When a church splits

My home church in the 1980s was a large Baptist church in the north of England which was known across the region as a Bible-believing church and a centre for gospel preaching.

Enjoying the stability of a godly pastor for over 40 years, the church was greatly blessed with many conversions, growing from a faithful few to a regular congregation of 300.

I was privileged to be taken along there by my parents and through the active children and young people’s work I became a Christian as a young child. Our involvement in the work of this church was the centre of my family’s life as I grew up, and was a very positive early experience.

The first time

The retirement of the long-serving pastor, appointment of a replacement and the arrival of new members led to gradual changes in the church and to some disagreements and tensions generally related to the charismatic movement.

This disunity came to a head when I was in my early teens. Although at the time my understanding of the issues was limited, my memories of the Sunday night that the split took place are still stark in my mind. The church building was packed for the evening service which ended with an announcement and the departure of the pastor and some of the elders, supported by many in the congregation.

I remember my bewilderment at seeing my parents, Sunday school teachers, youth leaders and church leaders either in tears, arguing with each other or sat in silence looking shocked. I said goodbye to friends and other families that night whom we never saw again. Although I understood little of what had caused this situation, I remember being very aware that the behaviour I was witnessing was not at all what I expected of Christian believers. I was deeply shocked, very confused and, looking back, cynicism began to creep in.

Lightning strikes twice

Although a new church was established by the departing pastor, my family remained members at the original church and continued to be actively involved in rebuilding the work and calling a new pastor. I was baptised and continued in my faith although, on reflection, experienced very little teaching or growth at this point which was perhaps reflective of the whole church situation.

However, by my late teens, another new pastor and assistant were appointed and for me it felt like a breath of fresh air. I remember enjoying better teaching (or maybe I listened more?), more Bible studies and even the start of some growth in the church. But this was not to last long.

In God’s goodness, I was personally spared the trauma of being present at yet another fall out as this second ‘split’ occurred the week after I graduated and moved away from my home church.

My parents wrote to tell me of another meeting ending in tears, arguments and walk outs, this time caused by disagreements over finances and ongoing power struggles in the leadership of the church. Once again the behaviour of many involved brought shame on the individuals but, more sadly, on the witness of Christ in the town, as it was reported in the local press.

The effect

The effect of this on my Christian walk as I started my working life was a combination of anger and cynicism. I was angry at the individuals who I believed had caused this disunity; I was angry with those who I believed had behaved inappropriately in response; I was angry with those who I felt should have done more to prevent it and, most significantly, I confess that I was angry with God. I could not understood why he had allowed this to happen. Although I could not walk away from my faith, which I knew to be true, I became the kind of Christian who really ‘did not do church’.

My cynicism made being involved actively in a new church virtually impossible. I could feel myself cringing through services, second guessing the motives and behaviours of all the Christians I met as I ‘church hopped’ for a while before finally settling for a longer lie in on a Sunday morning.

Please think very carefully before you split a church.

The way back

The journey back since that low point in my walk with Christ has been a slow and gentle one as God, in his compassion, has gradually taught me that my faith should not be in my fellow Christians, who will always disappoint, but in God alone. As Psalm 62 tells me, he alone is my rock, my salvation and my fortress and if I trust in him alone I will never be shaken. I have also been consistently reminded that, as Paul tells us in I Timothy 1.15, ‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners — of whom I am the worst’. I should not be surprised or angry that the church is full of them, indeed, that is why I belong there!

Spiritual wounds

God has used many loving ways and godly people to help me ‘lick my spiritual wounds’ and draw me back into his church where I belong. In particular, I am in debt to:

* A tiny Baptist church in the New Forest who welcomed me without expecting anything from me and demonstrated real Christian kindness and unity for the few months I was with them.
* A very large Anglican church in London where I ‘pew sat’ for a couple of years, benefiting greatly from fantastic Bible teaching before I gingerly took the first steps towards getting involved
* My home church of the last eight years which, while not perfect, cherishes unity under the truth of God’s word and where the congregation and leaders seek to ‘bear with one another in love, [making] every effort to keep the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace’ (Ephesians 4.2-3).

One person's devastating experience

The first time

Lightning strikes twice

The effect

The way back

Spiritual wounds

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