S.O.S.

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?

1 Corinthians 1:11-13

I’ve never been in a church environment where there was some sort of quarrel. In any big family of diverse personalities, maturity, experiences and contexts you would expect a level of misalignment and tension.

But there are some quarrels that are so dangerous that they threaten to cause rifts in the family that are hard to recover from. So it is with putting our faith and hope in any leader other than Christ.

What had happened? Factionalism within the Church. Perhaps based on personality preferences. I just relate to this person better. I like the way they do things or say things. I follow …… 

Now, again. Some of this is natural. It’s natural to gravitate towards certain people for various reasons. But the danger comes when we decide to form a faction with them. There should only be one faction in a Church. Jesus’ faction. Jesus followers. Who seek to follow Him and His teaching.

Is that your first allegiance? Is that who you follow?

Does that mean we don’t listen to Christian leaders? Well, Paul will say a few chapters later, imitate me as I imitate Christ. So no, the answer is we listen and even show loyalty to Christian leaders but never the same as we do Christ.

For Today:

• Have you experienced quarrels in the Church?
• Do you follow Christ first and foremost?
• What does that look like in your Church context?

Pray: Praise the Father for the unity of the Trinity. Give thanks for Jesus Christ who is worth following. Ask God for His Holy Spirit to help you and others follow Jesus and to flee quarrels and factionalism.