Rivalries are for Football, not Church

It is the height of the football rivalry season in the United States.  People are taking sides, rooting for their favorite team.  I remember the intensity during my high school years, playing in the band as loud as I could.  I also remember when my rival high school’s gym was vandalized. Fun rivalries can go too far and become destructive.  They can also leave sports and enter into other areas of life where they don’t belong. 

The Apostle Paul had this problem in one of his churches: “it has been reported to me… that there is quarreling among you, my brethren. What I mean is that each one of you says, ‘I belong to Paul,’ or ‘I belong to Apollos,’ or ‘I belong to Cephas,’ or ‘I belong to Christ’” (1 Corinthians 1:11-12).  Does this sound familiar?  We modern Christians also tend to align ourselves with a particular pastor, founder, spirituality, age group, or music style.  And that often leads to a feeling of being a little better than those of a different alignment.  We might even speak in a condescending way about them.  When we have to work together, quarrelling can erupt.  The Apostle Paul’s response to these church rivalries cuts to the heart: “Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?”  Of course not.  All Christians are baptized into only one Christ, and so we are most fundamentally the same.  We share Christ’s mind and Christ’s purpose.  If we find our differences are hurting our unity, we need to re-focus on Christ.  That doesn’t mean our different views and preferences aren’t important, but they should never become more important to us than our shared relationship to Christ.  If we’re not careful, like the Corinthians, we can let preferences and opinions divide us into cliques and rival groups. 

As the new year begins, it’s a good time for some self-reflection.  Can I say, “I belong to Christ” and have that as my primary identity?  Can I view other Christians primarily through the lens of “they belong to Christ” and think of their particular spirituality as secondary?

This leads to my new year’s challenge: this week, pray with or talk to one person whom you feel is in a different clique than you.  Focus on what you share in common.  Then let me know what happened in the comments section. For example, I have neighbors who attend a different church, and last week we talked about the joys and difficulties of church committees; nothing profound, but the conversation affirmed that we have similarities, keeping the door open for future conversation and collaboration.