Many still were convinced that President Bush was doing just that… not political suicide, but lust for profits.   You couldn’t reason with them.  You couldn’t argue the inconsistency of their thinking.   “yea, sure, but we know…”

So what does this have to do with church splits?

“Church splits are always bad! ” Really?  How so?  “Well, they just are.”  Dissent is always bad (bad dog, bad dog!), therefore church splits are always bad.  Its Simple logic…  But what if that dissent  was a stand for truth… biblical truth?  Yes, it is always better not to disagree, but to pursue unity.  So the logic goes.  But what if one had to leave, with others, for the sake of truth?  For integrity?  Is it wrong then?  No it couldn’t be for truth…

Sadly, like President Bush, there is not much room for a church split to be acceptable in our religious culture.  Unfortunately, there is just too much sentiment against it.  Sort of like George.   He couldn’t go to war for noble purposes… maybe the intelligence he received was a little more detailed than those who accused him?  Not a chance!  But perhaps he did?

And just maybe, some dissent is good.  Not all dissent is met with hearts to receive it.  I remember a verse in Acts 15 that said something like there was “great dissension and debate.”  And we discover that Paul and Barnabas were the ones dissenting!   And we are grateful for elders in Jerusalem who did not just ‘write off” their dissent but listened beyond their “bias” and a church split was prevented.  Unfortunately, this will not always be the case in the church.  Fortunately for us, the early church pondered the disent and today we are not  a “judaized” church today because of it…. Thank you Paul for standing.

I hope we would not put blinders on just because our western tradition resents dissent.  Perhaps the President went to war for unselfish reasons.   Perhaps not all of those who dissent have “evil” motives…  just maybe they love truth over compliance.  Peace at all costs!   The early reformers stated that the Church was always in need of reform…. let us not settle for less, just because we want peace more than war…..

I came upon this quote…
“[The present tense verb is used in verse 42: "It is not this way among you "(The NAS has it right)... implies] to fail in being a servant is not simply to fall short of an ideal condition but to stand outside of an existing condition that corresponds to the kingdom of God.
At no place do the ethics of the kingdom of God clash more vigorously with the ethics of the world than in the ematters of power and service. The ideas that Jesus presents regarding rule and service are combined in a way that finds no obvious precedent in either the OT or Jewish tradition.  In a decisive reversal of values, Jesus speaks of greatness in service rather than greatness of power, prestige, and authority.  The preeminant virtue of God’s kingdom is not power, not even freedom, but service.  Ironically, greatness belongs to the one who is not great, the diakonos, the ordinary Greek word for waiting on tables.  The preeminence of service in the kingdom of God grows out of Jesus’ teaching on love for one’s neighbor, for service is love made tangible.”
(James R. Edwards, Pillar NT Commentary)

There is the paradox.  Thank God for the paradoxes of the kingdom!

Here is Edwards’ continued commentary…

Pursuing the point still further, Jesus declares that ” ‘whoever want to be first must be a slave of all.’” The pronouncement is, of course, and oxymoron, for a slave (Gk. doulos), who was inferior even to a servant (Gk diakonos), was in ancient society the last and least of all. The idea of a slave being first is as absurdly paradoxical as a camel going through the eye of a needle – and it probably likewise induced smiles and shaking heads from Jesus’ audience.  The desire for power and dominance focuses attention on self and this kills love, for love by nature is focused on others.

Here is where I was truly convicted…

The implications of diakonos and doulos for the Twelve, as well as for ministers and leaders in the church of every generation, are inexhaustible. the Christian fellowship does not exist for their sake, but they for it,  Nor is the apostle or Christian leader above the congregation, but part of it. The congregation does not belong to him; rather, he belongs to it.…

Some whom I respect deeply have made attempts to describe hell as a place where sinners would rather be than heaven, and that the doors of hell are “locked from the inside.”  All this to soften the image of God pouring out wrath on sinners who don’t know any better.

This is a tough topic for anyone to get their hands around.   I just listened to a teaching by John Piper given at Resolved 2008.   It will only increase your love, gratefulness, and savor for God.  I hope you will listen to it also.

John Piper:  The echo and Insufficiency of Hell