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<\/a><\/p>\nLooking back around my middle school to high school years I now realize that one of the contributing\u00a0factors to what led me so easily into drug and alcohol abuse so early was needing a greater acceptance\u00a0from facing an even greater rejection. Unfortunately where I found acceptance came at a great cost; and\u00a0before I knew it what was once my enemy had become my greatest ally. I went from running from the\u00a0cliques to becoming one in hanging around others that brought out the worst in me. As I look back now I\u00a0realize that I was not only a hypocrite to others but was one to myself as well.\u00a0The more and more I look back into the things that made me suffer as a young man help me to better\u00a0address what pushed me into bad choices when I was not in strong control of my actions. Now that I\u00a0have been saved by Jesus Christ the things that would have once destroyed me no longer have power.<\/p>\n
I\u00a0am so thankful I am free from the influence of sin by substance abuse! Unfortunately there is one thing that has continued to try and haunt me\u00a0beyond my youth and immaturity: the battle of the cliques.\u00a0I still see it all around me in families, homes, organizations, workplaces, ministries, and even churches.\u00a0The sizes and personalities of the groups vary that drive them but they are nonetheless there and stronger than they have ever been.\u00a0It\u2019s everywhere. In short, church cliques are bad and will destroy your environments if they are not\u00a0addressed<\/strong>. As I feel led to write this I hope that wherever this applies that you receive it with an open\u00a0mind.<\/p>\nHere are 10 lessons learned about dealing with and overcoming church\u00a0cliques:<\/strong><\/p>\n1) Cliques are quick and easy to form<\/strong> and will help you feel good in the short term. However the\u00a0long term effects will stunt your growth as an individual and leave you and your church limited\u00a0to those whom you consider \u201cin\u201d.<\/p>\n2) Cliques are destructive for the growth of members your church<\/strong>. Loving people when they do what you want and then pushing them away when they disagree sends mixed signals to others whom should only receive love.<\/p>\n3) If you look for the support of certain individuals only<\/strong> then you have likely formed a clique\u00a0without even realizing it.<\/p>\n4) If people deliberately exclude people intentionally<\/strong> then it is a clique. If you believe people do\u00a0not have a right to contribute because of something that led you to cut them out then a division\u00a0has formed and a clique is upon you.<\/p>\n5) Cliques drive away people more frequently than any other kind of problem<\/strong>. More issues come about in the imagination of others whom are feeling the pressure from cliques more than actual pressure from any one individual.<\/p>\n6) God did not form cliques<\/strong>. God formed churches with no respect of person and equality for the\u00a0body. God essentially modeled the church as an anti-clique!<\/p>\n7) If jealousy and emotions drive the motives of an individual<\/strong> to work against others<\/strong> and not for\u00a0them then whom you are recruiting to accomplish your will is a clique.<\/p>\n8) The best way to eliminate a clique forming in church business is to have transparency in all\u00a0<\/strong>tasks and invite everyone to participate<\/strong>.<\/p>\n9) A good method of promoting fellowship in your church is to allow a time for people to interact\u00a0<\/strong>with one another<\/strong>.<\/p>\n10) The ultimate clique-killer is loving everyone as you love yourself<\/strong> and making sure everyone\u00a0around you feels just as accepted as the people you like the most.<\/p>\nI leave you with three\u00a0powerful scriptures you can use as teaching points:<\/p>\n
Romans 12:16<\/strong><\/p>\n16\u00a0Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but\u00a0condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.<\/p>\n
1 Corinthians 1:10<\/strong><\/p>\n10\u00a0Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye\u00a0all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that\u00a0ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.<\/p>\n
James 2:1<\/strong><\/p>\n2\u00a0My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory,\u00a0with respect of persons.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I am so thankful for the learning experiences that God gives us for certain phases of our lives. I truly\u00a0believe with all my heart that it is out of what we learn when we do not possess answer upfront that\u00a0causes…<\/span><\/p>\nRead more How To Deal With And Overcome Church Cliques<\/span> ›<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[1642,80,2604,2608,2605,2607,29,79,1378,2606,2309],"class_list":["post-4836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-life-lessons","tag-abuse","tag-church","tag-cliques","tag-environment","tag-group","tag-haunted","tag-jesus","tag-love","tag-neighbor","tag-personality","tag-pressure"],"yoast_head":"\n
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I truly\u00a0believe with all my heart that it is out of what we learn when we do not possess answer upfront that\u00a0causes…Read more How To Deal With And Overcome Church Cliques ›\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.heartofgraceministries.com\/blog\/life-lessons\/deal-overcome-church-cliques\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Heart of Grace Ministries\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/theheartofgraceministries\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/theheartofgraceministries\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-12-11T13:26:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.heartofgraceministries.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/images.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jared Meredith\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" 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