Day 11: 1 Corinthians 1:10

“Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree, and there be no divisions among you, but you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgement.”



If you keep reading in the book of Corinthians, you get the idea that maybe the church at Corinth had a problem. Unfortuneately, it’s the same problem that plagues our local churches today, and really the Church as a whole: Division


What is division? Well, in the Corinthian church, it manifested itself as different groups of people claiming they followed a certain person (Paul, etc.) and that their way was better than everyone else’s. Awkward.


In other words, cliques were forming within the church, all claiming they were better than anyone else. Kinda sounds like denominations today, doesn’t it? Paul began his letter by addressing this particular problem because it is one of the deadliest problems to Christianity in his day. The air of superiority and division that cliques bring to a church are death to fellowship and love. Paul couldn’t let them continue. We can’t have them. They have no place in the Church.


At our worst, we love cliques. They give us a sense of belonging, of superiority, and of self-importance, even in a place where we have been laid equal by the mercy of God. If we’re not careful, we find ourselves as part of a clique before we realize what’s happening. It’s natural to gravitate towards those that are most like us, but as Christian leaders we can’t alienate ourselves within one group of people. That’s the anti-leader. We can’t lead those that we feel are inferior. We can’t lead those people we don’t know. We can’t lead those people who we consider outsiders.


Be careful that you don’t get mixed up in divisions and cliques, whether it be at church, school, or anywhere. Your effectiveness as a leader is determined by your ability to engage individuals, not be part of a clique.


Remember that as a leader, and especially as a Christian leader, you exist to pull people together. As a leader in an organization, you have to get people to work together. As a Christian, you work to bring people together, bound by the Holy Spirit. Neither of these things is possible as long as you allow yourself to part of a clique or allow them exist within your organization.






CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLE: The Christian leader must take special care not to be part of divisions or cliques. They exist to bring people together, not pull them apart.


Here’s a set of verses to meditate on today: 1 Corinthians 12:13


Prayer: Father, open my eyes to the way I behave around other people. Show me, Lord, where I feel superiority or any other arrogance. Banish it from me, Lord. Help me to promote unity through Your Spirit, and help me to be a person that brings people together. In Christ’s name I pray, amen.