Disunity
Dear Eugene, Lately I've been reflecting a lot on what makes a good shepherd--or even more importantly, what makes a true shepherd of God's people. Growing up in a family full of pastors, I am not a stranger to fighting within the church, sometimes full-blown civil war, both as witness and participant, so much so that at times I even accepted disunity in the body of Christ as part of God's modus operandi to carry out his will. The world has done a better job discipling us than the other way around. N. T. Wright called the disunity in Western church the biggest scandal with which we have all colluded. I call it the biggest ever anti-Gospel, anti-Jesus conspiracy. When everything goes well, we can all afford to be nice. It is at time of crisis and conflict that we show our true colors: self-preservation, finger-pointing, outright denial, lies. "Things come apart so easily when they have been held together with lies," I read this line just now. (...