8 Practices That Divide

Mike Leake

Division within the body of Christ is ultimately a heart issue. But it’s also, in part, a culture issue. What I mean is that there are certain practices which will stoke the flames of controversy and division rather than assisting us in mortifying our hearts which are so prone to division.

Of course there are things which believers ought to be divided from. There is a false unity which is just as deadly as a bitter division. But there are also many needless divisions which arise in the body of Christ. I bemoan all the division within the church. Awhile back I wrote about the pain of feeling without a tribe—as my former tribe seems to have ugly exploded. Because of this trial I’ve been thinking a good deal about unity and division within the body of Christ—especially within the church universal.

I stumbled upon a helpful little book recently. It was originally written by Jeremiah Burroughs in the early 1600s. But it likely would have been lost to history had it not been reprinted by Francis Asbury in the 1700s and then Asbury’s copy also resurrected about a hundred years later. I find it interesting that each of the times when this book was printed or reprinted the church found itself in a period of serious but mostly needless division. Perhaps Burroughs work would be helpful for us again today.

The whole thing is worthy of a read. (You can buy it here or get a free .pdf here). Today I want to summarize for you Burroughs 8 practices which divide:

  1. Associating with whisperers. “Many men of moderate spirits, if let alone, yet meeting with men who tell them stories, and speak ill of those men that heretofore they had a good opinion of, before they have examined what the truth is, there is a venom got in their spirits.”
  2. Needless disputes. Unnecessary disputes are the necessary practice of those who only have gotten a little knowledge and want to make a name for themselves.
  3. Not keeping within the bounds God hath set. Meddling with things that do not concern you. Trying to gain a higher standing for ourselves than God has designed will always come with worms.
  4. Propagating evil reports. Let reports be raised, fomented, and spread: whether they be true or no, it makes no matter, something will stick. (Did Burroughs have Facebook and Fake News?)
  5. An inordinate cleaving to some, so as denying due respect to others. “And ministers, and others in public places, should not entertain, much less seek for or rejoice in, any honour or respect given to them, which they see detracts from that esteem and countenance that are due to others.” When we divide ourselves into party and weigh the words of our chiefs as more prominent than others.
  6. Because men cannot join in all things with others, they will join in nothing. Because you disagree with somebody on one thing you dismiss everything he says. (This would be similar to our cancel culture).
  7. To commend and countenance what we care not for, in opposition to what we dislike. When we join with those who are wicked men because they help us defeat our enemies.
  8. Revenge. Practicing revenge is the way to continue divisions to the end of the world.

Did Burroughs not just perfectly describe our current climate?

How did we think we’d survive when we created a climate centered around personality and fueled by an unquenchable thirst to move beyond our station? Did we not think that all of our articles pressing into disputable matters wouldn’t blow up in our face? Did we really think that if we could put it under the umbrella of gospel-implications that we’d be fine?

When the world around us exploded into fake news and increasing polarization did we think the solution was to dig further into our own tribes? And when we were tempted with ungodly leaders—that we’d call our Cyrus—to defeat our godless enemies, did we not think we’d be planting in the soils of division? What crop did we think we’d harvest?

When we started drawing up more and more sides on even more disputable matters and we did this in a climate where you were either absolutely for me or against me, did we not think that revenge would further perpetuate our divisions?

Lord, heal us.

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Photo source: here

Read This! 12.10.19

Mike Leake

8 Signs of True Repentance

There is a painful story that is underneath this post. It’s helpful for all circumstances but I think it’s especially helpful for those trapped in a cycle of abuse to be able to diagnose true repentance from false. Anytime someone feels “owed” forgiveness it’s usually an indicator that it isn’t legit repentance.

3 Dangers of (Merely) Messy Christianity

There is a ton of truth in this. Redemption is messy. Look at how messy it was in the Exodus. The new Exodus is just as messy. But it’s not ONLY messy. And to exalt the mess as if it ought to be messy isn’t ultimately helpful.

Is Scripture Sufficient for Counseling?

I think the “all-or-nothing” nature of this debate/discussion has caused us to speak past one another. To me this is an incredibly important sentence: “Sufficiency does not mean that Scripture provides a script for all occasions”.

Three Sentences Pastors Hate to Hear

Though the wording might be different I think the core of these sentences anyone would hate. But there is something about hearing them right before trying to preach that makes it really difficult. And “people are saying” is one of the most difficult to navigate in those moments. Rainer is correct when he says, “Most church members really love their pastors. The few exceptions, though, are incredibly painful exceptions for pastors.”

Here Come the Skinny Cows

This is a bit of a “sound the alarm” piece but I think it’s correct. I also think the call here for rethinking church economics is necessary. One of the biggest factors, I believe, is the difference in giving among millennials and builders. I think it’ll shift more to “cause” oriented giving.

How to Master Any Subject by Making it Interesting

I’ve seen this play out in my own life. There is also another side to this for teachers/preachers. This shows the importance of answering the “so what” question early on in our sermon/talk and helping our people know why this matters for them. 

What is the TaNaK? ANd Why Does It Matter?

Mike Leake

I’ll confess that when my eyes light upon the word Tanak my mind immediately thinks of that horrible moment in 1994 when my then favorite wrestler, Tatanka, turned on all that was right and good to join up with Ted DiBiase’s Million Dollar Corporation. But then I realize a few letters are missing and Tanak must be pointing to something else.

TaNaK is actually and acronym for the names of the three sections of the Hebrew Bible: Torah, Nevi’im, and Ketuvim. Torah is the first 5 books, Nevi’im means prophets, and Ketuvim stands for the writings. But you might be a bit shocked at what goes where.

The Nevi’im consists of the Former Prophets (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings), the Latter Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel), and the Twelve Minor Prophets.

The Ketuvim are divided into the three poetry books (Psalms, Proverbs, Job), the five Megillot (Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther), and then the other books (Daniel, Ezra/Nehemiah, Chronicles).

This means that the Hebrew Bible closes with Chronicles and not Malachi. 

Why does that matter?

Don’t hear me wrongly, here. I think you can keep your Bible in it’s current English order and be completely fine in interpreting the Scriptures. Though, I think sometimes you might be tempted to make a few points that probably aren’t consistent with the original intention. Nevertheless, I’m not attempting to say you are going to totally misread your Bible if you don’t have it in it’s original order.

But I do think it would be incredibly helpful for our understanding of the biblical storyline to preserve it’s original order—the order in which Jesus would have compiled the Old Testament. I say this because the books are united in such a way to tell a beautiful story.

I’ve often heard it said that Malachi ends with the promise of an Elijah to come and then we have about 400 years of silence. It leaves the idea that God is so utterly ticked off with the Jews that he isn’t going to talk to them for a few hundred years. But I think it’s original order might tell a little bit different story.

How in the world would Chronicles make for a better ending? That’s the part we usually skip over because it just sounds like what we’ve read in Samuel and Kings. This is the book with the nine chapters of genealogy. Not many preachers sign up for doing a series on Chronicles. But it actually is telling a story which perfectly sets the stage for a newborn King.

Chronicles tells the story of the Israelites from Adam to the exile. But the whole story points to a king to sit on the Davidic throne. The original audience likely would have thought that the return from exile and rebuilding of the temple meant that all was right in the world. But the ending of Chronicles would give a bit of a pause—yet also hope. Dempster explains:

Cyrus gives the command to build the temple in Jerusalem—the Davidic house (the temple) is resurrected. The Tanakah orients its readers to the future. As such the Story is unfinished. The long, dark night of exile awaits a sequel—the dawning of a new light that will radiate to the ends of the earth. (Dempster, 227)

Chronicles, just like Malachi, closes out the Old Testament with hope for the future. Regardless of how you order the Old Testament the key is that it is left unfulfilled until Christ comes. But I think the storyline is better preserved by keeping your Old Testament in the original order.

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If you want more information on this Dominion and Dynasty by Stephen Dempster is the best treatment I’ve read, though it’s a little technical. For a more accessible explanation consider this from the Bible Project.

Photo source: here  (It’s truly amazing how non-PC the WWF was in the late 80s and early 90s).

How Jesus in the Garden Helped My Anxiety

Mike Leake

I’m hesitant to publish this next sentence or two. For the longest time I would be rattled to my core any time I heard of a fellow pastor committing suicide. I think what rattled me was fear that I’d be next. I hate typing those sentences because I know what such a confession of those dark moments does to those who love you. It’s scary to those who love you. And I know I’m loved.

But I think I can say with a great deal of confidence that the Lord has provided substantial healing to my heart and mind over this past year. On occasion I’ll still have rumblings of fear, worry and anxiety. But what I have now is a battle plan for engaging those fears. And it all starts with seeing Christ in the Garden.

There was a downward and dark spiral that would happen in my mind when I’d be overcome with one of these emotions. It would often start with a particular event (or a perceived event) that would create anxiety within my heart. And then fear and worry would attach themselves and then things would get very dark. My affections would grow numb and I’d be swallowed up by fear and feeling trapped and helpless and inadequate and a bunch of other negative voices would throw darts at me.

Then a twisted Christian hedonism would start talking to me. “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.” What kind of witness am I being? I’m not pleasing God in my emotions. Someone who so passionately believes in the centrality of the gospel shouldn’t be so fearful. Buck up! Stop fearing! Stop being anxious! Jesus said to not fear, and you are fearing! He has given you everything for life and godliness, press into that and your feelings of anxiety will subside.

The fear got worse. And now it had a new companion, shame.

Jesus in the Garden stopped the cycle.

Over there in the distance is a man weeping in a garden. He looks weary. Maybe the most weary I’ve ever seen a man. He’s trembling. His inner turmoil is creeping through cracks in his forehead, falling like drops of blood onto the rocks. There is nothing calm about this man.

If you know his story then you know the reason for his sorrow. He’s about to face death, but not just any death. This is a sacrificial death. It’s the type were all your dreams are set ablaze on the altar of somebody else’s dreams. He’ll be crushed so somebody else doesn’t have to be. And nobody in history has known joy like this man. Nobody has known intimacy with God like this man. There is not one other soul who has been to the heights like he has. He’s giving up more than we could even think possible.

There has to be a brief moment when he simply didn’t want to do it. Otherwise the words, “not my will but your will” mean nothing. James Edwards is correct,

“Jesus’ prayer is not the result of calm absorption into an all-encompassing divine presence, but an intense struggle with the frightful reality of God’s will and what it means fully to submit to him.”

There isn’t “peace beyond all understanding” in this moment. It’s torrential torment. (This section originally published here)

How This Helped

A sight of Christ at the Garden changed my focus. I was no longer focused on my feelings of anxiety, fear, or worry. I learned that the most significant thing in that moment wasn’t what I was feeling but what I did with my feelings.

It’s possible that there were things in my anxiety and such that needed to be repented of. (And there were). But it’s also possible that my own torrential torment was legit. (Many times it was). What I learned to do was table that discussion and begin to focus on the goodness of God and my obedience to God.

I still think Piper is correct that delight is our duty. Dutiful roses aren’t ideal. But sometimes God calls us to an obedience that’s contrary to a large portion of our emotions in that moment. What heals fear, worry, and anxiety isn’t focusing on solving those feelings but instead focusing on the character of God and our response in light of the truth of who He is.

And Jesus in the Garden was my model. If Jesus had emotions that were raging then it helped me to feel a bit more comfortable with my own. I learned that when I am afraid it puts into motion a battle plan to focus on His character and labor to trust. My goal in those moments isn’t to stop feeling anxious or afraid. My goal was to obey the Lord.

Again, I still have times of fear and anxiety and such. But I don’t spiral anymore. My emotions are becoming more consistent with truth. My redemption is found in a Person. And He’s amazing!

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Photo source: here