“...from the tribe of Issachar, men who understood the times and knew what Israel should do.” – 1 Chronicles 12
“We have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We don’t know what to do, so we are asking for Your help. Our eyes are on you.” – Jehoshaphat, 2 Chronicles 20

Acknowledging the Challenge

Our church is fracturing right now over current events, politics, and politicians. We feel it in our families, our friendships, our workplaces, and even here at church. If this church is a ship, we are taking on water at a pace that threatens to sink us.

For many years, I prided myself on being of the tribe of Issachar. As an adult, I have taught worldview classes, logic, and ethics. I pursued a Master’s degree in Christian Theology and Philosophy and studied Christian apologetics. In my sermon preparation, I have tried to translate the cultural context of the Bible into a practical way for us to follow Jesus today.

Yet over time, I have increasingly appreciated Jehoshaphat. I keep running into situations where I don’t know what to do. Two examples will suffice to represent more than two scenarios.

When my son AJ was a teenager, we had a conversation that created tension and anger between us. Finally, I told him, “AJ, I don’t know what to do. I am having a conversation with you that my dad never had with me. I don’t know what I’m doing, but I love you, and I want us to figure this out.” And we did. It wasn’t easy. There were wounds along the way. But by God’s grace, we came out the other side better than we went in.
COVID felt the same way. No matter how we navigated that season, people were upset. To some, responding by wearing masks and distancing looked like living in fear, not faith. To some, not responding that way looked like a failure to love the vulnerable. As we tried to walk that balance beam, there was no decision concerning our corporate church life that wasn’t met with frustration or anger from someone. More and more, my prayers sounded like, “God, I don’t know what to do, and I am desperately in need of Your help.” 2021 was the closest I ever came to resigning. I was genuinely concerned I would have another heart attack.

We got through that—not intact, not unwounded, but we got through it. Some of us still walk with a limp from wrestling with each other and with God.

And now, here we are again. I cried myself to sleep last week over this. I asked Jesus to sit with me, and He did. That was comforting, but I still cried myself to sleep. The political divide in our country is pressing in on our church, and I – we - feel it deeply on both sides of our divide.

Some of you feel unheard or unseen (“Why can’t they just listen and try to understand why I am feeling so strongly about this issue?”)
Some of you feel attacked (“Why can’t we just share opinions without the conversation devolving into insults and judgment?”)
Some of you feel judged (“They don’t know my heart. Why are they assuming X about me?”)
Some of you feel betrayed (“I thought Christians stood for X, but now it looks like we aren’t. What is going on?”)
Some of you feel unsafe (“Now that I know what I do about you, I don’t know if I can trust you.”)
And some of you feel frustrated with how people respond (“When people speak up, it’s divisive. When people don’t speak up, it feels like complicity.”)

As the pastor here, I am in the awkward position addressing this while being very aware that I am a flawed example. I try to be responsive to God’s nudging, but I don’t always know what to do (or not do) and say (or not say), so surely sometimes I do it well, and other times I don’t. You are in the same boat. None of us are navigating this blamelessly in our hearts and with our words and actions. People look at what all of us are saying (or not saying) and doing (or not doing), and some become discouraged while others become encouraged.

This is taking a sledgehammer to our fellowship and friendships. This is hard. It is where we are.

What Do We Know?

Despite all this uncertainty, I do know a few things that are essential for this moment:

I know to pray.
I know to focus on Jesus.
I know to love God and love others like Jesus loves them.
I know that the more my heart, mind, and hands align with Jesus, the better ambassador I will be.
I know that the Sermon on the Mount is our blueprint, and that the fruit of the Spirit is evidence that we are walking in step with Him.

But the tension remains. So today, as a congregation, we are going to ask God for help, and we are going to listen.

* * * * *

The Importance of Listening to God

Throughout Scripture, we see that the people of God are called not just to speak, but to listen. Listening is one of the most profound ways we acknowledge God’s presence and authority in our lives.

In 1 Samuel 3:10, when the Lord called to the boy Samuel, his response was simply: 'Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.' He didn’t come to God with his own agenda—he came ready to receive.
Jesus often said, ‘Whoever has ears, let them hear’ (Matthew 11:15, Mark 4:9). He knew that hearing and truly listening are not the same thing. We can hear noise all day long, but listening requires humility and openness.
James 1:19 reminds us: ‘Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.’ This applies to our relationships with one another—but even more, it applies to how we approach God.

So today, we set aside our opinions, our debates, and our distractions—and we take a posture of listening. Not listening to argue, not listening to justify, but listening to receive.

God is always speaking. The question is—are we making space to hear Him?

Listening Prayer

I invite you to take a moment in silence. Listen for God’s voice. Write down what you sense Him speaking to you.

Guiding Questions for Listening Prayer

What is God saying to CLG in this season?

What is God saying to me about my role in this church right now?

Where is God pleased with me in my walk with Him?

Where is God calling me to repentance?

When you are finished, I invite you to turn in your response about what God is saying to the church to one of the elders. We will pray over these together and discern what God is saying to our church body. I would encourage you to talk with others about what you experienced during this time of prayer. If you would like to share more with the elders, you are welcome. And if you would like to talk about this in a group, you are invited to Message+.

Whatever God has revealed to you today, hold onto it. But also—be open to the idea that He’s still working. Let’s commit together to be slow to speak, quick to listen, and eager to love each other well in the coming weeks. No matter our differences, we are called to be one body in Christ. That will take work. That will take humility. But that’s what we’re here to do.

May we walk forward unified in our attempt to follow Jesus well, not because we agree on everything, but because we are all listening to the same voice.