MDB 32: I Cor 3

Building on the first two chapters, in chapter 3 Paul addresses the issue of church division.  Corinth was the host city of the so-called Isthmian Games, where rhetoric, the art of public speaking, was one of the most highly respected competitive events. It would seem that the Christians in Corinth wanted their church leaders to conform to the stereotype of the great speaker, and also wanted to emulate the pagan world by having their particular heroes within the church, based upon their public presence and oratory. The church here is divided by personality cults, not denominationalism. Unfortunately, not only did Paul himself apparently not measure up to their standards, but this attitude itself completely undermined the message of the cross: that God's strength is demonstrated through weakness, and the church grows by God's grace, not by hiring the smoothest, the brightest, and the best. It is ultimately the message of the cross, not the rhetoric of the messenger which grows the church.

The lesson for us today is just too obvious at this point: we live in a celebrity saturated culture, where good looks and smooth talk are exalted as virtues. The church is not exception to this: however small the pool in which we swim, our little subcultures have their heroes, their big-shots, their leading figures who have achieved that status by sheer force of personality.    Let us spend a few moments today reflecting on where the real church leader? Do we really look to God's grace to grow the church? Or are we seeking the big name magic bullet to do a conference for us and pull in the punters?