TOPIC: THE DANGERS OF FACTIONAL LEADERSHIP IN MINISTRY
TEXT: John 17:9 – 11; 1 Corinthians 1:10 -18; 1 Corinthians 12: 7 - 17
DEFINITION
Faction: A small group of people within a larger one whose members have some different aims and beliefs to those of the larger groups; Opposition or disagreement that exists between small groups of people within an organization.
INTRODUCTION
Factional leadership is an age long problem that is not only common to social groups or organizations but has found its place in the church. The church is truly not insulated from conflicts that affects other secular organizations. It is expected that the church as the body of Christ, should be united and remain an embodiment of the oneness that Christ prayed for before his crucifixion, resurrection and ascension. Unfortunately, conflicts and factionalization have become a common problem. Conflicts tend to worsen, when various factions exist. The growing incidence of factional leadership has had devastating effects on the church and the expansion of God’s kingdom on earth. The church needs to purge itself of every trace of factional leadership if it must fulfil its God given mandate on earth. The early church was not free from the menace of conflict that arose due to various interest groups (Acts 6:1).
CAUSES OF FACTIONAL LEADERSHIP
i. Lack of Proper Succession Plan
Lack of proper succession plan for church leadership can cause tension and conflict in the church. There is the need for every church to have comprehensive guidelines on the qualifications and criteria of ascension to the leadership of the church in the constitution and by-laws. These guidelines should be strictly adhered to as change is inevitable in all organizations. In churches where these guidelines do not exist or are not strictly adhered to, there is tendency for a group of people to gang up to remove the leadership or leave the denomination to establish theirs. This problem is particularly manifested after the death of the founder or General Overseer of the denomination.
ii. Tribalism and Nepotism
Tribalism refers to behaviors or attitudes that are based on being loyal to a tribe or a specific racial group. In some Nigerian churches, church membership is built around the ethnic group of the leader.. The church should embrace people of all nations, ethnic groups and tribes. Leaders should have a large heart enough to accommodate everyone. A leader should not give preference to people of his ethnic group against others. Tribalism should be avoided by all means in the church as we are all children of the same God. Nepotism is the act of using one's influence to secure better job or unfair advantages for a family Appointments to leadership positions in the church should not be based on nepotism but by competence. Square pegs must be put into square holes if a church truly desires to experience remarkable growth and expansion.
iii. Greed and Love of Money
The love of money as the scripture says “is the root of all evils” (I Timothy 6:10). Some church leaders show preferential treatment to wealthy members at the expense of other dedicated members who may not be wealthy (Exodus 23:8; Deuteronomy 16:19). This attitude encourages double standards in dealings as well as division or even escalate to crisis and conflict in the church.
iv. Partisanship
Partisanship is a strong and sometimes blind adherence to a particular party, faction, cause or person. When a person is partisan, he is never objective but rather supports his faction without a fair consideration of facts and circumstances. Partisanship is synonymous to favoritism, prejudice, bias, sectarianism. Partisanship may arise due to strong personalities with competitive interests. It should be discouraged in the church though it exists in most churches today.
v. Rebellion and Unbridled Quest for Power
Some people are in the church for various reasons which negate fellowship with God and others. Rebellion, unbridled quest for power and position is very common in churches today similar to that of Korah, Dathan and Abiram (Numbers 16:1 – 35). Individuals with such traits strive by all means to instigate rebellion once they are unable to occupy their desired position in the church. They may eventually leave the church with their faction to establish their own denomination. Unfortunately, this is one of the main reasons for the proliferation of denominations.
vi. Diverse Theological and Worship Perspectives
Members of a church are expected to be united in their doctrinal beliefs. However, in reality many denominations have members with diverse beliefs and perspectives on doctrinal issues and worship styles which may eventually lead to various factions if not properly handled.
FACTIONAL LEADERSHIP: THE CASE OF THE CHURCH AT CORINTH (I Corinthians 1:10 – 18)
Factions had developed in the church who identified strongly with leading figures in Christianity.
i. Faction Devoted to Paul
Although Paul was highly educated, his teachings appealed strongly to the Gentiles and the uneducated people because of the simplicity in his presentation (I Cor 2:1). In particular, his message to the Gentile converts was that they had been set free from the rules and regulations of Judaism. (Gal. 3:28). Those who held strongly to Judaism disliked Paul's teachings.
ii. Faction Devoted to Apollos
Apollos was a great help to the church (Acts 18:24 -25). He watered the seed planted by Paul (I Cor. 3:8). Apollos the scholar, orator and teacher from the great university city of Alexandria with his deep knowledge of the Old Testament attracted intellectuals.
iii. Faction Devoted to Peter
Peter's strong personality and close relationship with Jesus during his earthly ministry gave him a special status. Peter was conservative and cautious about abandoning the old customs (Acts 10:9 – 16). Peter’s appeal was conservative Jewish Christians and to Gentiles who were proselytes of Judaism before converting to Christianity.
iv. The Faction Devoted Christ Only
These ones seem to be on the right lines so it is a surprise that Paul includes them with those that needed correction. It is possible that the Christians in this category felt no need of spiritual leaders. They had a hot line to Jesus and received their instruction directly from him.
All these groups exist today. They can often be found within the same local church as was the case at Corinth or the global church.
DANGERS OF FACTIONAL LEADERSHIP
i. It affects fellowship and communion
One of the effects of factional leadership is that it leads to a breakdown in fellowship and communion of the church. Members become suspicious of each other (Acts 2:42). Factional leadership thrives in an atmosphere of carnality. The cankerworm of factional leadership can make the church weaker and vulnerable to attacks from the kingdom of darkness (Amos 3:3).
ii. Reduction in church membership: Some factions may eventually leave the church to establish their own denomination or join others. The consequence is that the parent denomination may experience a significant drop in numerical strength and stagnation in growth. Also, members who are neutral and averse to such conflict may also leave.
iii. It leads to crisis that could diminish the reputation of the church
Factional leadership may degenerate to undesirable situations that could lead to physical combat, court cases and various scandals that could affect the reputation of the denomination and the church.
In 2012, worshippers, at a well-known Pentecostal church, in a branch in Lagos with a prolonged crisis for more than 20 years, took a dangerous turn when two factions of the church clashed during a Sunday morning service. Church activities were suddenly brought to an end when one faction arrived and chased another faction away. disconnected the electricity supply to the church after they were chased out leaving the other faction to conduct their service without electricity supply (Akinloye, 2019).
iv. Key players unlikely to inherit God’s kingdom
Those who are actively involved in creating division in the church are often myopic and blinded by their ambitions with no burning desire to inherit God's Kingdom (Galatians 5:19 – 21).
CONCLUSION
Factional leadership is a distraction to the church and should by all means be discouraged to avoid division in the church. Say “NO” to factional leadership but “YES” to unity. “BEHOLD how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in Unity” (Psalm 133:1).
REFERENCES
Akinloye, I.A. (2019) Human flourishing, church leadership and legal disputes in Nigerian Churches.
Presented at the National Ministers and Church Workers Summit of the International Pentecostal Holiness Church held in Benin City, February 2020:
Pastor Solomon C. Nwaneri, PhD
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