but I’ve not seen it except in very small gatherings that have leadership that can set the example. Quite often controversial issues are avoided when they arise. Other times politics has become as much a part of their theology or more than their efforts to walk in spirit and be Christ minded. Unfortunately not viewing ourselves as citizens of heaven and pilgrims just passing through has become the norm for the church here in America much to our detriment.
The true church needs to always remain a sanctuary for broken people escaping from the world system in one way or another, and we are all broken to some degree. The various kinds of polarisation are due to people’s deepening dissatisfaction with an increasingly broken and corrupt political and economic system. This is the natural outcome of a sinful world.
The best way to escape from the world system is to have a biblical worldview. Having a biblical worldview will change your thinking on politics, the government, the environment and every other issue that is competing for our attention today. The church has conflict within its four walls today because people don’t have a biblical worldview. Instead, there is a tendency to take the world’s view of the world, and put a “Christian” spin on it. Let us apply Philippians 4:2 to our lives, “I urge Euodia and Syntyche to live in harmony, IN THE LORD.” (Emphasis on “in the Lord,” that’s a biblical worldview.)
There is no doubt that most of what is known as the church has no idea what it means to have a biblical or christian point of view. One of the scriptures I enjoy that points to this idea is found in the Lord’s prayer. When we pray “thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” do we really mean that. I think if we do mean that we would reconsider many of the attitudes we have and continue to perpetuate as christian thinking. I ask myself what do I know about heaven? That is a big help for me because in heaven many of the things we say and do are not found there.