One of my most precious memories of my boys is when we brought my youngest home from the hospital. My older son, who was almost three at the time, started talking in the back seat to the new baby. He said, "Hi, Baby Brother. I'm your Big Brother. You're so cute!" And other such sweetness all the way home.
When we got home, however, I unstrapped Baby Brother from the car seat and picked him up. Big Brother's eyes got wide. "No, Mama, don't pick him up!" he yelled. That started a few years of intense sibling rivalry!
I thought of that story this week while I was reading through Paul's letters in the New Testament. Paul knows that different factions are developing within the early church and doesn't want to see the church divided by rivalry. In 1 Corinthians 1:11-13, he writes to the church of Corinth, "For it has been made clear to me ... that there are quarrels among you, my brothers and sisters. What I mean is that each of you says, 'I belong to Paul,' or 'I belong to Apollos,' or 'I belong to Cephas,' or 'I belong to Christ.' Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?"
In his letter to the Philippians, Paul addresses the conflict between believers in the church who are proclaiming the gospel out of goodwill and others who are sharing the gospel out of "envy and rivalry." It took me a minute to think about what that meant.
Perhaps some people liked the attention that Paul was getting, or the praise, and wanted some for themselves. Or maybe they wanted the position of power, to control the new church movement. So, they started doing their own preaching, even establishing their own home churches. It wasn’t about Jesus - it was about them. Their popularity. Their success. Their esteem in the eyes of others. Further in Philippians 1, it seems as though they were even trying to discredit Paul, claiming that if he really was God's chosen prophet, he wouldn't be suffering so. Though Paul says it doesn’t matter because Jesus was still being preached, it bears examining.
These two passages together made me think about churches today. There are certainly examples of pastors and Christian leaders who seem to be truly in it for themselves. I won’t name names, but they are often the ones far more visible and vocal. The ones with private jets and TV specials and entire enterprises bearing their name. Maybe they want the attention or the praise. Maybe they want the power to control the direction of the church. Although the gospel may occasionally be preached, it is not the focus. They are the focus. Even when people talk about their church, the name of the church isn't used. Instead, it's, "You know, Pastor ______'s church."
It shouldn't be Pastor anyone's church.
It's Christ's church.
Paul begins his letter to the Philippians with his standard greeting. He says, "Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus." Some Greek scholars say "slaves" would be a better translation of the Greek. Paul doesn't introduce himself as the head of the church. He doesn't introduce himself as a prophet or a leader or even God's chosen speaker. He introduces himself as a slave of Christ Jesus. It's a lowly position. Much like Jesus Himself took when He walked amongst us, telling the disciples that the "last shall be first". It is Paul's way of telling them his life is not his own. All he does, all he is, all his life - belongs to Christ. And the rest of the letter calls the Philippians to live that way as well.
The Christian leaders who are truly in it for the right reasons are humble and authentic. Their actions match their words. They spend regular time with Jesus in prayer and meditation on Scripture. They’re in it because they love Jesus. They’re in it because they love people. And, just like Paul, they count everything else as loss. There's a noticeable difference about these individuals. Their lives are different. It's not about me me me. They are slaves of Christ Jesus.
Ultimately, we have an audience of One. His is the only name to be lifted up. His is the only one worthy to be praised. He deserves all our attention. He deserves our whole lives surrendered to Him.
It's not the pastor's church. It's not even our church.
It's His.
And the best part about that is - no matter how much we mess it up, the church will never die, because He lives.
Even the broken church of today can be resurrected if we remember who to keep our eyes on.
Not a person. Not a pastor. Not a leader. Not a political party.
Only Jesus.
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