Church-Crush EP 1 - No Perfect Church

Church divisions are as old as the church itself. The Corinthian congregation struggled with factions where people declared loyalty to different leaders - Paul, Apollos, or Cephas. Today's churches face similar splits over worship styles, theological depth, political affiliations, and celebrity pastor followings. These divisions hurt people who don't fit neatly into established categories and create barriers that exclude rather than welcome. The root cause of these divisions is operating in the flesh rather than the spirit. When we're driven by human desires for power, status, and celebrity culture, we build on unstable foundations. We elevate human leaders to positions that belong only to Christ, forgetting that pastors and teachers are servants, not saviors. This became painfully evident during the pandemic when congregations fractured over policies rather than theology. True unity comes from recognizing our shared identity in Christ through baptism. This doesn't mean uniformity - we can have different political views, worship preferences, and generational perspectives while maintaining peace through our common faith. The path to unity requires humility, gentleness, patience, and willingness to bear with one another in love. Instead of searching for the perfect church that doesn't exist, we must invest in the imperfect congregation where God has placed us, choosing daily to love actual people rather than idealized versions of them.