Coping with Groupism in the Church
As a pastor responsible to oversee Christ's church, I often go through times both of delight and pain. One of the things that aches my heart and feel responsible to address is the issue of groupism.
Groupism is not a new problem that we face in the church today. It was there centuries ago in the early church. For example, the widows of Hellenists (Greek-speaking Jews) were neglected by the Hebrews in the daily distribution of food (Acts 6). There were groups in the Corinthian church that claimed to follow their favorite heroes (1 Corinthians 3). The rich in the church despised the poor by having the Lord's Supper without waiting for them (1 Corinthians 11).
Clearly, groupism is neither a new problem nor an uncommon problem. Yet we cannot ignore the problem of groupism or pretend like it does not exist—because it causes an immense damage to the unity of the church. It must be addressed with the authoritative teaching of God's Word.
Having said this, I must also mention tha…
Groupism is not a new problem that we face in the church today. It was there centuries ago in the early church. For example, the widows of Hellenists (Greek-speaking Jews) were neglected by the Hebrews in the daily distribution of food (Acts 6). There were groups in the Corinthian church that claimed to follow their favorite heroes (1 Corinthians 3). The rich in the church despised the poor by having the Lord's Supper without waiting for them (1 Corinthians 11).
Clearly, groupism is neither a new problem nor an uncommon problem. Yet we cannot ignore the problem of groupism or pretend like it does not exist—because it causes an immense damage to the unity of the church. It must be addressed with the authoritative teaching of God's Word.
Having said this, I must also mention tha…
