If you were a teen in the early 2000s or knew a teen at that time, you probably heard the phrase “team Edward” or “team Jacob” thrown around in reference to the Twilight books and movies. Or a more recent example would be “team Conrad” or “team Jeremiah” from The Summer I Turned Pretty. Or maybe you were a Marvel fan during Civil War and were asked if you were “team Captain America” or “team Ironman.” We all love to pick sides (even if we wouldn’t admit it).
If you work with teens, that’s often even more evident. You likely won’t make it a week without hearing about who’s on-the-outs with who and which friend they aren’t talking to anymore. And it’s easy to roll your eyes and wait until they’ve made up by the next week. But what if we took the opportunity to model the unity believers should have in Christ.
Division Among Believers
Division among believers is hardly just among teens. How many times have you heard about people joining a different small group or Bible study because they “just couldn’t stand so-and-so.” And division is nothing new either. In 1 Corinthians Paul specifically calls out the division and quarreling within the Corinthian church.
My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, ‘I follow Paul’; another, ‘I follow Apollos’; another, ‘I follow Cephas’; still another, ‘I follow Christ.’
Is Christ divided?
Paul continues in Corinthians to get to the root problem of division in the Church: We’re the body of Christ. And as the body of Christ, we have to reflect the unity we all have in Him.
Is Christ divided?
No, so we shouldn’t be either. And that applies to our youth groups too. To be effective Gospel Advancing ministries we have to be united in Christ.
The Solution to Division
Further along in 1 Corinthians 3, Paul points to Christ and the cross (the Gospel message) as the means to unify the church.
So then, no more boasting about human leaders! All things are yours,whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.
Modeling that humility and unity in Christ can look like being quick to forgive, slow to anger, and willing to listen before assuming or accusing. But most of all, modeling unity in the Church should look like setting our eyes on Christ and the mission He’s called us to.
