What is The Church Divide

[Lynn S. Nored]

The present political divide in our country has brought to mind a much more serious divide, the church divide.  The political divide I am referring to is not the divide between political parties per se.  Rather it is the world-view held by opposing groups in our nation.  One group adheres to a world-view of personal responsibility,  independence, and self reliance.  In this group dependence upon others for sustenance is shameful.  The other group world view can best be summarized as "entitlement."  In this group, the view is each individual has a "right" to the efforts of others to provide sustenance.  

What is the church divide and how does it relate, if at all, to the above divide.  They are quite similar in many ways.  In one case, the Christian world-view is "missional".  In this world-view each Christian has the individual responsibility to use his spiritual gifts in the service of others.  In this view the individual does not depend on any congregation or church leadership to initiate or use his gifts.  The gifts being used are "outward" focused--whether used to serve other Christians or non-Christians.  Here the admonition to "go" is taken seriously and incarnational approaches dominate.   The "dependency" in this world-view is upon God and prayer.  In the other world-view, the focus is inward.   Usually this takes the form of each member believing the purpose of the church or congregation is to "feed them".  In other words they are "entitled" to have the worship service,  the bible classes, and ministries focused on their perceived needs. This is a "right" as a result of their being a member of a particular congregation.  In this case, programs are instituted to "attract' other members with the thrust that their needs will be met by the ministries in the congregation.  

In both examples given, political and more importantly, in the church, the entitlement world-view is corrosive to Christian character.  Though no one would dispute the fact that individual Christians who are genuinely in need should be taken care of,  a congregation that has the "entitlement" world-view promotes dependency--upon other Christians and not on God.  Not only does a congregation which has a "missional" culture serve others, but that very service builds up each member and enhances spiritual formation.   Unfortunately, in my opinion, this church divide is very real.