Q1. Humility and Unity

Julie · May 28, 2005

In order to have unity everyone needs to be like minded, in which everyone needs to be joyfully serving Jesus and one another seeing to each ones needs like you would for yourself, loving others.

Lack of humility caused some to feel out of place there were no divisions but members were lost.

Well this is my church at this time.

learning2 · July 6, 2005

so we can see others needs over our own. To help them along in their walk with Jesus.

sadly, yes there is a division in my small church. Those who want to meet their own needs and unfornately have the need to ram rod things. Which has caused hurt and distrust amoung us.

I'm praying for those who has to do these things.

MoreThanConqueror's · July 8, 2005

Humility is necessary in being "like minded.., having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind, in a congregation of people.

The "like mindedness" here is that of Paul's as he follow's Christ. An example of lack of humility causing division in the church is not hard to see for your self. I'm not pointing finger's ok.

I bring unity to this church, that is my body, in Christ by spending lots of time in The Word Of God, with other saints in Christ,.. searching, studying, sharing, and learning from eachother, with eachother. When thoughts are not mutual on what ever subject(s, we press through the Word of God, searching it out. Sometimes people leave because they cannot agree for whatever reason, and that is why it is so important to keep our opinions out of the discussion's and let Gods' Word mean what it say's.

Cheryl McFarlane · July 10, 2005

I like what daeBee had to say on page one of this forum. I believe she's absolutely right. It's great to say we must "be humble". It's great to say we must not be proud. But what does true humility really look like then?

"For God so loved the world..."

If God loved (loves) the world so much, then so must I. God loved the world enough to give His very best, and His very best (Jesus) was beaten, mocked, scorned, abused and overlooked because He loved us all so much. I believe true humility reflects that kind of love.

If we do not recognize the worth of each person in the church and acknowledge how much each one is so LOVED by God, we can easily fall into the trap of picking favourites. Favourite Pastors, favourite friends, etc.

Sure, we can be closer to some then others (even David had his Johnathon) but when we do that and neglect the other believers, we are on our way to division.

I have personally done this. I belonged to a very busy clique of believers that served the church morning, noon and night. Anyone who did not serve as we did (although we never really came out and said this) was deemed less spiritual and less "succesfull" in their Christian walk. We had no love, no sympathy, no compassion. I Corinthians 13 verse something says if we do all these things but have not love we are a clanging cymbal.

God has taught me what true service is... loving Him and loving others (the first and greatest commandment).

I now, by God's grace, try to see the infinite worth of each person and let them know, if they are struggling, that God... the creator of the universe... LOVES them. I've seen people respond to that better than any kind of preaching I may have done in the past.

The church needs this so badly because it helps us recognize the absolute glory of the gospel. When we can sing together, Jesus loves me this I know, then God is glorified as united we stand in awe of the cross.

Lawrence · August 8, 2005

Q 1 - 2:1-4 ) For us Chritians to have humility and Unity,not only in our congregations but in our daily Walk a good start would be to Study the word of GOD! PSALM - 133. DWELL IN UNITY ! PHILIPPIANS - 2:2. JOY AND LOVE,UNION,ZEAL And HUMILITY. 2 CORINTHIANS 13:11.- LIKEMINDED= Rejoicing and Grieving Together, live in Peace, seek GOD in all THINGS! AMEN.

glory · October 11, 2005

HUMILITY IS NECESSARY FOR UNITY FOR WITHOUT IT THERE WOULD BE CONSTANT STRIFE, DIVISION AND DISCORD. IT IS UP TO US TO HUMBLE OURSELVES SO WE CAN WALK UNITED IN CHRIST.PRIDEFULNESS PREVENTS US FROM UNITING WITH OTHERS BECAUSE WE WANT TO BE IN THE SPOTLIGHT;WE DONT WANT TO FOCUS ON HELPING OTHERS WITH THEIR NEEDS.CHRIST HAD TO HUMBLE HIMSELF AND SO DO WE IF WE DESIRE TO BE MORE LIKE HIM.

A FEW YEARS AGO THE PASTOR CANCELLED THE FRIDAY NIGHT INTERCESSORY PRAYER GROUP MEETINGS BECAUSE HE FELT THEY WERE DOING THEIR OWN THING AND NOT PRAYING AS HE WANTED THEM TO.HE FELT THEY WERE PRAYING AGAINST HIM. I BELIEVE THE ENTIRE GROUP ENDED UP LEAVING OVER THE COURSE OF TWO YEARS AND SOME ARE STILL HOLDING IT AGAINST HIM AND NOT WANTING TO FORGIVE OR HUMBLE THEMSELVES IN THIS MATTER.

I PRAY AND I TRY TO ENCOURAGE OTHERS AS BEST AS I CAN .I HAVE BEEN THROUGH SOME VERY DISAPPOINTING TIMES AND I HAVENT BEEN REACHING OUT TO OTHERS AS I USED TO, BUT I DO DESIRE TO SEE US MORE UNITED AS CHRISTIANS.GOD BLESS.....

JustJeff · July 16, 2006

Humilty is the ingredient that holds the church together insofar as it is equality. If we do not regard one another as equals there will never be a unified church.

As our church ages we go through different levels of development. Because we deal with the homeless there has been a tendency to discriminate against them by those of us who deem ourselves better than they. This has caused divisions between those who cannot forget where they came from and those who have. Thanks be to God that we have developed beyond that point.

The only way that I know to teach humilty is by example, the greatest being our Lord. As I look to Him I am desparate to be like Him which means I have to crucify my flesh, put self aside and show the church by my works. I know too that the Lord humbles the proud and when you see Him working on a church member it is best to offer counsel so that the recipient grows in humility from the experience.

TJHANKS · September 3, 2006

Humility is necessary because otherwise we become self-centered instead of other-centered. The church is not there to promote one above the other it is there to promote Christ and His love and care for all. We are to reflect Christ otherwise we are being self-seeking and no one gains except self when that happens. The body of Christ is just that, a body. Legs just don't help out themselves, legs would be nothing without eyes and feet and arms. The body is to work together. Seeking to help each other out. This is why we are given different spiritual gifts, for the edification of the church not for our own glory.

The best example of lack of humility is those who are self-righteous and all churches have that problem. People who believe they have "arrived" they protect their salvation at the cost of others. They don't reach out to those in need out of fear of how the world may perceive them. they see themselves as saved but deep down inside they fear that if any type of mingling with the world may cost their salvation. In actuality they don't trust what is inside them, Jesus, and they don't trust God's protection. The big problem in many churches, including mine is when we take action to do something we are great in talking about it, but when that time comes no one shows up. We promote a "We are family" pledge to the church, but they seem to want to meet once a week. We have changed our service around to fit the needs of the church to promote fellowship time, as a church leader I try to encourage participation with church outtings and take interest in other's plights, it takes patience, we will see in the future. The devil works hard to destroy any unity of the church that would promte Christ.

steve.c · November 17, 2006

(2:1-4). To achieve unity in your congregation, why is humility necessary? Can you give an example of how lack of humility caused a division in your church? What are you doing to bring unity in your church?

We are all called to serve. It is one of the princople purposes for our being put on earth: to serve God by serving others as Jesus did. Rick Warren (Purpose Driven Life) puts it very well. This is how he says real servants act. They:

- are available to serve;

- pay attention to needs;

- do the best with what they have;

- do every task with equal dedication;

- are faithful to their ministry; and

- maintain a low profile.

We should think like a servant who:

-thinks more about others than themselves;

- think like stewards, not owners;

- think about their work, not what others are doing;

- base their identity in Christ; and

- think of ministry as an opportunity, not an obligation.

Service is one of the spiritual disciplines in which we must engage if we are to become more like Jesus. We do it not out of duty but out of love and gratitude.

One of the greatest enemies of unity in my church, and I am sure others, is dissension. Paul counts this as a very serious sin. It stems first from a lack of humility and true service and the best way to remove the divisions caused by pride, contempt and condescension is to work hard with the interests of others in mind. This diffuses dissension and works to develop unity.

charlenereeves · February 21, 2007

Humility is allowing God to use me. In my old church lack of humility split the church. I try to live my life with humility by caring about each individual along with helping out even in the smallest jobs with my Pastors.

alp · June 5, 2007

John Vice · July 18, 2007

Q1. (2:1-4). To achieve unity in your congregation, why is humility necessary? Can you give an example of how lack of humility caused a division in your church?

Dictionary defined as humility as "the quality or condition of being humble; modest opinion or estimate of one's own importance, rank, etc.

". The real clue was dictionary's listing of its antonym: pride. Pride is what the noted Christian writer, C. S. Lewis called "the root of all evil." Pride is the feeling that one is better than those around oneself: a feeling of superiority.

When more than one person gets into the pride game, it is the start of the 'mutual admiration society'; the mentality of "I'll recognize your superiority over the masses if you recognize mine." This is how social cliques get started.

Such a concept is very much contradictory to the teachings of Jesus Christ yet so many church congregations have this elitism. The main division, I see in a lot of churches is that the 'in' group basically runs the church in terms of authority, and usually doing most of the volunteer labor. Those not in this elite group feel like outcasts.

meandean · August 5, 2007

pride goes before a fall. paul told us to strive for unity in ephesians. this isn't as simple as it sounds.we must be careful as to what we call unity and not let it be uniformity. people do try to manipulate their way over you ,doesn't matter what high position to the lowest position, they want to lord over you. lack of humility causes divisions, we see this in corinth when one said he followed paul, another apollos, yet another jesus. awhile back, one guy was upset that i took my wife to another church. she needed the basic instruction in the lord and was not getting it at this church. he wanted to know where my loyalty was for the pastor. i'm one for doctrine first, as a picture of the word being over the pastor, not the pastor over the word.anything else we can work through.

Commissioned · August 7, 2007

Q1. (2:1-4). To achieve unity in your congregation, why is humility necessary?

To achieve unity in our congregation, humility is necessary because it rids the congregants of the tendancy towards selfishness. To have a congregation where the participants are humble will gender a spirit of unity as everyone looks out for and strive to think of others above themselves.

Can you give an example of how lack of humility caused a division in your church?

Lack of humility can caused a division in any church because there will be important volunteered positions that a haughty person would considered to be below their standing and the body could be depraved of that service.

What are you doing to bring unity in your church?

To bring unity in my church, I treat everyone with loving care, regardless of their position, and in return I pray that everyone would do the same and pass the love around.

Craig · September 19, 2007

Q1. (2:1-4). To achieve unity in your congregation, why is humility necessary? Can you give an example of how lack of humility caused a division in your church? What are you doing to bring unity in your church?

As a Pastor, to achieve unity in my congregation I have promoted humility because individual ego gets in the way and causes division. In a previous church that I was a member of, individual ego and ambition to control the church caused a split in the church. The church was about who controlled the budget and had power over everything that was done at the church. Therefore, no active ministries were being done, just in-house fighting. It proved to be a very bad witness to the community.

Grace Community Church actively promotes and encourages unity and humility in everything we do. All for Jesus Christ.

Tangerine · April 2, 2008

Humility is necessary for unity because: We are so very different from each other. It is so easy to misunderstand and judge, just because we don't see things in the same light. And when we do, we start building up barriers to co-operation, friendship, brotherly love, and all those other things that endear us to each other, and bring a sense of unity in Christ. It (humility) also helps us to not think too much of ourselves, and to realize that other people have valuable opinions and ideas, too.

Lack of humility caused our church to lose over half its members over a one year period. Unfortunately, it started with the pastors who could not realize that they were there to serve, and to model unity. So as they went through their problems, one of them had to leave, then the other, and so it went with the congregation, too. I was part of this ... always thinking that I knew best, and taking sides, and so forth. It was an unhappy time.

Today, I'm at a different church and am hoping to have learned from my mistakes. I don't want to be in leadership anymore because I know that it's not my talent. I help with the setting up and tearing down of equipment, and I am as friendly as I can be with everyone. Hopefully, this will be enough.

helentank · April 16, 2008

You have to be a humble Christian and not puffed up about who you are and what you contribute. All must work together for good, not for self.

I personally try to love everyone and not judge since God is the onlly one who can truly judge our hearts.

emmaus · July 19, 2008

We can't put ourselves above others and expect there to be unity in a church. I've went to the same church for 16 years and there has not been a time of division in the church. Everyone is there for one reason, to worship God. If something did come up it was took care of fairly and we moved on. I go to a small country church and I genuinely care about everyone there. We care about each other and love the Lord.

McCollum · November 5, 2008

We must have the attitude of Jesus Christ, we must have the mind to do that which is pleasing to God. Not having our own agenda but an attitude of being like minded in the congergation, having the same love the love of Jesus Christ not looking down on each other when we all do not think a like or agree a like, being one in spirit and purpose the complete the up building of the Kingdom of God, so what I think is not more inportant that what God says to do. It's not all about me ,It's all about God, so I can not have Selfish ambition with vain conceit. Selfless of mind waiting patience for the Spirit of God to lead me, teach me how to deal with anything that is not pleasing to God, by my will is not God's will so each day I die from my flesh controll keeping in mind that God is the Head Of My Life and I am under His submission..

JanMary · May 10, 2009

Q1. (2:1-4). To achieve unity in your congregation, why is humility necessary?

Humility is about loving others rather than selfishness, so humility is the Oil of the Holy Spirit "greasing" the function of the congregation, and unity results because of like minds cooperating.

Can you give an example of how lack of humility caused a division in your church?

A former Pastor became corrupt with selfish ambition to become wealthy, and in his hunger for power he bypassed the church bylaws and the Deacon board. Then deacon concocted a lie, and the whole church "blew apart", and scattered.

What are you doing to bring unity in your church?

I'm seeking to not judge, not criticize, pray, cooperate, serve in humility, and in all things to seek to renew my mind in the Word.

JabezMom · June 15, 2009

Q1. (2:1-4). To achieve unity in your congregation, why is humility necessary? Can you give an example of how lack of humility caused a division in your church? What are you doing to bring unity in your church?

Because God asks me to submit to those who are in authority over me. I put myself under my Pastor's authority because all sheep need a Shepherd and Jesus asks us to "not forget the assembling together" of the Saints. I have a duty and a need to go to church to hear the Word, to learn from those who are learned more than I am, and to fellowship with other believers for the purpose of encouragement - both for me and that I might encourage others, too.

I have never been in a church that divided but I have been in a church where some leaders lost humility and contentment. They left because more money could be made doing real estate than serving in the church.

I don't have a leadership role in the church, so I submit to my SS teacher's teaching and to the Pastor's teaching. I don't bring disunity; therefore, I help to keep the unity.

hanks · July 19, 2009

Q1. (2:1-4).

To achieve unity in your congregation, why is humility necessary?

Can you give an example of how lack of humility caused a division in your church?

What are you doing to bring unity in your church?

Unity cannot be achieved without humility. We have disunity when we become proud and more concerned about ourselves than about others. Paul is saying

DrD · March 8, 2010

Everyone that is in the church, local congregation, is a part of the church and makes up the whole church or congregation. . When we atleast attemot to understand the strengths of others, their gifts and talents and allow them to exercise them it results in a stronger church. We must also be humble enough to recognize their weaknesses and not exploit them but support them and help them develop and become stronger - thjis will lead to a much stronger congregation. . .

The lack of unity in a congregation results in one overlooking others, ignoring others, and depriving them of the opportunity to exercise their gift(s) and talent(s) thereby resulting or causing weakness in the church. . .

What am I doing to bring unity into my local church? Through much prayer and faith I am attempting to demonstrate the God-kind of love to all that are a part of the local congregation = the Word of God tell us that love does two things (1) hide / cover a multitude of faults, and (2) love, the kind of love that Paul defines in the 13th Chapter of 1 Corinthians, will never fail. . . LOve also eliminates fear which allows us, or better causes us to consider others and esteem them greater than ourselves. . . Love will reach out to others and trust others which inturn results in unity and strength. . .

Marloes · March 28, 2010

We want to be the most important person, to be the leader.

That's just impossible.

All work have to be done - also the 'lower' jobs.

Besides this, there can be only one captain on the ship.

If we all want to be the leader, we all have our own church.

Then there would be no community of believers so NO church.

In Jesus'group, He was the leader, Judas the accountant, Peter the personal assistant, John the secretary, ...

Trusting God · July 26, 2010

Humility is necessary in the church, because as followers of Christ we are to have a different attitude than the world or unbelievers. The world and most unbelievers look out for number one or their own needs have priority over others. As Christians, followers of Christ, we are to have the mind of Christ. He died for the sins of the whole world, even though, He was sinless. He showed and exhibited the ultimate example of humility. Like Christ, Christians are to care about others

Q1. Humility and Unity

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