What? Did I just say that? Am I off my rocker?

Perhaps. But despite every effort of my mind to dismiss such a peculiar, radical statement, I have come to embrace it, realizing that yes, we do in fact need more conflict in our churches.

Now, such a statement can’t be made without careful explanation. So give me a minute before you click the X in the corner of the window and vow never to visit my site again. It is, after all, easy to misinterpret the argument that more, not less, conflict is needed in our churches.

Firstly, I am not at all advocating division, anger, or hatred. Instead, I am advocating the exact opposite: unity, love, and forgiveness. But what does conflict have to do with that?

Forget, for a moment, everything you’ve been conditioned to think about church community. I am about to argue that conflict is, in fact, absolutely necessary in order for true unity to occur. Even more, without conflict, there can be no true love, nor even true forgiveness within the Church. Why then do we look at conflict as such a bad thing?

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The word “evangelism” may stir up all kinds of images for us. One person might think of overseas missions. Another might picture handing out tracts explaining the gospel. Still others may think of long, awkward conversations over coffee, or perhaps going through the Scriptures with an unbelieving friend. Surely, we all come from different places and, from our various experiences, have a wide range of ideas regarding evangelism. Yet if there is one thing we all have in common, it is the understanding that evangelism is about saving the lost.

Certainly, this concern for the lost is immensely important and commanded by Scripture. However, our church has lately been reading a book called Total Church by Tim Chester and Steve Timmis (IVP) which has been very provocative and beneficial. While reading the chapter about discipleship, I came across the following comment:

“We continue to ‘evangelize’ one another as Christians because it continues to be the gospel message with which we exhort and encourage one another. The good news that gives life is the good news that transforms, while the community that incarnates gospel truth for the sinner is the community that incarnates gospel truth for the saint” (110).

In other words, we, as Christians, should evangelize ourselves. The Greek root for “evangelize” is ευαγγελιζομαι, which literally means “I preach the gospel.” Therefore, it is not only something done toward nonbelievers, but toward Christians as well. As believers, we should be preaching the gospel to one another. This is the means by which we edify, admonish, and exhort one another to live a cross-centered life, stirring each other to good works. The moment we lose our focus on the gospel in favor of something we deem more “spiritual,” (whether it be a ministry program, social justice, an obsession with spiritual warfare or spiritual gifts, etc.) we have abandoned the faith. The Gospel is as spiritual as it gets; it is not entry-level Christianity, but the very fabric by which the Christian life exists.

By preaching the gospel to one another, we will prompt each other to change and grow; the gospel begins to shape each and every aspect of our everyday lives. The gospel comes to influence where we work, what we spend our time on, and how we handle our money; this happens gradually, nurtured within the context of a gospel-centered community as we evangelize one another. In this, we are sanctified through the gospel, by the work of the Holy Spirit. And even more, evangelizing ourselves leads us to evangelize others; by preaching the gospel to one another, we are driven to preach the gospel to those who have not received it. It is our own experience with grace which motivates us to share that grace with others. Therefore, to truly be effective in evangelizing the lost, we must also be effective in evangelizing each other.

But what does this mean?

It means talking less about theology from a philosophical standpoint and more about theology from a practical standpoint. How is the gospel being reflected (or not reflected) in our lives? If we believe what we say we believe, our lives should be marked by it. So, we must hold one another accountable, admonishing and encouraging one another with the gospel, and preaching it to one another, that we might share in the earth-shattering grace of God.