“When I came to Troas to proclaim the good news of Christ, a door was opened for me in the Lord; but my mind could not rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said farewell to them and went to Macedonia.” (2 Corinthians 2:12-13) Paul is reporting what every Pastor knows. Disunity costs alot. Tension takes a toll. Sometimes the conflict in a church or with a church makes a Pastor so anxious and restless that he can’t serve effectively. He has to “walk away” from doors of opportunity rather than “walk through” them. Until Titus came with the report that the Corinthians had “held together”, Paul was too stressed and concerned to start anything new. We rarely estimate the huge impact that disunity has on a church and its ability to accomplish its mission in the world. And no one feels this impact more deeply than the Pastor.
We are praying for you & First Baptist. Thank you for being our pastor even in times of conflict. We can always have hope.
I was pondering “disunity.” Does not the idea of “disunity” presuppose the idea of “unity”? Yet we recognize “disunity” as distinct from “diversity,” a desirable characteristic. In God the first cause we have a perfect model, or blueprint, of unity and diversity, and “community”: the Trinity. Disunity would seem to have something else playing a part. Inevitably, the mission will be compromised to one degree or another.