On the topic of UNITY....
Rick Warren says that the simple solution,
if you have someone in the church
who disagrees with you...
someone who "causes" disunity.....
simply "get rid of them."
"The Bible talks more about unity of the church than it does about either heaven or hell. It's that important. Churches are made up of people, and there are no perfect people. So people get into conflict with each other. As pastors, we need to learn how to deal with those situations. Specifically, we're called to do these six things when disunity threatens our church."-
~ Rick Warren: What the Bible says about handling disunity; Christiantoday.com:
Nov. 28, 2007
Is this statement even true, or are you just expected to believe it because he said it?
Is there any significance to how many times something is mentioned and how many times it is not o
r is all of scripture and what it has to say actually important?
"You’ve got to protect the unity of your church. If that means getting rid of troublemakers, do it."
- Rick Warren, What the Bible says about Disunity, christianpost.com Nov. 17, 2007
" As pastors, as shepherds of God’s people, it’s our job to protect our congregations from Satan’s greatest weapon – disunity. It’s not always easy, but it’s what we’ve been called to do."
~ Rick Warren, What the Bible says about Disunity, christianpost.com Nov. 17, 2007
Actually, Satan's greatest weapon is lies and deception.
He used it in the garden. It worked then, and it works today.
The Scripture actually says, "For there must be also heresies,
(also called, factions, differences, divisions)
among you, that they which are approved
may be made manifest among you."
Where is the UNITY in that?
And Jesus had something to say about UNITY too. He said,
“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn “‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother,a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’"
"Anyone who loves his father or mother
more than me
is not worthy of me;
anyone who loves his son or daughter
more than me is not worthy of me;
and anyone who does not take his cross
and follow me is not worthy of me.
Whoever finds his life will lose it,
and whoever loses his life for my sake
will find it."
Unity? Our unity is found in Jesus Christ.
(Matthew 10:34-39)
Unity? Our unity is found in Jesus Christ.
and actually, as pastors the job is to "preach the word."
(and Let "unity" be found in Jesus Christ (in the Word and in God's love)
Could we define, "troublemaker"?
Is a "troublemaker" someone who complains that the Bible is being ignored at church?
Is a "troublemaker" someone who speaks up when the Bible is being misrepresented?
Is a "troublemaker" someone who rejects the gospel or who openly refuses to repent of sin?
(That last one could cause disunity)
Rick's advice, "Get rid of "troublemakers". That's a pretty open-ended directive too.
What methods would be recommended?
"You’ve got to protect the unity of your church. If that means getting rid of troublemakers, do it."
- Rick Warren, What the Bible says about Disunity, christianpost.com Nov. 17, 2007
