Stand Up And Fight Or Turn The Other Cheek?

[paid4]

What do you do when the church you're at decides to split?

 

How long do you stand up and fight if any at all?

 

How is fighting for what you believe in not the same as the people who were wrong that caused the division in the first place?

 

Do you graciously turn the other cheek or fight to have them removed as well?

 

If it's Christ's to begin with, then what are you actually fighting for? the building, grounds, principle, Christ?

 

2 Timothy 4:2 or Romans 12:19

 

Please pick one or address them all but most importantly pray for me. One minute I want to crawl into a corner and just lay there and 2 minutes later I'm driven with fire to stand up for Christ!!  I have never experienced such a rollercoaster of emotions and thoughts.

 

Please help!!!

[DaveW]

So hard to know without being there; so hard to be there.
Praying for you.
And that church.

[John81]

I will be in prayer.

 

Neither of those two verses apply specifically to the case of a church split. Without knowing more details it's near impossible to rightly speak on this specific case. Church splits are typically very messy, usually are not clearly black/white, right/wrong and not about a single issue. Add to that the heightened emotions, the flesh rising up all around, eyes not fixed on Christ, many folks feeling what they want to believe is "righteous indignation/anger" when it's most likely just them giving into the flesh. Other folks going to another extreme of wanting any compromise for the sake of peace.

 

As our pastor has pointed out in the past; sometimes it's time for a church to split or die. Sometimes a church split is a means of getting the rotten apples out, while at other times it's a means of getting those dedicated to Christ to separate themselves.

 

Again, without details one can't really speak to the specifics of this particular church split.

 

As with all things, you can't go wrong by spending much time in prayer. Prayer for the overall situation, the leadership, the different factions, all involved as well as for yourself. It's during times of stress we really need to be in much prayer for the Lord's help to keep our flesh in check, to slow down, calm down and take the time to listen to the Lord. Waiting on the Lord, as Scripture commands, goes directly against our flesh which wants action and resolution NOW! We do ere if we step ahead of the Lord, even if we think what we are doing is right.

 

Seek the Lord, don't act without being sure of the Lord's leading. Be in much prayer, in constant prayer. Even when the Lord gives you direction, be sure to remain in much prayer as you follow His lead. All too often we can hear from the Lord and then rush off to OBey only to find ourselves doing so in our own power, operating in the flesh rather than His Spirit.

[paid4]

Lack of forgiveness is at the front of the matter. The ones with the unforgiving spirit caused the pastor to resign. The people of the church never had a voice in the matter. My struggle is do we leave the church building and meet somewhere else together or do we stand up and rebuke those that have acted in defiance to the scriptures. Maybe we do both.... I don't know. My goal is to be inside the will of God. Like Maze Jackson (I think) used to say " I want to be under the spout where the blessings pour out". The spirit inside me groans with pain for the wrong that was done to my Lord and Savior (and true head of the church) Jesus Christ. The steps in the Bible were bypassed and the heart of restoration was never evident. It was a malicious attack on the work that God himself was having us to do.

 

A little guidance from someone who has gone through this in the past is what I'm searching for I guess. What was the outcome and what was the route taken to get there just so I can get an idea of what the future may hold. Most importantly I covet your prayers and God's love right now.

 

Thanks Dave for your bit of humor it was needed.

Thanks John for your insight. It's almost like you were there.

 

Any other Godly counsel is greatly appreciated.

[ThePilgrim]

Something that might be a good idea in this situation.  

I can't be sure but some private messaging might be helpful in a better understanding of the issues involved.

[DaveW]

I didn't mean it as humour - I meant it is so hard for you being there - but I am glad it lightened your heart a moment either way.

If you and a few others are thinking of leaving over it then you really need to let the remaining know why.
In doing so you may actually strengthen that church, and possibly remove the need to go.
The advising needs to be done calmly and clearly, with biblical support, and in a spirit of prayer and humility.
It will take prayer, courage, and more than a little godly love.
If the pastor was wrongly forced to leave, then evidence of a change would be a willingness to apologise to him, although it is unlikely that asking him back would be the best on either side.

After following the biblical pattern for offences in Matt 18:15-17, if they don't accept your words and kick you out because of it then you haven't lost anything.....

I have never been through it so this is just my thoughts.

But to just leave won't help them to grow in the Lord.

[paid4]

I didn't mean it as humour - I meant it is so hard for you being there - but I am glad it lightened your heart a moment either way.

If you and a few others are thinking of leaving over it then you really need to let the remaining know why.
In doing so you may actually strengthen that church, and possibly remove the need to go.
The advising needs to be done calmly and clearly, with biblical support, and in a spirit of prayer and humility.
It will take prayer, courage, and more than a little godly love.
If the pastor was wrongly forced to leave, then evidence of a change would be a willingness to apologise to him, although it is unlikely that asking him back would be the best on either side.

After following the biblical pattern for offences in Matt 18:15-17, if they don't accept your words and kick you out because of it then you haven't lost anything.....

I have never been through it so this is just my thoughts.

But to just leave won't help them to grow in the Lord.

I thought it was humor because you're half a world away with the whole hard to be there part.

Brother you're right in line with everything that has been on my mind over the past 2 days.

 

We've been battling these members for the past 6 months. With the extensive Bible study I have done over the matter, I wrote down 5 steps to follow, using scripture, concerning church discipline and gave copies to all deacons. These were blatantly ignored and the Bible as well as the church constitution has been bypassed in every way of this situation. It's 9:47 here in the states while I am writing this. I have just read your response before I started typing. At 7pm this evening a good, godly man called me and offered the same exact thoughts and advice that you wrote.

 

There is only ONE that I know that has access to the minds involved and is not bound by time or place. I am at peace with the thought of doing what you describe.

 

Thank you all so much for your input. In a time like this all I was really needing was a voice and opinion and prayers of like minded believers.

 

Thank you OB and everyone involved!!!