In a word? Power. We as a church long to walk in the manifest power of Jesus Christ in order to overcome the darkness in our world and win the lost back to Jesus. The world is waiting for that power to be manifest so that the people can come out of the darkness and into the light. This is the power that can turn hardened people into lovers of God and men, crooked corporations into forces for good, and a corrupted government into a true democratic-republic that righteously represents its citizens.
There's just one problem: without unity, there is no power, making division the greatest enemy of the American church.
The Psalm 133 blog was created in order to help identify and address problems that cause division in the American Church, and to find solutions for those problems, so that unity can be restored, and the power of Christ can be made manifest.
If you take the epistles written in the new testament, and see which letters would be addressed to which modern-day churches, you are likely to draw the conclusion that the epistles that most closely address the condition of the American church are Galatians and 1 & 2 Corinthians. While Galatians and Corinthians seem to address different audiences, it can be said that those two audiences represent the majority of the American Church body, and the differences between those two audiences represent a significant cause of the division experienced among our churches. Let's take a closer look:
The book of Galatians addresses a people who have been turned away from walking in the power of Christ, and have had their liberty tainted by Jewish legalism. They have allowed the rules set forth by others, which keep them from walking in the power of God, because those rules dictate that there are boundaries to being a Christian that God did not set forth. This represents many of the more conservative bodies, especially those with older congregations. Many churches like this stifle God's ability to use them and move through them. Paul has to explain how there is a way to know what is wrong and what is right, and to walk in that, not under the yoke of bondage that prohibits one from freely walking in the power of Christ. This is the one side.
On the other hand, the Corinthian epistles address a church that has taken it's liberty and fallen into a pattern of fleshly lusts and sinful behavior. This has led to internal disputes taking place in full view of the public eye, pervasive division among the local body, and corrupt behavior from church leaders and members. Their witness is tarnished by their terrible behavior, even though there are tremendous manifestations of God's power among them. This represents many of the more charismatic, younger bodies. Many churches like this experience tremendous moves of God, but many times have leaders who fall into sin for allowing the freedom of Christ to become an opportunity for the flesh. Paul has to correct them by explaining that, even though all things are permissible to us in Christ, that we cannot allow ourselves to fall into sinful behavior on account of that liberty. He also explains that there must be some semblance of order in our churches. This is the other side.
Can we see how this would cause division? One side says "we must do it this way" (whichever way that may be for the individual body,) and the other side says "we can do it any way we want," often at the expense of the order needed to work together.
So how do we create unity with these kinds of differences? We allow God to be God and show us the best way. We identify the dividing points, fix the things that need to be fixed, ignore the things that don't matter, and focus on the thing we agree on. That's the reason why I started the Psalm 133 blog.
We'll be updating weekly, and I am eager to hear your questions and suggestions.
God bless you as we continue to unite and build the Church in the United States of America.
Click the "posts" link at the top of the page to view our posts.
There's just one problem: without unity, there is no power, making division the greatest enemy of the American church.
The Psalm 133 blog was created in order to help identify and address problems that cause division in the American Church, and to find solutions for those problems, so that unity can be restored, and the power of Christ can be made manifest.
If you take the epistles written in the new testament, and see which letters would be addressed to which modern-day churches, you are likely to draw the conclusion that the epistles that most closely address the condition of the American church are Galatians and 1 & 2 Corinthians. While Galatians and Corinthians seem to address different audiences, it can be said that those two audiences represent the majority of the American Church body, and the differences between those two audiences represent a significant cause of the division experienced among our churches. Let's take a closer look:
The book of Galatians addresses a people who have been turned away from walking in the power of Christ, and have had their liberty tainted by Jewish legalism. They have allowed the rules set forth by others, which keep them from walking in the power of God, because those rules dictate that there are boundaries to being a Christian that God did not set forth. This represents many of the more conservative bodies, especially those with older congregations. Many churches like this stifle God's ability to use them and move through them. Paul has to explain how there is a way to know what is wrong and what is right, and to walk in that, not under the yoke of bondage that prohibits one from freely walking in the power of Christ. This is the one side.
On the other hand, the Corinthian epistles address a church that has taken it's liberty and fallen into a pattern of fleshly lusts and sinful behavior. This has led to internal disputes taking place in full view of the public eye, pervasive division among the local body, and corrupt behavior from church leaders and members. Their witness is tarnished by their terrible behavior, even though there are tremendous manifestations of God's power among them. This represents many of the more charismatic, younger bodies. Many churches like this experience tremendous moves of God, but many times have leaders who fall into sin for allowing the freedom of Christ to become an opportunity for the flesh. Paul has to correct them by explaining that, even though all things are permissible to us in Christ, that we cannot allow ourselves to fall into sinful behavior on account of that liberty. He also explains that there must be some semblance of order in our churches. This is the other side.
Can we see how this would cause division? One side says "we must do it this way" (whichever way that may be for the individual body,) and the other side says "we can do it any way we want," often at the expense of the order needed to work together.
So how do we create unity with these kinds of differences? We allow God to be God and show us the best way. We identify the dividing points, fix the things that need to be fixed, ignore the things that don't matter, and focus on the thing we agree on. That's the reason why I started the Psalm 133 blog.
We'll be updating weekly, and I am eager to hear your questions and suggestions.
God bless you as we continue to unite and build the Church in the United States of America.
Click the "posts" link at the top of the page to view our posts.
