How Do We Handle Disagreements?

How Do We Handle Disagreements?
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“… if in any thing you be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.” (Philippians 3:15)

In this verse Paul was addressing his favorite congregation, the Philippians. This group of people had supported him with prayer, love, and finances when no one else would. As Paul’s prison sentence was coming to an end, the only group he desired to see were the Philippians. They were as close to being a perfect congregation as possible. But what exactly is a perfect congregation? It is certainly not one that makes no mistakes or never has disagreements. Neither is it a flock that has every doctrine correct or where everyone agrees on every teaching. So, what is a perfect congregation?

During one Wednesday night service, I asked the congregation how many had disagreed with some of the things I had taught throughout the years. Every hand went up. I was a little disturbed. To be honest,it hurt my ego. I thought maybe a few people might respond, but certainly not everyone.

A Spirit-filled church is unique. It is not united because of doctrine. The congregation is comprised of Baptists, Methodists, Catholics, Presbyterians and more. We are united by the new birth and the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Because we all come from different backgrounds, we often bring our “pet” doctrines with us when we are born again and filled with the Spirit. Regardless of how well a pastor may preach, some doctrinal beliefs will not be corrected until we all stand before the Lord at the judgment seat of Christ. We will all disagree on certain issues until we get to heaven. No one has the corner on the market for every doctrine.

If doctrine does not unite a church, what does? Vision is what unites the church. When we disagree, we should turn it over to the Lord, who will one day settle every issue. Until then, we can disagree without being disagreeable. Paul says, “…if in anything you be otherwise minded, God shall reveal it unto you.” We do not need to strive to make everyone believe as we do. We should “endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians4:3).

The definition of a perfect church is one that is able to catch the vision of both the Leader from heaven, Jesus, and the leader on earth, the pastor, to win souls and lead converts into spiritual maturity. A perfect church has the ability to take areas of spiritual disagreement and give them to the Lord, realizing God will handle all of them in eternity.

Bob Yandian