Can Division in the Church Be a Good Thing?

In his high priestly prayer, Jesus prayed for the future church, specifically that we would be “one.” Because of this (and other scriptural teachings), Christians must strive for unity—but are there times when division is a good thing? Actually, the Bible gives us instruction on good division and bad division.

True unity is only possible if we’re unified around the right object, namely Jesus Christ and his eternal Word.

When we talk about unity, we have to ask, “Unity around what?” Are we unified around a particular person, a creed, or a common cause? Such things do bring unity, though often only for a time. But true unity is only possible if we’re unified around the right object, namely Jesus Christ and his eternal Word. You see, our world is constantly changing (hence why a variety of very good creeds have been written over the years to address new heresies and issues), but God’s Word and God’s Son never change (Isaiah 40:8; Hebrews 13:8). Jesus and his Word are the only firm foundation on which to base our thinking, and if we want to have true unity, it must be on God’s Word . . . from the very first verse!

Now, does this mean Christians will or must agree on every point of doctrine to be unified? No, certainly not—unity is not necessarily “sameness.” But it does mean that Christ and his Word must be our ultimate authority and standard; otherwise we will never have the kind of unity Scripture talks about. Obviously, there are fundamentals Christians must agree on (e.g., the bodily resurrection of Christ).

So this brings us back to the question—are there times when division can actually be good for the church? Consider a recent headline: “The UMC [United Methodist Church] Lost a Quarter of its Churches.” What’s this all about? To quote from the article:

Five years after allowing churches to leave with their properties if they disagreed with the direction the denomination was heading on issues of gender and sexuality, the results of the split are in, and they reflect larger political patterns to a substantial degree.

A new study by the Lewis Center for Church Leadership at Wesley Theological Seminary finds that the nation’s second-largest Protestant denomination lost a quarter of its total churches between 2019 and 2023. Leading the way were churches in the South – the same area of the country that tends to be the most politically conservative and Republican-leaning.

So 25% of UMC churches left their denomination over the past few years because the denomination is changing its once-biblical stance on marriage and sexuality to accommodate the ideas of our day. Because of this massive and far-reaching doctrinal shift, these churches opted for literal division from their denomination—and I would argue that’s a good thing!

The UMC, despite their name, cannot stay united if they aren’t united around Christ and his Word. As soon as you allow the world’s interpretations, beliefs, fads, and philosophies to be your standard, true biblical unity is impossible. And those who still start with and believe God’s Word must leave for the health of their congregations.

For there must be factions [divisions] among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. (1 Corinthians 11:19)

We strive for unity—but not a false unity based on man’s word. Rather, we seek a true unity grounded in Christ and his unchanging Word.

Yes, we strive for unity—but not a false unity based on man’s word. Rather, we seek a true unity grounded in Christ and his unchanging Word.

Get More Answers on Answers News

This item was discussed Wednesday on Answers News with cohosts Dr. Tim Chaffey, Dr. Gabriela Haynes, and Avery Foley. Answers News is our weekly news program filmed live before a studio audience here at the Creation Museum, broadcast on our Answers in Genesis YouTube channel, and posted to Answers TV. We also covered the following topics:

• Do humans have the right to die?
• Do bird brains let them fly?
• Polyamory is and has been here.
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Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken

This item was written with the assistance of AiG’s research team.