2 Samuel 20:1
“And there happened to be there a rebel, whose name was Sheba the son of Bichri, a Benjamite. And he blew a trumpet, and said: ‘We have no share in David, Nor do we have inheritance in the son of Jesse; Every man to his tents, O Israel!'”
There is a great difference between a leader and a dissenter. A leader has vision and has the best intentions for those who follow him. A dissenter is only capable of pointing out everything wrong with someone else’s leadership and is seeking a position for himself. Sadly the church seems to be filled with dissenters. Certain Christians with strong personalities who struggle with authority are very good at pointing out every flaw in the leadership style of others. These folks, like Sheba do not have the best interest of the church in mind but are often looking for a leadership position for themselves. Sadly, church splits happen all the time because a dissenter with a strong voice gathers a group of people to his side and breaks away from the fellowship of believers. Over the years I have witnessed several such cases which almost always result in a sea of hurt Christians who in some cases never fully recover.
Clearly, there are reasons to question the authority of those in leadership. If a pastor is teaching false doctrine, is involved in immoral living or is taking the church away from rock solid biblical ministry principles we should reconsider where we and our families are fellowshipping. The problem is that more often than not people will endure those things because they like the music or have a lot invested in the church, but will fight over peripheral matters and split churches.
Jesus spoke of the importance of unity among His followers. A church is unified when all its members rally behind Jesus and are committed to the furtherance of His kingdom. Sheba proved that he had no interest in the things of God because he stood against the kingdom of David.
Pastor Jim
Jim Gallagher 