Partnerships: Where are they in the Church🤔🔍

Hey friends!

Welcome back to the blog, and a special Hi to the first-timer. I'm so glad you're here.

Over the last few days, I've spent some time thinking about how fast the gospel spreads in our world. Even though it's advancing quite speedily in some areas, I can't help but think there's more we could be doing.

Hence today's post. So sit tight and grab a snack.

Today's post is inspired by Ecclesiastes 4:12

Image credit: dailyverses

I was listening to a podcast yesterday and one of the anchors gave this anecdote of being jealous 10 years ago when their friend got a record label deal because they thought they was a better rapper than said. Then God asked them, "Why are jealous though? It's for my glory after all. Does it really matter who does the rapping?" Later, I saw this post of an NGO and Bolt collaborating to help people register to get their PVCs (Permanent Voters Card) and it got me thinking. Mergers and partnerships are awesome ways that companies, celebrities, countries, etc use to strengthen their power or create publicity about something. It's so common, I wonder why churches all over the globe aren't eager to implement this? Why aren't we partnering? Is it because we want the name of OUR church to be the one all over the world so people say, "Wow, your church is so popular!"?

In Nigeria, it's easy to get caught up in which church we attend or which daddy GO is our daddy that we forget the main mission - spreading the gospel.

Some of us have a hard time relating to our brothers and sisters just because they attend a different denomination on Sunday. Some of us secretly don't trust the word preached to them because it didn't come from our own pastor.

Paul spoke against a variation of this in 1 Corinthians 3 when people started to boast in following Apollos over Paul or Peter. He said "It's not important who does the planting or who does the watering. What's important is that God makes the seed grow." Now, I understand that the responsibility of a church's leader is heavy. They have to do a million things for the sheep yet even the shepherd needs to be fed. This is why I put it to us to first pray for our church leaders. They do a lot yet they constantly come under fire that they can do more. Such is the cup that they bear. It's not easy to let someone else come feed your sheep but I'm not asking that pastors be preaching at all and any church all over the world on Sunday. Even Paul placed trusted partners and mentees in charges of the churches while he went on further to preach the gospel. The message of the gospel is pretty simple. Spreading it is priority number 1, hence the great commission in Matthew 28:19. The feeding of the sheep is a close priority number 2. Should there be parts of the world where we would be able to reach if we partnered with other DOCTRINALLY SOUND churches but are left untouched because we ourselves haven't reached there? Jesus didn't sail the world. He taught a few and they were the ones that sailed around the world. Now, with the advancement of tech, opportunities for collaboration are everywhere. Yet the gospel hasn't reached some places. Why? I understand that some are concerned about the doctrinal accuracy of some churches but I urge us and moreso our shepherds to think critically. Are we really doing all we can to correct our sister churches who we think may be going astray doctrine-wise or have we given up on them already?

Some of the doctrine we argue about are so blatantly stated in the bible, it's a wonder how some got to a different conclusion. In this case, I suggest such arguments about primary, foundational doctrines must not be to engaged in to win, but to out of love and edification, remove the scales from our siblings' eyes. For he who builds on sand will be washed away. On the other hand some doctrinal differences are so tertiary even quarternary that they aren't even worth the arguments they cause🤕

How can we be a body and yet be so divided?

I shouldn't enter a church and be wondering if I'm in the right place because the message sounds so different from what was written in the bible. We shouldn't exalt secondary and tertiary interpretations above the core message, the gospel. That's a recipe for disunity right there. Some churches are schools of success while others are about casting out demons, some are teaching how to escape hell while others are motivational conferences to sooth every listener. The atmospheres are so different, you can actually feel it. To the sheep, if we really cared about our brothers and sisters, we would want to make sure they are eating good food. A prophet that hasn't been enlightened on a matter is different from who is intentionally manipulating his congregation. Yet fear or spite often makes us put them in the same box and condemn both congregations.

IsoI put it to all shepherds, please consider strengthening yourselves as brothers who carry a heavier burden. If one receives a different revelation on a matter than another, it doesn't mean the other is automatically a false prophet. It means there is further prayer and discussion to be done since you are all supposed to be under the same God and Spirit. Do we even have a retreat for leaders of the church? I don't know. But if we don't, we should. Imma come right out and say it, I don't think one church can be present in all parts of the world. Every country? Maybe. But we're going to need a better strategy than "Our banner must be everywhere" if we are to meet our main goal, which is all men saved. The enemy's plan is simple. To get as many people as possible away from the gospel and God and his main strategy is divide and conquer, usually through deception, manipulation and isolation. We cannot be shooting ourselves in the foot by trying to do things alone.

Right now, the entire body of Christ needs to be connected more than ever.

For edification and for the cause.

It's not about the vessel, it's about the message.

Whew!

Thanks for reading fam. I know some of us might be uncomfortable or disagree with some things I said and that's fine. I was too at first but these are just some questions that I think should be asked more often in the church if we are looking to reach our goal. As the world becomes more hostile towards Christianity, my instincts automatically point towards coming together. Unfortunately, I see no proactive efforts towards this goal on large scales which is why I wrote to express my concern.

However, I'm excited to hear what you think about this regardless of if you agree or disagree, so make sure to drop a comment below. Although at the end of the day, I'm sure we can agree that sharing the gospel is a top priority for any and all Christians. And that's good enough for me😇

Have a restful weekend.

Peace and love.