What goes through your mind when you hear the word politics? Many think this term has nothing to do with the church and yet the church has its own politics that sometimes would make the politics of the world seem like a saint. Generally speaking politics in the church becomes an issue when it becomes toxic and the leadership moves away from the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the canon of scripture to move about in fleshly means.

For a more detailed scriptural breakdown you can read an earlier post i did called Idolatry in the church.

Bad church politics is itself the devil infiltrating the church. I liked this statement by Michael Fackerell:

Religious spirits incline people to legalism, formalism and mechanical methodologies which don’t need the Holy Spirit. These evil religious spirits seek to obscure our vision of the meaning of the cross and of Christ.  Religious spirits operate deceptively, justifying selfish behavior on the part of leadership.Such spirits seek to lead people into greater bondage to a form of religion which denies the power of God and of godliness.        

So lets take a look at some of the politics that takes place in the church. I will use politics in this article to refer to the way leaders in the church relate to their congregation and other leaders in determining the way the church is run.

THE POLITICS OF THE PASTORS WIFE

This one is a very tricky one especially with how a lot of the modern church is run. The pastors wife can meddle highly in the running of the church in a way that frustrates all the other leaders of the church. Modern churches which are led basically by the pastor and his spouse have a model that now sees the pastor as number 1 and the wife as the 2IC ( i.e second in charge ). In this regard the pastors wife can overrun decisions made by the other pastors, elders and leaders in the church.

This dynamic even gets more complicated if the pastors wife is a singer. By default she becomes the head of the Praise and worship even if there are other musicians who are more qualified and more gifted and skilled than her. It even becomes worse if she becomes jealous of other worshipers as she then starts frustrating, sabotaging and stepping on the toes of other people involved in the ministry.

Then comes financial considerations. Should a pastors wife receive a salary just because she is the wife of the pastor? Does a pastors wife automatically become a pastor? Is the anointing sexually transmitted?

THE POLITICS OF THE PASTORS KIDS

This one is very similar to the Pastor’s wife and basically has to do with kids that meddle in the running of the church because they feel their parents own the church and hence automatically making them leaders and able to provide direction and vision for the affairs of the church. Some pastors make this worse by automatically making their children deacons by virtue of them just being their offspring as if the anointing is transmitted by virtue of being born to a pastor. Where did this doctrine that says a pastors kid is automatically a deacon or a pastor come from? Definitely not biblical.

Even worse is kids who receive salaries or allowances from the church just because they are Pastors kids. This abuse of church funds which are given by the people of God is itself a form of corruption and nepotism that has crept into the modern day church. But its not peculiar to the modern day church only. The story of Eli and his sons comes to mind. However in those days the sons of priests would automatically be priests because it was hereditary. The politics that comes into play on Eli’s kids is his failure to deal with his children as the law required just because they were his sons.

It happens in the modern church with the kids of the Pastor/Prophet/Apostle/Evangelist receiving different treatment from the rest of the congregation.

THE POLITICS OF MONEY

The bible tells us that the love of money is the root of all evil.

A good example of the politics of money in play is when the majority of the church agrees on a certain position and yet one member or a few members who have money and pledge the most or give the most disagree and threaten to withdraw their support from the church if their position is not the one that is adopted.

Of late in the church positions are given to people not on the basis of merit and spirituality but based on how much a member gives in the church or based on the quantity of their tithe. The richer people are the ones who get the positions in the church and ultimately the ones who determine the direction and vision of the church.

THE POLITICS OF INSECURITY

This one has to do with a leader who feels threatened by those he leads. For example a pastor who becomes jealous of how their flock ministers. We all know this one. God starts using another member of the congregation lets say for example in the ministry and gifting of healing which the senior pastor might not be endowed in. This leads to the pastor starting to think such a congregant now wants to supplant him/her . They start feeling insecure about their power and influence in the church. They will then start frustrating, bad mouthing and even persecuting those who are gifted in ways they are not gifted. This is mainly caused by forgetting that we are a body and each member has a different function as the Holy Spirit gifts and enables.

FACTIONALISM IN THE CHURCH

When politics in the church takes its most dangerous form you find factionalism penetrating a denomination. People in the church start leaning towards a certain line of thought and a certain leader. You will hear one say i belong to so and so, yet another say i belong to xyz and yet in the same church.

This even started in the apostles days. 1 Corinthians 1:10-13 says

I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree together, so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be united in mind and conviction. My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: Individuals among you are saying, “I follow Paul,” “I follow Apollos,” “I follow Cephas,”or “I follow Christ.”

Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you?

Over time we have in our lifetime seen a couple of churches split due to factionalism. For some the battles become so nasty they are even taken to the courts of law. Funny how the church will seek a carnal person to judge over spiritual matters. Politics in the church can really be a nasty affair with churches fighting over finances and property. Even some of the fights actually become fist fights. But at this stage the factionalism would have fully manifested.

It usually starts subtle. Just mostly a function of a line of thought with a certain group gravitating towards one and another group gravitating towards an opposing view. Sometimes its just about personalities: liking leader X as opposed to leader Y.

The root of factionalism is carnality and Paul addresses that in 1 Corinthians 3:1-9

Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual, but as worldly—as infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for solid food. In fact, you are still not ready, for you are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and dissension among you, are you not worldly? Are you not walking in the way of man? For when one of you says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men?

What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, as the Lord has assigned to each his role. I planted the seed and Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. He who plants and he who waters are one in purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.