Division In The Church

Daniel Overdorf- A few years ago I visited a couple in their home. Both husband and wife had lived most of their lives apart from Christ and His church. Their marriage- a second marriage for both- had grown rocky. The 50 year old husband faced a frightening battle with cancer, and neither partner was handling it well. Their desperation led them to consider their spiritual needs. A friend invited them to church, and they came. The first Sunday they arrived late, sat in the back pew, then bolted for the door before the closing song ended. As weeks passed, however, they moved toward the middle of the auditorium and remained after the service long enough to mingle. After a few casual conversations about the weather, work, and local sports teams, I asked if I might visit them to talk further about their faith. Reluctantly they responded, “Yes, we would very much like to have that conversation.” I sat in their living room, sipped sweet tea, and attempted to make them comfortable with more talk of weather and baseball. After 20 minutes and a refill of tea, I steered the conversation toward spiritual matters. “We’ve enjoyed having you at church. Is there anything about Christianity, Jesus, or the church that I could help you understand?” The husband responded with carefully measured words. “Jesus is attractive to me but I struggle with the church. My grandmother sometimes dragged me to church when I was a kid. What I remember most are the arguments I’d hear in the parking lot and hallways. One person didn’t like the preacher, another defended the preacher, another piped up with suspicions about the church treasurer. It was the same arguments, over and over, year after year.” The wife nodded her head to her husband’s words. “Even today,” he continued, “I drive down the street near our house and come to 10 different churches with 10 different names on their signs. And the people in those churches barely talk to each other. People all around them are dying and going to Hell- or so they say they believe- but they just spend all their time arguing.” He then dropped the generic “they” and challenged me with many questions along those lines. Not letting me speak, he finished with this question “Why should I believe what y’all say when you can’t agree on what to tell me?” Silence. I stared at my tea, and shifted in my seat. I stammered through an answer that did not satisfy me any more than it satisfied them. Thankfully, this couple continued working through these questions, and we celebrated their baptism into Christ. But How many remain separate from Christ and His church because they have similar concerns?