Protecting Your Church


The last part of the second purpose for your life is to preserve the unity of your church. What’s that, you say? Isn’t that the pastor’s job? The New Testament gives “unity in the church” more attention than heaven or hell. God deeply desires that we experience oneness and harmony with each other.

Unity in the church is its lifeblood, the soul of fellowship. When this fellowship is interrupted by strife, discord and enmity, it is Christ’s body that is ripped out. The supreme model for unity is the Trinity; the Father, Son and Spirit are unified as one. God himself is the highest example of sacrificial love, perfect harmony, and humbleness.

Nothing on earth is more valuable to God that His church. To bring us to our churches, God paid the highest price for it, and He wants it protected, especially from the damage that is caused by division, conflict and disharmony. If you are part of God’s family, it is your responsibility to protect the unity of which you fellowship. You are specifically commissioned by Jesus to do everything possible to preserve the unity, protect the fellowship and promote harmony. How can we do this? The Bible gives us this practical advice.

• Focus on what we have in common, not our differences. It was God who gave us our differences; in personality, race, backgrounds and preferences. Paul said, in Romans 14:19, ”Let us concentrate on the things which make for harmony, and on the growth of one another’s character.” We believers have one faith, one hope, one baptism, one Spirit and one love. We also share the same salvation, the same life and the same future – more important that any differences we could enumerate. These are the issues, not the personal differences, that we should concentrate on.


• Be realistic in your expectations. When you discover what real fellowship is, it is easy to become discouraged by the gap between the ideal and the real in your church. Don’t long for the ideal, or settle for the real without striving for the ideal. Maturity is living without the tension. It has been my experience and that of others that believers will let you down, always, perhaps because of the higher expectations we have of them. Remember that they are your family, even when they don’t act like it. Other people can become disillusioned with the church, and we must remember that the church is made up of sinners like us, and we hurt each other, sometimes intentionally and sometimes unintentionally. But instead of leaving the church, we need to stay and work it out if at all possible. Reconciliation, not running away, is the road to stronger character and deeper fellowship. Perhaps an ideal sign for your church should be, “No perfect people need apply. This is the place for those who admit they are sinners, need grace, and want to grow.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German pastor who was martyred for resisting Nazis, said, “He who loves his dream of community more than the Christian community itself becomes a destroyer of the latter…” We need to give thanks for the Christian fellowship we have been placed in, even when there is no experience, no discovered riches, but much weakness, small faith and difficulty. If we keep complaining about the paltry and the petty, we hinder God from letting our fellowship grow.


• Choose to encourage rather than criticize. Rick Warren says, “It is always easier to stand on the sidelines and take shots at those who are serving than it is to get involved and make a contribution.” We need to curb severely the criticism and work to help.


• Refuse to listen to gossip. Gossip is passing on ‘information’ where you neither are part of the problem not part of the solution. You know spreading gossip is wrong, but you should not listen to it either. You cannot trust a person who spreads gossip, because besides gossiping to you, they can gossip about you.


• Practice God’s method for conflict resolution. Jesus gave the church a three step process:”If a fellow believer hurts you, go and tell him – work it out between the two of you. If he listens, you’ve made a friend. If he won’t listen, take one or two others along so that the presence of witnesses will keep things honest, and try again. If he still won’t listen, tell the church.” Matthew 18:15-17.


• Support your pastors and leaders. There are no perfect leaders but God gives leaders great responsibility and the authority to maintain the unity of the church. This is sometimes a thankless job, as they have the position of serving as mediator, conflict resolver, and trying to make everyone happy. Pray for your leaders, knowing that prayer honors them and supports their tasks within the church.

You are challenged to accept the responsibility to protect and promote the unity of your church. Put your complete effort into that, and God will be pleased. Sometimes you will have to do what’s best for the Body, and not necessarily for you. That’s one reason God puts us in a church – to learn unselfishness! Let’s not let our church lock their doors but continue to grow in the love and fellowship of the Body of Christ.

Next time: Purpose Number Three – You were created to become like Christ.

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