I still remember the church service where my dad got into a fight.
Okay, he only kind of got into a fight. It was a business meeting and dad had mentioned an idea he had for a ministry opportunity. Now dad didn’t know that his idea involved messing with a sacred cow that one of the other men of the church had. And this man was wealthier. He’d been going to that church for years, and so when he said no everybody listened.
I found out later that this was called church politics.
And I didn’t like it.
In the fourth century, the Emperor Constantine became a Christian. I say he became a Christian loosely, no one really knows if his conversion was sincere or for expedience to unify his struggling Roman empire.* And while there’s no shortage of material dedicated to his conversion, I’d like to talk about something else. I want to talk about what happened afterward.
It all started with a lady named Lucilla. She was a wealthy, devoted Christian, who had a strange habit of kissing the bone of a martyr before communion…like you do. Because nothing helps you focus like kissing a skeleton. And she did this every week, until her acting bishop asked her to stop. She refused, and so he kicked her out.
I know it already sounds like a soap opera, but trust me it gets worse.
Two other guys now enter the picture. They had wanted to get the bishop job at Lucilla’s old church and now they suddenly saw this as an opportunity to weasel their way in.
They fought it out for a while, until finally one of them was appointed to be a rival bishop. Some people took the side of the first bishop, others took the side of the second. Everyone was calling everyone else a heretic, the Emperor Constantine got involved, and eventually there was a schism, or church split.
The burning issue of the day was, “Are you pro or anti-skeleton kissing?”
I think history is easier to talk about for one reason. We tend not to care about the issues that they cared about quite as deeply. Nobody’s splitting a church over this communion practice today, but the implications of history…that’s where things get dicey.
Reading through the first few hundred years of church history we didn’t used to act like this.
Sure we had disagreements, and sometimes sharp ones. People tried to coerce, use influence, and sometimes even were ugly. But as a church we rarely gave into this kind of soap opera before this. We were smaller, on the margins, localized.
But now we were something else.
It was becoming hard to keep up with who was mad at who, and what nefarious ways they were going about trying to exact revenge on those who had slighted them.
It felt, in a word, like politics.
Perhaps already the church is seeing the fruit of some seeds it had inadvertently planted.
We began to privilege the very people that the world did. The wealthy and powerful were no longer on equal footing with those on the margins of society. We had lost Paul’s desire of church as a community of people “no longer regarding anyone from a worldly point of view.”
In getting comfortable with the systems that the world used to govern itself, we changed into something much different than the close knit band of self-less people we started off as.
But at least ministers get a tax break.
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You’re on to something here.
I’d be down for kissing the skully…I mean with Halloween coming up what better way to take a pagan holiday for our own. Haha. But no seriously.
“And this man was wealthier. He’d been going to that church for years, and so when he said no everybody listened. I found out later that this was called church politics. And I didn’t like it.”
I lol’d at this.
I can’t tell if you’re mad at the reality of “church politics.” Of if you’re mad at how shamefully church politics has been conducted through the years.
I appreciated the many excellent points you made. You’r a fantastic writer.
Those sacred cows really stink when you set them on fire. But it’s worth enduring the stench most of the time.
Jonathan,
Jeremy Schopper here. Not sure, but we may have run into each other at Harding-I left in 2000. Just thought I’d introduce myself before commenting.
I’m thinking along with you here. No doubt about what you are saying-except for it not happening early on. I think the text is full of people being people (which is really what politics is). The first thing that comes to mind is Peter being taken to task for baptizing a gentile. Sure, there’s much more to that lesson- but one of the roots of that tree was politics- “I want my way.”
The frustration is that there’s not many options by way of changing this. I think it comes down to human nature. We’ve just got to keep preaching Jesus and hope somewhere along the way something sticks.
Look at me throwing stones at the folks I preach to. I’m human too
.
For His Kingdom,
Jeremy
Your warning against us participating in the world system in the church is valid. It’s hurtful when church politics predominate instead of a desire to love God and people in ways that are real.
But I think Jeremy is right that this is human nature and not something new. I’m grateful for the times God’s forgiven me of my own selfishness and hope to see things clearly and act with love in the future.
That’s why some of us who worked in the ministry, even for many years, don’t attend anymore. The pain is greater from a Christian.
But we’re not called to display human nature once we’ve committed to following Christ. We’re called to display His nature. We no longer live. Christ lives in us.
KO, thanks.
JMont, Don’t you mean All Saints day? That’s the Christian version of that (or in some churches Fall Fest).
Wes, thanks. Also thanks for posting that video on how to memorize the Greek Alphabet. Genius.
Philip, thanks man. You’ve always been encouraging, thanks for getting me to write again brother. You’ve helped a lot.
Sheila, well said.
Jeremy and Tracy, Yeah you’re right people have always been people. But what I am talking about isn’t as much human nature as it is the way these Christians began to look at power. There’s some brilliant stuff in the book of Acts about the way Jesus turned their views of power upside down. In fact, I think that’s the main reason Paul is writing 2nd Corinthians, to address these kinds of power plays.
With that said, you’re right I think that even the first Christians struggled with this, but with the conversion of Constantine it became systematized. This became the natural way we interacted with one another. Thanks again for the thoughts to both of you!
LKT, I’m sorry. I know that church can chew us up and spit us out sometime. May God restore the years that the locusts have eaten.
Keith, thanks for stopping by. That’s spot on, and part of that is dying to the systems that seem to work so well for others. I have heard it said that a good translation of John 19 is Jesus saying to Pilate, “My Kingdom is not of this system.” That’s the nature we put on display.
2 words I’m going to use this week: dicey and nefarious.
It is permissable to say T.D. Jakes on your blog? If so, while reading your blog I was reminded of sermon I heard of his. As Charismatics are want to do, Jakes began talking about demons and how Satan has them well organized and they know that they are to kill, steal, and destroy. Obviously God is stronger than Satan and Jesus defeated him at the Cross. However, he still has power when he is allowed and many Christians are influenced by him as are the people who don’t know Jesus. Sadly, while church people/Christians argue and pander and squabble and fight and flaunt power, satan’s demons are well organized. I don’t remember in Scripture where demons and witches are arguing, but we know a plethora of examples where Christians lose focus. As some of your guests have pointed out and I’m sure you agree the more our focus is on God, the more we are truly His, the more effective we’ll be for God and His Kingdom. Awesome post, brother. Keep it up.
Great stuff. I have been bitten by church politics and I have done my share of damage too. I pray that my heart and desire in the future will be Christ-like in all that I do whether with the lost or with brothers and sisters.
Maynard, I’ve grown up in the Church of Christ but now think I might be charismatic. Cool! I have come to see everything as a spiritual battle pitting satan’s band of warriors against those of us who have signed up to battle with our Lord.
LKT- your statement makes my heart hurt. I pray you find peace in Christ and can move past the pain you feel and rejoin the body with all of it’s infirmities one day.
Maynard, 1 word I’m going to use this week, plethora. About your comment…The one truth I’ve learned this year is this, you can’t bring Heaven on Hell’s terms, though much of church history is riddled with our attempts.
Jeff, Yeah I think most of us have been both the predator and they prey. Thanks for your honesty brother.
I enjoyed your writings; looking forward to seeing you at Highland. You are touching some viable topics here.