It has been reported to me... that each of you says, 'I belong to Paul,' or 'I belong to Apollos,' or 'I belong to Cephas,' or 'I belong to Christ.' Has Christ been divided? 1 Corinthians 1:11-13.

There are supposed to be 22,000 Christian denominations and sects in the world, and the number seems to be growing exponentially.

In 1942 William Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury, said that the ecumenical nature of the church was 'the great new fact of our time'. Divisions in the church have always existed, and there have been occasions when it has been necessary for somebody, somewhere, to leave and set up a rival body. Yet in time the reasons for the divisions become less pressing, or are overcome by new developments, and it is possible to put back together the fragments of an earlier age.

Many of these divisions have to do with leaders' lust for power, disguised as a crusade for doctrinal or ecclesiastical purity.

But some reflect cultural differences (for example, Pentecostalism seems to flourish among Latin and black peoples). And yet let's celebrate the diversity of the church. Different peoples with different temperaments worship the same Lord different ways.

So may I not be too surprised at the church's divisions and imperfections, Lord. You love the church, so may join you in loving the church too. Amen.

LOVING AN IMPERFECT CHURCH (2)

I ask... that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. John 17:20,21.

The squabbles in the church must sadden our Lord who prayed that his followers may be one. If the church worldwide were united (in spirit, not necessarily in one organization), the world would take notice. As it is, critics of the church are constantly mocking us for our sectarian divisiveness.

The church is both human and divine. It comprises fallible humans, and has yet to be perfectly redeemed. It is divine the Body of Christ. So we need to be patient with an imperfect church. Henry Scott Holland put it this way in 1914 when the Bishop of Zanzibar wrote a pamphlet asking where the church stood. Scott Holland said that it did not stand at all, but 'moves and pushes and slides and staggers and falls and gets up again, and stumbles on and presses forward and falls into the right position after all.'

The church of Jesus Christ is glorious, not because it's perfect, but because it is being redeemed.

And Lord, you love the church even with all the nonsense that is perpetrated in your name. Help me to love your people too. Amen.