1. What acts of servanthood have you seen carried out by church leaders? Do your church leaders take a turn working in the kitchen? What message do they send when they do menial jobs? What does it mean to be a servant leader?
2. In what situations does a congregation need a hierarchical structure of authority? What happens when there is no formal structure? What happens when people try to assert their authority outside of the formal structure? Does a clear hierarchical model reduce church conflict?
3. Ike Glick says that “most often, disagreements arise out of misunderstanding or because we haven’t sat or prayed together long enough.” Do you agree? How important is it to have face-to-face discussion when there are disagreements? How can social media help or hinder such a discussion?
4. Glick refers to Romans 2:4, where Paul says that the tolerance and patience of God should lead us to repentance, rather than judgment. What does it mean to be repentant when there is disagreement in the church? Why are tolerance and patience so difficult when others disagree with us?
—Posted Jan. 28, 2015
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