Whether in economics, politics, race, or international relations, one principle is how to maximize the benefits to oneself, one’s race, or one’s country. Many conflicts arise as a result.
This is also evident in the church. Each church tends to think in terms of its own interests. Likewise, the diocese thinks in terms of the interests of itself. As a result, the diocese and the churches often have different opinions, and the churches always comment on diocesan policies in many ways.
In such circumstances, we must have a system for dealing with the conflicts between them. This system must also be adapted to the time as well as the situation. Decisions must be made by consensus in coordinated discussions to achieve a balance of interests so that everyone can benefit. If this is not done, and everyone seeks to maximize his or her own interests, then in the end everyone may lose out. In the church, what we seek is not to maximize our own interests, but to benefit everyone as a whole. What we seek is not for me to win and you to lose, but for everyone to win.
The church should have the wisdom to handle conflicts and avoid divisions. Christians are the light of the world and the salt of the earth. Believers live in this world and must reach out to different levels of society through different occupations, different living environments, and exert influence to bring the world to God. Yet many Christians are no different from non-Christians. There are quarrels in the church from time to time.
The church has some responsibility in this regard. Churches often fall under the spell of numbers, believing that they must be big, they must be numerous, and must be rich. Without these visible “glories,” the church cannot glorify God. Therefore, in order to achieve the goal of “glory,” the church has to keep emphasizing God’s blessings to attract more people to come to church. In this utilitarian society, God’s blessings are really quite attractive. The church has forgotten the “cross” and the “narrow gate”. As a matter of fact, God’s requirement for the church is not to be big and numerous, but to be the church. What God cares about is not how many people are in the church, but who is in the church.
I believe that these happen because, on the one hand, lay people do not understand their identity, mission, and spiritual requirements. On the other hand, the church has neglected teaching and training. Lay people do not clearly understand that they are God’s people, the new creation, the body of Christ, the bride of Christ, the royal priesthood, and the temple of the Holy Spirit, so how can they understand their calling?