Church Politics...

One of the most problematic issues that faces the Church today is church politics. Church politics, in its simplest definition, boils down to the practice of putting what we think is most important ahead of what God says is most important. In my time I've been associated with churches of all ages; churches that were new, freshly planted, churches that were matured and sometime set in their ways, churches that were growing, and churches that were stagnant. I've had the opportunity to observe this phenomenon of “church politics” from many angles.

When a church is newly planted, and in the early pains of its infancy and early growth there is almost always a unity of vision of what the church wants to be and what direction it’s headed. Yet as the church grows larger almost inevitably the unity of vision is lost. Leadership becomes fragmented in their direction as people begin to try and implement their own vision of where the church should go, without the unity of the leaders or the people. A major reason for this fragmentation is ego. Let me share a personal experience:

For a number of years in my recent past I had regularly attended a local Community church, a “seeker” church, if you will, with the desire and direction of making a welcoming environment for people seeking to fill that void in their heart. It was dynamic, it was growing, and it was exciting. I served in that church in several ministries. As we grew I began to notice this “church politics” growing, as there seemed to be a growing power struggle among leadership, perhaps desire for recognition. In one of the ministries I served a problem arose between the Elder in charge and one of the volunteer leaders. I thought the best way to handle it was to make the elder aware and discuss the situation before feelings got hurt and things got out of hand. I was expressly warned by my team leaders not to do so, or I “might get run out of church” like several others. Still, I sent him a note and we met.

During our meeting, this Elder, a “pillar” of the church, got angry and accused me of lying, of creating a mess that I needed to clean up. He claimed he’d talked to the parties and they disavowed any knowledge of any problem, that I was a liar, that I was a trouble-maker. So I turned on my computer, I opened my e-mails from the two parties, and I let him read for himself that everything I said was true. What was his response? I made a mess and I needed to clean it up. Not any acceptance of the fact that I spoke truth, that my concern was for the ministry and perhaps he should address his shortcomings in the situation. No apology was forth coming for calling me a liar, no sorrow for the pain and hurt feelings his words and actions had caused. Why not? - Because his ego wouldn’t allow him to acknowledge his wrong-doing. There’s no place for our ego when we’re serving God.

Another issue stemming from church politics is loss of vision. The community church that I recently attended had an early vision of reaching out to those seeking to fill that void that one has when not in community with Jesus Christ. The services were welcoming and open for anyone who wanted to experience Christian worship. Yet today, though the “vision” is still to reach out to “seekers” it has become lost in the “production” of each service. The emphasis is no longer on the act of worship; the emphasis is on the seeker. The whole reason for the church is for Christians to meet in corporate worship, and it is the worship that draws the seekers. When they come in and find others who are broken, who are flawed, but who live in joy and peace they want that, they seek to know more. But once the focus becomes the seeker the power of the worship experience is quenched. Corporate worship is the worship of God, not numbers of people you can get in to fill the seats…

I believe that a church needs to maintain a unity of spirit to remain vibrant and growing. A church needs to constantly recommit its vision and focus to the Lord. How can they best do this? How can churches avoid the pitfalls of church politics? First, change leadership regularly. Get new people in to serve. Church after church that I've observed has had the same people run for church offices year after year. It’s no wonder that egos build, that power struggles arise! Churches should have term limits. We see the same problem in our government- men who serve term after term, grow in power and “prestige” until they become a legend in their own mind. Limit the term, limit the power, and ultimately limit the damage that church politics can cause. The problem won’t be gone completely, for we are still flawed and broken human beings. But if there’s a problem in leadership term limits is a definite cure, for time will remove it if we don’t.

Last, I think churches need to focus less on size, on how many people they can pack in on any given weekend, and more on worship (the reason to gather corporately) for size ultimately becomes a pride issue. Sure, everyone wants to grow, but there comes a point where size hinders worship. My daughter pointed out to me that Jesus preached to thousands- but Jesus didn't preach to thousands every weekend, every service. No, when he needed recharging he met with his disciples, or withdrew alone to pray. Also, it’s worth pointing out, that despite listening to many wonderfully talented preachers and speakers in my days not one of them was the Son of God. Sometimes size begins to hinder worship. It becomes a production instead of a worship, and then the focus is lost. The early churches were “house churches”, meeting in the homes of the early Christians. By their very nature they couldn't be “large”- when they outgrew a home they split into several homes. Intimacy and unity had to be trademarks of the early church, for the very size made it so. Perhaps we need more of that model church…

Food for thought…