The Hub

It seems to me that it is accurate to say our generation is in a relationship crisis. We have the highest divorce rate in the Western hemisphere, more couples live together than are married, absentee fathers or mothers are common, abortions that number into the hundreds of thousands year-after-year, and in 2005 Southern Baptist churches dismissed over 1300 staff members. That number does not include those who were pressured to resign. For ten years the top five reasons given for vacating the pulpit or firing another staff member has to do with relationship issues: control issues, poor people skills, resistance to change, leadership style is too strong, or the church was already in conflict when the pastor arrived. You might have thought the most common reason had to do with sexual misconduct or ethical issues, but 2005 was the first time that sexual misconduct was listed in the top ten (number nine) and ethical issues made the top 20 (number eleven). The biggest problem in our churches is not division over doctrine or morality but relationships (LifeWay survey). We don’t know how to get along or we aren’t willing to work at it.

We’ve grown up in a culture that has taught us that we are to be served rather than serve. We would rather be the head than the feet. When we remember Christ we remember he said that he came to serve and not be served, and he sacrificed for us when we least deserved it. Our God wrapped a towel around his waist and washed the filth from the feet of his disciples.

The next time you dislike someone or something in this church, bring it to the cross. Does it really diminish Jesus Christ or the cross or is it a matter of personal preference? Does it really distract from the cross or is it just an inconvenience to you and your agenda? If a church or family would live this way the joy, peace, and unity would significantly increase. Peace and unity in the church takes effort.

CONCLUSION

Elie Wiesel, a Nobel Prize winner and survivor of the Holocaust, tells of his time in the concentration camp. He and a few others were forced to witness the hanging of two Jewish men and one Jewish boy. The two men died right away, but the young boy struggled on the gallows. Someone muttered behind Weisel, “Where is God? Where is He?” Then the voice growled again, “Where is He?” Weisel was asking those same questions, “Where is God? Where is He?” Then he heard a voice softly within him saying, “He is hanging on the gallows, where else?”

The next time you are wounded, either in the church or elsewhere, let it be a reminder that Christ was wounded so you might draw near to him. You see it is at that point you come face-to-face with the cross. You have a choice. You can die to pride and selfishness and humble yourself so you can live near Christ. Or you can think only of yourself and walk away from Christ or the church. All that is waiting for you is loneliness.

I know this is hard. But He has promised when we do it his way, we will find our life when we lose our life. When Christ and the way of the cross are kept priority, we discover oneness with Him and one another.