Pastoring Through Divisiveness
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
Benjamin Kreps:
Hey everyone. And welcome to the Mark Prater podcast, where our aim is to connect our global family of churches to our Executive Director. Mark, this is a somewhat unique time, I think, in my lifetime. Anyway, when it comes to how divisive everything can be when we are still navigating through a global pandemic. There is in America an election coming with deep divisions, there are all sorts of issues at stake and being debated in the Supreme court. Things like that. What thoughts or suggestions do you have for us as we seek to pastor our churches and to help us maintain, preserve, promote unity in our churches and in a deeply divisive season?
Mark Prater:
It's a great question. I think right now we would all say like you we've never faced a time like this before, and it requires pastoral leadership. I think the place to begin is to pray for our pastors. I thank God for the pastors of Sovereign Grace who are navigating almost what feels like uncharted territory right now. But your church and your people, they need you and they want you to lead them. So as I've thought about ideas or ways to just strengthen or cultivate unity in the church, I think there is the pastoral leadership in the pulpit. Now, I'd like you to speak to that a little bit, Ben.
And then there's the pastoral leadership that comes through kind of a members meeting. And what I mean by that is what pastors are doing, regardless of what part of the world you pastor in, there are certain rules, regulations you have related to the pandemic, whatever you've put in place that you're probably reminding folks of fairly consistently. And so your leadership can feel a little bit like, you know, it's being driven by that and it has to be. But I think there could be an important timely members meeting that you could consider for your church where you're pulling your church together and you're into just talking as a family. And you begin that meeting by just reminding your members of who we are, that we are people who have been bought with the blood of Christ and our unity is in Christ. And as we have all of these voices outside of the church that are loud and that can affect our unity, we've got to remember that it's Christ that unites us.
And then secondly, I think it's good to remind the church of who you are uniquely as a church family. Every church has its own unique history. And I would say things like the church, you know, we've been through a lot together, whether it's planting that church or as he built that church over the years, and God has been good to get us through a number of challenges. What that's required really of all of us is sacrifice. Whether that's financial sacrificing giving, or sacrificing serving, or sacrifice where we just really find ways to love one another. And we've got to remember who we are in terms of informing what we're facing right now, because we want to get through this together.
Most likely, like it has in the past, it will require our sacrifice, but God meets us in that, in those moments and helps us to love others, even others in the church that we disagree with. So it's kind of a family conversation like that. It isn't about policy and procedure, but more about who you are as a church family that I think could be helpful.
Benjamin Kreps:
I like that idea.
Mark Prater:
But tell me, we were talking right before we started to record this. There's also that pastoral leadership from the pulpit and you were telling me what you've done really providentially by God's grace at Living Hope. Tell me about that.
Benjamin Kreps:
Well, we were preaching through Romans for the past couple of years. And I decided to suspend preaching through Romans at the beginning of the pandemic, because I didn't want to squander, in a sense, the texts we were at, which was Romans 12 and following, which is all about all about our unity and serving and those things. And since we were trapped in our houses, I thought, well, let me wait. And so, providentially, as we came back to Romans a month or so ago, it was wonderful to be able to open up Romans 12 and now we’re in 13, be going through these texts slowly. Which have everything to do about what it means for us love one another, especially when we deeply disagree with each other. And so one idea, I think, and I imagine the guys who are preaching in Sovereign Grace are already thinking this way though, about preaching into this moment, but I would highly recommend looking at Romans 12 through 14.
It just covers the whole gamut of love and how we interact with enemies, the government preferences, opinions, all of those things. And so I've seen there's been people who have reported how the word has adjusted them, and there's even been repentance as a result of the word preached into this environment of disagreement and potential division. So the word works. God's word works. And so we have the privilege of unleashing the word of God into a divisive moment and to see God work in it.
Mark Prater:
I really appreciate you saying that, Ben, because just hearing that for me stirs faith in the word of God. The word of God is powerful. And the folks in our church, they need the word just like we need the word each and every day. And to have it preached as the Spirit works, that live preaching event is just so wonderful in the way that God loves and cares for and changes his people. So I really appreciate you reminding me of that and the guys listening to this podcast.
Benjamin Kreps:
You know, when we have churches that are united and we still deeply disagree on a number of different things, but there is a unity and love, that is one of the most powerful and important apologetics to a world that looks on us for suspicion. And we have the, the privilege in our gospel mission to express the supernatural grace of God and our unity, even when there is deep, especially when there's deep disagreements.
Mark Prater:
Right. Yeah. In a year where you’ve got people in a church in one has a strong opinion about wearing a mask. And one has a strong opinion about not wearing masks or maybe about a particular political candidate. And yet they can dwell together in unity, in love, loving one another and yet disagree.
Benjamin Kreps:
Yes.
Mark Prater:
It is a powerful example to the world around us. Isn't it? Especially right now.
Benjamin Kreps:
Yes. Counter-cultural and revolutionary, that's what that is. Thank you, Mark. Did you have another thought?
Mark Prater:
Yeah, just one of the thought. I think when it comes to, and I think everybody that's listening knows this, it's not going to just be one meeting or one series on unity or one sermon on unity that's going to sort of solve the problem. And it's just good for us to be reminded that faithful pastoring and faithful pastoral leadership over time knows that we’re going to need to continue to monitor our church and call them to unity and love them in it. And it's going to just be an ongoing work for us. So I wouldn't want to leave guys with, “Oh, yeah, that that meeting will solve the problem.” Because that typically doesn't happen.
Benjamin Kreps:
That's right. Yeah. Well, thank you Mark, for your thoughts and your encouragement. And thank you everyone for watching. We'll see you next time, next week, on the podcast. Bye for now.