Churches in Conflict

Churches are in the news, but not with good news. I read yesterday about a Tennessee pastor who is being accused of the church paying for his daughter's wedding reception. There are some other accusations that have come to the surface, but that were proven false. Then last night on our local news station there was a story of a pastor who had resigned his church because money mismanagement.

I am not accusing either one of these ministers of anything. I think it is sad when churches are the news, instead of sharing the news - the Good News. What concerns me is churches are in conflict around the country. It is not just these two ministers, or these two churches, churches as a whole are experiencing conflict.

This week in our Bible Study we are studying Acts 20. In this passage, the Apostle Paul is speaking with a group of leaders from the church in Ephesus. Paul says to these leaders: "Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers." The apostle literally says: "Pay attention to what is happening in your lives."

As leaders we must guard our hearts and lives, because Satan is a devouring lion who is seeking someone to destroy. If he can destroy the witness of one Christian then he is successful. If he can destroy a pastor or church leader then he has caused serious damage to a local church, a ministry, and to the Kingdom of God.

Later in that same passage Paul says: "So be on your guard!" As leaders we must not just "keep watch over the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers;" we must first "keep watch over yourselves." The writer of Proverbs 4:23 puts it like this: "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." In The New Living Translation that verse reads like this: "Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life."

We must be men and women of integrity or we will never be able to reach the world for Christ. We must guard our hearts.