The Gospel in Real Life

I remember watching the images and reports of the Vietnam war during prime time television newscasts and documentaries in the 1960s as a pre-teen and then as a teenager. I think that was my first introduction to the term “guerrilla warfare.” There was a lot going on in the 60s, between the war abroad and protests and riots around the country, and Woodstock. I remember hearing the term “guerrilla warfare” for the first time and thinking that it must have something to do with gorillas, since the war was being fought in a tropical environment. Admittedly, I wasn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer. Come to think of it, I’m still not, but that’s another topic for another day. Let me throw out what I think is a good working definition of guerrilla warfare as one dictionary words it:

Guerrilla Warfare: The use of hit-and-run tactics by small, mobile groups of irregular forces operating in territory controlled by a hostile, regular force.

I think that definition nails it. Guerrilla warfare consists of covert or hidden forces using hit-and-run tactics and attacks to disrupt or destroy the regular military forces occupying or controlling a geographical area. Check out the picture that I put on this post. Guerrilla warfare is dependent upon surprise in order to succeed. Without the element of surprise, guerrilla warfare becomes less threatening. When you’re on the receiving end of it, guerrilla tactics are surprise attacks that seemingly come out of nowhere. But behind the scenes, they are usually well-planned in advance, but kept secret or covert until the moment of the attack. Their purpose is clear: they are intended to surprise and destroy and they use hit-and-run tactics to accomplish their purposes. As quick as their deadly attacks appear, they disappear, and the surviving victims are left to clean up the mess. My intention isn’t to discuss the merits or lack thereof of guerrilla warfare. I want to talk about what happens when the tactics of guerrilla warfare are brought into the church as a means to handle disagreement or conflict with another person.

Scripture is very clear about handling conflict or disagreement within the church. There is no gray area here. Check this out:

If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.  (Matthew 18:15-17)

That’s pretty clear. It’s definitely not rocket science and I’m pretty sure I understand it. We interpret these familiar verses as referring to church discipline, and rightly so. But they are much more than that. They are also glimpse into normal body life within the church. They are a glimpse into how a group of sinners saved by grace are to handle conflict when it arises, and it will arise. It’s been my experience that when we faithfully practice, even imperfectly, the first part of this text (go to your brother in private and seek resolution), we seldom get to the latter half (church discipline). The first part of this passage is a safety net intended to keep us from the second half, which is there for those rare instances of unrepentant, verifiable and deliberate sin.

Unfortunate, harmful, and sometimes irreversible damage is done when we ignore that first sentence of Matthew 18:15 and we decide instead to circumvent the Biblical process and prescription for conflict resolution and start to practice covert hit-and-run tactics. We are guilty of sinful guerrilla warfare within the church when, instead of talking to the person that we feel has sinned against us, we avoid them and begin to covertly rally others to our side in support of our cause. When we make a decision to avoid the clear teaching of Scripture, and we instead choose to circumvent the Biblical process for conflict resolution, we will soon find ourselves employing the sinful weapons of gossip and slander in order to support our cause. We will begin making our way through the church, hiding in the bushes, waiting for the proper moment to make a surprise attack. The purpose of our surprise attack is often twofold: to make them look bad, and me look good. It is usually intended to damage the other person’s character and reputation, while reinforcing my own untarnished image in other people’s eyes. Guerrilla warfare within the church is almost always based on the sin of pride and the sin of the fear of man.

Sadly, damage is done to the character and reputation of the one on the receiving end of covert guerrilla warfare in the church. Sometimes the damage can take years to repair and in some instances, a shadow of suspicion can remain over the one who has been treated this way by others. But as we saw in Matthew 18:15-17, an ounce of prevention really is better than a pound of cure. There is never a time when I am justified in not talking to someone first if I think they have sinned against me. This is body life 101. In most instances, resolution will occur if I begin to dialog with the other person. And if there is sin involved, the best hope for success is one-on-one dialog because that is the Biblical prescription for conflict resolution. When I resort to the hit-and-run tactics of guerrilla warfare, my weapons become the covert and sinful weapons of gossip, slander, dragon-making (talking myself into thinking the other person is evil and is out to destroy me), pride, and the fear of man. Guerrilla warfare is a restless evil that that is full of deadly poison and it has no place in Christ’s church! If you feel you’ve been wronged by someone, go to them quickly and seek resolution for the Lord’s sake (Matthew 5:23-26).

So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. (James 3:5-10)