Leadership Conflicts Contributing to Church Splits Biblically

Leadership Conflicts and Church Splits: A Biblical Perspective

The Bible provides numerous accounts of leadership conflicts contributing to church splits, with the early Christian church being no exception. The Apostle Paul addresses the issue directly in his letters, particularly in 1 Corinthians, where one tradition notes the presence of divisions among the Corinthian believers ^{[2, 3]}.

In 1 Corinthians 11:18, Paul writes, "For in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it" ^[2]. The Greek word for "divisions" here is σχίσματα (schismata), which refers to a rent or a tear, indicating a serious breach in the unity of the church ^[4].

The biblical account of Korah's rebellion against Moses and Aaron in Numbers 16 serves as an Old Testament example of leadership conflict leading to division. The early Christian fathers saw this event as a warning against schism. Cyprian, in his treatise "On the Unity of the Church," references Korah's rebellion as a cautionary tale against those who would divide the church ^[6].

The causes of leadership conflicts and subsequent church splits are multifaceted. According to Adam Clarke, a Methodist commentator, such conflicts often arise when church leaders become negligent, greedy, or oppressive, leading to a breakdown in their relationship with their congregation ^[8]. The Apostle Paul identifies similar issues in his farewell address to the Ephesian elders, warning them of the rise of false teachers from among their own ranks ^[8].

Theological disagreements can also contribute to church splits. John Calvin notes that while some doctrines are essential to the unity of the faith, others may be subject to controversy without destroying that unity ^[5]. However, when such disagreements are accompanied by a spirit of contention or perverseness, they can lead to division.

The early church fathers emphasized the importance of maintaining unity in the face of disagreement. Augustine, in his treatise "On the Holy Trinity," highlights the need for charity and the avoidance of emulation and strife, which can lead to a carnal, rather than spiritual, mindset ^[7]. Similarly, John Chrysostom, in his homilies on 1 Corinthians, urges believers to speak with one voice and to be perfected together in the same mind and judgment ^[10].

The Catholic tradition, as represented by Thomas Aquinas, views discord as a sin opposed to the concord that results from charity. According to Aquinas, discord can arise directly or indirectly, either through a deliberate intention to disagree or through a failure to align with the good of others ^[11].

In the Reformed tradition, Charles Hodge emphasizes the role of the Holy Spirit in maintaining unity among believers. one tradition notes that the Spirit dwells not only in the church collectively but also in individual believers, making each one a temple of the Holy Ghost ^[9].

The biblical account of the early Christian church and the writings of the early church fathers provide a framework for understanding the complex issues surrounding leadership conflicts and church splits. While theological disagreements and leadership failures can contribute to division, the importance of maintaining unity through charity, humility, and a commitment to the essentials of the faith remains a consistent theme throughout Christian history ^{[5, 7, 10]}.

The consequences of church splits can be severe, leading to a loss of witness and a diminished ability to fulfill the Great Commission. As the biblical account in 2 Chronicles 15:6 illustrates, division can result in weakness and vulnerability to external threats ^[1].

Sources

2 Chronicles “They were broken in pieces, nation against nation, and city against city; for God troubled them with all adversity. -- 2 Chronicles 15:6”
I Corinthians “I Corinthians 11:18 (LEB) — For in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it.”
1 Corinthians “1 Corinthians 11:18 (NASB) — For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you; and in part I believe it.”
Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Schism — A separation, an alienation causing divisions among Christians, who ought to be united (1 Cor. 12:25).”
CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 83: are so necessary to be known, that all must hold them to be fixed and undoubted as the proper essentials of religion: for instance, that God is one, that Christ is God, and the Son of God, that our salvation depends on the mercy of God, and the like. Others, again, which are the subject of controversy among the churches, do not destroy the unity of the faith; for why should it be regarded as a ground of dissension between churches, if one, without any spirit of contention or perverseness in dogmatising, hold that the soul on quitti”
Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “ANF Vol 5: Hippolytus, Cyprian, Caius, Novatian — EPISTLE LXXV.(4) (part 7): it says, "a memorial to the children of Israel, that no stranger which is not of the seed of Aaron come near to offer incense before the Lord, that he be not as Korah."(4) And yet those men had not made a schism, nor had gone out abroad, and in opposition to God's priests rebelled shamelessly and with hostility; but this these men are now doing who divide the Church, and, as rebels against the peace and unity of Christ, attempt to establish a throne for themselves, and to assume the primacy,(5) and to claim the right ”
Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 3: Augustine — On the Holy Trinity — ON CONTINENCE. (part 26): it was said, "Is Christ divided?"(2) and, "I could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal. I have given unto yon milk to drink as unto babes in Christ, not meat, for ye were not as yet able; but not even now are ye able: for ye are still carnal. For whereas there is among you emulation, and strife, are ye not carnal?"(3) Against whom doth emulation and strife lust, but against Christ? For these lusts of the flesh Christ healeth in His own, but loveth in none. Whence the holy Church, so long as it hath su”
Acts (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on Acts 20:30: Also of your own selves, etc. - From out of your own assembly shall men arise, speaking perverse things, teaching for truth what is erroneous in itself, and perversive of the genuine doctrine of Christ crucified. To draw away disciples - To make schisms or rents in the Church, in order to get a party to themselves. See, here, the cause of divisions in the Church: 1. The superintendents lose the life of God, neglect the souls of the people, become greedy of gain, and, by secular extortions, oppress the people. 2. The members of the Church, thus neglected, oppressed, a”
CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, section 31: Galatians v. 16-26 . Another passage of like import is Galatians v. 16-26 , “Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not full the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would,” etc., etc. The Scriptures teach that the Spirit of God dwells in his people, not only collectively as the Church, but individually in every believer, so that of every Christian it may be said, he is a temple of the Holy Ghost. God is”
CCEL/NPNF (Eastern Orthodox) “John Chrysostom, Homilies on 1 & 2 Corinthians: Homily III. 1 Cor. i. 10 Now I beseech you, brethren, through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak of the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfected together in the same mind and in the same judgment. What I have continually been saying, that we must frame our rebukes gently and gradually, this Paul doth here also; in that, being about to enter upon a subject full of many dangers and enough to tear up the Church from her foundations he uses very mild language. His word is that he “beseeches” the”
theology (Catholic (Scholastic)) “Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Second Part of the Second Part (Secunda Secundae), Of Discord, Which Is Contrary to Peace, Art. 1: Article: Whether discord is a sin? I answer that, Discord is opposed to concord. Now, as stated above (Question [29], Articles [1],3) concord results from charity, in as much as charity directs many hearts together to one thing, which is chiefly the Divine good, secondarily, the good of our neighbor. Wherefore discord is a sin, in so far as it is opposed to this concord. But it must be observed that this concord is destroyed by discord in two ways: first, directly; seco”

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