God: "I looked for someone to take a stand for me, and stand in the gap" (Ezekiel 22:30)
Committees are necessary. Even more important is vision and the ability to move the congregation toward the goals of the church. But when push comes to shove, it's the ministry of the Word that gives us our greatest impact. A church can usually put up with weak administration if it has effective preaching. But there's nothing quite as pathetic as people coming to church and returning home without any spiritual food.
Few things are as dishonoring to the cause of Christ as Christians quarreling among themselves. Yet we expel people from our fellowship for adultery, while we tolerate discord between ourselves and other believers. We have failed to understand and obey the biblical imperative to “make every effort to do what leads to peace.”
