Overcoming Division in the Church: What If Being Right Is Not the Goal?
Division has become so common in the Church that sometimes we barely notice it anymore.
One Christian disagrees with another, and within minutes, someone is labeled false. Churches separate. Friendships end. Social media posts are made. People gather others to their side, and before long, brothers and sisters who both confess Jesus Christ as Lord are treating one another like enemies.
But what if we have been asking the wrong question?
Instead of asking, “Who is right?” perhaps we should first ask:
“What does Jesus want His Church to look like?”
This question is at the heart of my book, Overcoming Division in the Church: The Power of Unity and Agreement Among Believers.
Jesus Prayed for a United Church
Shortly before the cross, Jesus prayed something remarkable:
“That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee...” — John 17:21 KJV
Notice why Jesus desired this unity:
“...that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.”
Our unity is connected to our witness.
That should cause us to examine how we treat one another.
The world is watching Christians disagree over doctrine, spiritual gifts, church styles, politics, personalities, leadership, and countless other issues. Some disagreements are important. Some teachings absolutely need to be corrected.
But disagreement does not automatically require division.
In Overcoming Division in the Church, I address the difference between standing for truth and allowing pride, fear, and our need to be right to create unnecessary division. The book repeatedly returns to the biblical call for believers to pursue unity in Christ without abandoning truth.
Correction Should Lead Toward Restoration
One of the areas I believe the modern Church desperately needs to reconsider is how we handle correction.
Jesus gave us a pattern:
“Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone...” — Matthew 18:15 KJV
Yet today, it can be easier to make a post than have a conversation.
It can be easier to tell ten people what someone did than to speak directly to the person.
Biblical correction matters. Truth matters. False teaching matters.
But how we handle truth matters too.
Correction should not be about humiliating someone, proving our spiritual superiority, or winning an argument. It should desire repentance, healing, truth, and reconciliation.
The Church does not need more people looking for someone to accuse.
We need believers willing to help restore one another.
The Church Was Designed to Need Each Other
Another major theme of this book is something our individualistic culture often struggles with:
You were never supposed to follow Jesus alone.
Scripture describes believers as a body.
A hand cannot decide it no longer needs the eye. The foot cannot separate itself because it disagrees with the hand. Different parts have different functions, yet they belong to the same body.
What if God intentionally gave another believer something you need?
What if instead of asking God to give you every gift, every answer, every ability, and every strength, sometimes His answer is to connect you with another member of His Body?
That changes how we see other believers.
Instead of competition, we begin seeing gifts.
Instead of asking, “What can I prove they are wrong about?” we begin asking, “What has God placed inside them that can strengthen His Church?”
The Church Should Be an Emergency Room
One of the illustrations I use in the book is that the Church should function more like an emergency room than a museum for perfect Christians.
Imagine someone bleeding badly but refusing to enter the emergency room because they don't look healthy enough.
That would make no sense.
You go to a hospital because something is wrong.
Jesus said:
“They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.” — Matthew 9:12 KJV
What if we approached the Church that way?
What if someone struggling with doubt could say it?
What if someone battling pride could ask for help?
What if someone struggling financially, spiritually, emotionally, or relationally could come to the Body without first pretending everything was fine?
Unity creates an environment where people don't have to hide their wounds from the very people God may use to help them heal.
What Could Happen If We Became One?
This may be the question that excites me most.
What could God do through a Church that stopped fighting itself?
Second Chronicles 20 gives us a powerful picture. Jehoshaphat faced an overwhelming enemy.
He feared—but instead of trying to handle everything himself, he sought the Lord.
Then Judah gathered together.
They prayed together.
They fasted together.
They sought God together.
And eventually, they worshiped together.
They faced something bigger than any one of them could handle, but they didn't face it alone.
Imagine churches beginning to think that way again.
Not, “How can my church become greater?”
But, “How can the Church advance the Kingdom?”
Not, “How can I prove that I'm right?”
But, “Lord, show me what is true.”
Not, “How can I expose this person?”
But, “How can this person be restored?”
Not uniformity.
Not compromising Scripture.
Not ignoring false teaching.
Unity under the lordship of Jesus Christ.
This Is Why I Wrote Overcoming Division in the Church
I didn't write this book because I believe I have handled every disagreement correctly.
I haven't.
Part of my own journey has involved recognizing times when I left situations wrongly, focusing on what others had done instead of examining my own heart, and eventually going back to repent for my part.
That's part of the message.
Overcoming division begins when we stop examining everyone else long enough to allow God to examine us.
Maybe the greatest threat to unity isn't that everyone else needs correction.
Maybe sometimes it's our pride.
Our fear.
Our hurt.
Our unwillingness to listen.
Our need to win.
Jesus prayed that His people would be one.
What if we took that prayer seriously?
That is the invitation behind Overcoming Division in the Church: The Power of Unity and Agreement Among Believers—not merely to talk about unity, but to become the Body Christ has called us to be.
The book is available now in paperback and Kindle on Amazon.
Pastor Scott
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