A call for unity of mind and purpose
“Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose.”
—1 Corinthians 1:10
Seventh-day Adventist Church administrative conference offices periodically hold all-day ministerial workers meetings to support pastors engaged in ministry. One of the topics that invariably is part of the agenda addresses how a pastor should respond to church conflict within the congregation or ministry team. A seasoned pastor shares various strategies and personal experiences for how to handle church conflict. The presentation is followed by a time of discussion in which pastors disclose the various issues that caused divisions in their local churches. Things such as how a charismatic minister or teacher obtained a following and led a group of members to separate from the church, how a new worship style divided the older and younger generations of the church, or how a building program to refurbish the church split the members into various factions (oftentimes over the color of the carpet!).
The church at Corinth was similarly distressed by internal conflicts. The apostle Paul had heard “that there are quarrels among you” (1 Corinthians 1:11); members were aligning themselves and giving personal allegiance to certain leaders. These members developed a special bond of loyalty to the one who baptized them, and they were impressed by those who preached with rhetorical skill and flair, “with eloquent wisdom.”
Paul understood the church as an end-time community of believers, “eagerly awaiting the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ . . . called by God into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:8-9). A church with divisions and quarrels is nothing short of scandalous; the Corinthians had abjectly failed to grasp their new identity in Christ — they were members of the household of God, the manifest body of Christ in the world. And so, the apostle admonished them: “Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose” (1 Corinthians 1:10).
Paul wants the divisions to stop and for the Corinthians to make a concerted effort for unity of mind and purpose. This will involve a fundamental reordering of status and power on their part: “For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power” (1 Cor 1:17). In other words, stop forming cliques and being so enamored with the rhetorically gifted preachers’ presentation of the message of the gospel; instead, recognize that the message of the gospel is centered on the cross of Christ: “the community’s life before God depends entirely on Jesus’ death on a cross . . . The church is saved and sustained only in the name of Jesus. When this truth is kept clearly in focus, petty rivalries and preferences for different preachers are seen in their true light: They are simply ridiculous” (Richard Hays, First Corinthians, 23).
As employees of LLUH, each one of us participates in various kinds of communities — whether in our workplace or our own local congregations. And at times, like the church at Corinth, our communities experience factions and quarrels. May each one of us set aside the forms of conduct that are divisive and lead to squabbles, and instead, may we embrace Paul’s call for agreement, no divisions, and a unity of the same mind and purpose by which we “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3).
—Leo Ranzolin, ThD, is dean of the School of Religion.
