Who do you follow?

A Church Divided Over Leaders

10 I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. 11 My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. 12 What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.”

13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so no one can say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

Great discussion of this passage and its relevance to the Tampa Underground Church. It is tempting for Christians to align themselves with particular leaders over others and to be for one camp while against another. This not only creates division and disunity, but also elevates certain earthly leaders above THE LEADER of the church - Jesus. Their opinions and perspectives come to matter more than the words that one hears directly from God. We must be careful to keep Jesus at the very center of our lives. When was the last time you did something simply because you felt or heard from Jesus that he wanted you to do it? It becomes a dangerous thing when we seek the approval, encouragement and advice of other people in place of coming to Jesus. It is unhealthy, yet all too common, for people to support one kind of church leader or doctrine or paradigm. We are so quick to fall into the arrogance of believing that our way or our idolized & eloquent pastor is somehow better or more gifted or more true than others. Paul, in his words to the church at Corith, faced a similar dilemma where factions were devised and discord was birthed. All because those who claimed to be followers of Jesus chose to replace Him with an earthly leader, as if the King of Glory remained dead and was in need of a successor. We need to wake up again to the reality that our God is alive and speaking. And he is not just speaking through a Brian Sanders or a Shane Claiborne. He is not just speaking through a Mark Driscoll or a Rick Warren. Believe it or not, the Senior Pastor, the Chief Leader of the Church Himself - Jesus Christ - is speaking in a multitude of voices through his beloved and devoted followers. When we recognize this and affirm this without thinking more highly of one than another, then the possibility for a truly united church that values its leaders, but values and worships its Maker above all really can come to fruition. Would this desire for unity and submission to our God in all things become an everlasting marker of our church and apostolic movement here in Tampa. It's my prayer and renewing personal conviction every day.

"Unity is not something that is achieved by a direct campaign. You don't try to be unified. What you do instead is love God with all your heart and unity is something that comes out of it." - Brian Sanders