Brokenness and power

For quite some now, I have not been on the 'church grapevine'. The years I was more involved directly in church, sad to say left many experiences that took time to resolve......these days, I don't know what to think about all that seems to be going on in many churches. I hear from friends, as I pray alongside them, and the bottom line to me is 'power'. It doesn't matter which side starts it off -whether it is pastoral leadership that grabs for power or it is the lay members who feel they want a bigger say in things..... the 'body of Christ' today suffers many wounds, often self-inflicted. I speak as an 'outsider' - although a member of a church, I have chosen not to get into the fray and start taking sides. Maybe this is because much of what I do these days is not formal church ministry, that would be more directly affected by these power struggles.

There seems to be no end to such issues within churches.....I suppose as long as Christians are called to form spiritual communities and families in order for us to worship together, these issues will continue. There is no one right way to be church, that we can all try to follow. Each person has their own expectations of what the 'body of Christ' is all about. Each person wants to belong to a Christian community that meets their spiritual needs......each brings to the 'body' their past hurts, and their personal agendas. Multiply this by the number of members and there is no doubt conflict will arise.

We are all in process - and the 'body of Christ', sadly, is a broken body. If only we would all work harder at Jesus' command to 'love one another', if only the energies channeled towards conflict would be directed instead to 'consider others better than ourselves', and towards the world outside that needs to see us witness to the love of God that surpasses all our expectations.

Lord, have mercy upon us...the broken members of your body.....