Summary: As ministers together in the gospel of Christ, if we fall into arguing amongst ourselves, we have lost focus and we are fighting the wrong enemy. We are all on the same team. Sometimes small things need to be let go in favor of confronting larger issues.

As we have followed the new disciples of Jesus, we have seen a number of important lessons taught and demonstrated. These early lessons are from the book of John:

• Jesus changes your perspective

• Jesus gains your faith as a friend

• Jesus spends time with family

• Jesus introduces us to His whole character, even that which is hard to understand

I think this episode belongs in the next level of discipleship because these disciples were possibly some who were still in the process of choosing to follow Jesus instead of John. Jesus leaves it to John to address this dispute.

What is this dispute about?

On the surface it is over baptism and who should be allowed to do it. But I think this perspective reveals something more important about ministry disputes in general.

• Ministry disputes are more often about personality than about theology

• Ministry disputes usually ignore who ministry is really about

• Ministry disputes can be fueled or calmed by wise leadership

After Jesus spoke privately with Nicodemus, Jesus left the Galilee area and moved south along the river. He was working on the eastern side of the river.

22After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized. 23Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were constantly coming to be baptized. 24(This was before John was put in prison.) 25An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. 26They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—well, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”

27To this John replied, “A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. 28You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him.’ 29The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. 30He must become greater; I must become less.

31“The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. 32He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. 33The man who has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. 34For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit. 35The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. 36Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.”

John 3:22-36 (NIV)

The placement of this ministry is important. Jesus was working in hostile territory. The region He was working in was populated by Gentiles and Samaritans. John was working in Samaria, and Jesus was on the other side of the River in the southern end of Decapolis - a hot bed of Gentile paganism. He was involved in serious cutting edge ministry. People went out there to find the prophet John who was working in Elijah’s old stomping grounds. Now Jesus is there too, but He has moved out of Jewish land and into Roman land.

This marks the beginning of Jesus’ actual work. He has been doing some localized teaching and calling the disciples. He has begun his miracle ministry, but it has not taken its fullest shape yet.

Many people are traveling to this area to find John. Apparently people think much as they do today. People tend to think that real spirituality is somewhere else. There is a spiritual experience to be found in a different place that cannot be found where I am now.

• In Biblical times people traveled to the Temple

• In the Dark Ages this gave rise to the tradition of pilgrimage to the Holy Land

• In modern times it is more likely to be associated with what people are doing in a particular place, so they go there to participate

People go to places like the American Southwest, The Christian monastery at Taize, France, Tibetan monasteries hoping to find what the people there have found. People in Jesus’ day were no different. People went out to the wilderness to find John and see what he was doing. What John told them was to go back to their lives and to do things differently.

But in the Jordan wilderness, the first ministry rivalry was taking place. The disciples of John were finding themselves embroiled in a controversy over baptism.

Baptism controversies persist

There may not be a more divisive issue in the church today than baptism.

• Should we baptize infants or believers?

• Does infant baptism save or is it different in function?

• Should we sprinkle

• Or pour

• Or immerse

• If we immerse should it be one time backward

• Or three times forward

• If I am baptized in one church will it be accepted at another?

• Is my salvation dependent on my baptism?

• Or is it merely symbolic?

• If it is merely symbolic, why such a fuss over the whole thing?

This is not a message on baptism, but we should understand that this first church dispute has never been fully resolved. It was something that we can relate to. I was in a conversation with a 14 year old boy last week who had firm and dogmatic views on the subject, and was willing to argue about it. Also, I spoke with a teenage girl who was experiencing tension with her Christian friends over the subject.

It permeates everything and we move our biases about the subject to the next generation before they can even fully articulate why they should be baptized at all.

This early controversy seems to have been about who should baptize.

So they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, the one who was with you on the other side of the Jordan River, about whom you testified — see, he is baptizing, and everyone is flocking to him!"

(John 3:26 NET.)

We are very familiar with this kind of dispute too

• John, He doesn’t do it the way you do it

• John, you were here first

• John, if you hadn’t introduced him, he would be a nobody

• John, His ministry is getting bigger than ours

• John, does he really have the right to overshadow you?

John was dealing with his disciples. The complaint was one of significant spiritual immaturity, and John addresses that issue rather than the one that is being raised.

Every church needs to learn to cope with ministry disputes. More importantly, every individual needs to learn to cope with them in order to avoid fueling them. There are some issues that should put our backs to the wall, but we must make sure that if we are going to the wall, we are doing it for big enough reasons. So note these facts:

Ministry disputes are more often about personality than about theology

Notice that in verse 25 it is about theology, but in verse 26, it has degenerated into who has the most followers.

• the matter of ceremonial washing

• everyone is going to him

This degeneration has a few different motivations.

• popularity - Who loves me or appreciates me?

• control - How many people can I manipulate?

• power - Who is in this crowd and what kind of leverage does that give me in outside circles?

• status - Who notices this great crowd and respects me because of it?

In this particular case, the disciples tried to drag John into the struggle, but John dug in his heels. In verse 27, John affirms that the power, influence, control, or popularity that he is receiving from people is entrusted to him by God and is not to be held as a personal possession.

The ultimate goal of ministry is to be faithful to the job entrusted to us, not to promote ourselves. In every church, including this one, there are times when people forget this. Even good, well-meaning, spiritual people. These disciples thought John might be susceptible to that temptation, but he wasn’t on that day at least.

Guard yourself against this ministry temptation. It a powerful method Satan uses to drive a wedge between the people of God. It starts out with simple observations about the way others do ministry:

• That’s not the way I would run that committee

• That’s not the way I did that job when I had it

• They would do better if they went about it this way

• That person really is dropping the ball on that project

There is nothing wrong with personal observations. However, if we do not stop our critical thinking quickly, we move to the next stage - interference:

• If they won’t do the job right, I will step in and see that it gets done properly (imposing)

• I should take this problem to a person in leadership or a person with influence and allow them to confront that person (undermining - this is what John’s disciples attempted)

• I should talk with a person whose methodology I prefer and see if they are experiencing the same dissatisfaction I have (gossip)

These attitudes are completely out of place in the church. John confronted the attitude by affirming Jesus’ ministry role and disclaiming any personal loss in Jesus’ success. The whole thing started outside the circles of leadership and infected John’s group, the side that might have been experiencing disenfranchisement. It is destructive, prideful, and selfish.

Ministry disputes can be fueled or calmed by leadership

A responsible minister rejoices when attention is drawn to Christ, even if his own ministry is diminished. John stepped back

He must increase, but I must decrease

He made sure that he did not contribute to the controversy, but instead, he drew attention to Christ. John took the opportunity to say:

I am only a man - Jesus has seen the face of God and He has come to teach us about it. Listen to Him. If you don’t then you are missing the point.

The fact is, that Jesus was the person against whom they had a complaint. I hope that if any of you come to me with a complaint about another person and the way they are ministering, I will have the personal integrity to ask, "have you talked with that person about this?" It is a problem that when people had an issue with Jesus, they went to John.

John handled this by repeating the fact that he was not the messiah. He was only a messenger. Sometimes we may have to do the same thing. We may have to say, "I have not been anointed for that ministry, someone else was. My opinion does not matter."

Ministry disputes usually ignore who ministry is really about

Besides this misplaced emphasis on the minister, we see in ministry disputes a withdrawal from the person for whom we work. The disciples of John did not go to Jesus to air their grievance, they went to John. John did just what he should have done, he pointed them back to Christ.

• He must become greater, I must become less

• He must increase, but I must decrease

Jesus was the person John and his whole ministry was about. Some critics say that the last few verses of this chapter are out of place. I don’t think so. John was telling His disciples, "your focus is wrong. Jesus is the one you should listen to, not the critics and not me."

This brings to light a fundamental problem. Deep beneath ministry disputes is a core of unbelief. If I am too worked up about the way someone else is doing ministry and not giving my full attention to my own relationship with Christ and how it plays out in ministry. I am distracted.

I am distracted by my unbelief in the fact that the Holy Spirit can work through you as much as He can work through me. I am not indispensable. I am not the beginning and the end of God’s ministry through you. The way it incidentally affects me is not nearly as important as the intended affect your ministry is supposed to have.

All ministry focus is on Jesus

He must become greater, we must become less

If I am distracted by someone else’s difference in style, or by someone’s criticism of my ministry, I am not exercising faith in the person for whom I am working. As a minister or a person observing a ministry, my first and only perspective should be:

Is Jesus being shown in the light of His greatest glory?

If I am worried about anything else, I am nitpicking details and need to refocus.

What should you do in times of dispute?

Admit that you do not have all the facts - this is a basic truth about anything you are not directly involved with.

Focus on the ministry you have, and allow other people to do the same - No one can do everything, concentrate on your own responsibility - in simple terms, mind your own business

Remember how others have been critical of your own ministry in the past - if you are doing anything at all, you will have experienced criticism.

Learn to make direct, constructive suggestions rather than criticize

Refuse to speak negatively about another person (even with leadership) except to their face, in love - this is important to draw a distinction between disagreements and issues of sin. Is this a big enough issue for me to risk conflict between me and that person, if I am completely unsupported by others? A disagreement about methodology or style is not enough, we should only be willing to confront when sin is involved. Otherwise a friendly constructive suggestion is all that is called for - when your suggestion is not taken, you should let it go ... it is their ministry, not yours.

When your own ministry is attacked by others

Take suggestions seriously, even if they are not given in a gentle way. Sometimes critical people have a point. No one has all the answers.

Remember that you are only a servant of Christ, and if you are being faithful, it is Him and not you they are attacking

Go directly to that person and kindly ask him or her to not interfere, (please don’t do that, I have another idea that is being worked out).

Let the criticism roll off. This is easier said than done. I once heard a wise man say, don’t allow yourself to be upset by anyone’s opinion if you would not have asked for it in the first place. Perhaps you are like me and you need a cool off time. Take a few minutes to let your trash can explode, then let it go. You have a calling on your life and your focus should be there, not on insignificant differences in opinion.

As ministers together in the gospel of Christ, if we fall into arguing amongst ourselves, we have lost focus and we are fighting the wrong enemy. We are all on the same team. Sometimes small things need to be let go in favor of confronting larger issues.

Satan is alive and well and attacking the world and the church for everything He is worth

I don’t have time to fight with you over personal preferences and you should not have time to fight with me

We both have bigger fish to fry