The dangers of disunity within a Church

By Toki Blah

First and foremost let me clarify that I am a communicant member of the Mawkhar Presbyterian Church, born and brought up in the tradition, rituals and conventions of that denomination of Christianity. Today I have a problem with my church. Not the Church building as a structure of cement and stone. No, my grievance with Mawkhar church goes beyond its impressive physical profile. My criticism  has more to do with the Church as an institution; the institution that provided me with the courage to say what has to be said; with values and principles that define me as what I am today. An institution where the molding of characters took place and I am what I am today because of this institution and its teachings. Its is   the fountainhead from where I learnt how to love not only God but also my fellow men in this beautiful wonderful world  that he has created. It was ( and I purposely speak in the past tense)  the  fount of the ethical norms that I so proudly carry on my shoulders. My sorrow today springs from the fact that the lifetime of experience this institution has bestowed upon me and others like me is now under threat. My unhappiness is that there are occurrences and events unfolding within the church that threaten to tear this hallowed establishment apart. My dejection springs from the fact that my beloved church, once renowned for its potency because of its unity, now stands tattered , torn and shredded not from marauders from outside but from worshipers within.  From the myopic vision of Pastors, Deacons and  biased members from within who lack the foresight to comprehend the bitter consequences that shall result from their irresponsible actions. My irritation is aimed at those who seem ready to sacrifice an institution of God at the altar of their puny, frail and trifling  selfish egos . No wonder the adage “Church Politics is a thousand times dirtier than State Politics!”

At this juncture allow me to share with the reader my notions and idea of a Christian Church , in this case the Mawkhar Presbyterian Church. This is important because before we proceed further; before I lay my case for the consideration of the readers, one must be perfectly clear of the “personal relationship” between the Church and its members.  The term “personal relationship” is deliberately used because it was here in this church that my identity was first established – the day I was baptized and got a name! Then aside from providing me with an identity, the Church also throughout my entire life, functioned as a “School for my Soul”. It was here that we first learnt of the need “to love thy neighbour”. What does it convey?  It is the mental picture of my Church acting like a classroom , teaching me patience, forgiveness and conflict resolution so as to minimize social friction in the world I live in. During Christmas, what vision of Christian values does the Church portray? We are taught  that Christ chose to be born in a manger inside a stinking smelly stable. The Christmas message we use to get at Mawkhar Church  – that humility and not ego or pride is the chosen Christian weapon to conquer the world. Then at the centre of it all is the agonizing unimaginable image of Calvary and the betrayal of Peter. This part of Biblical history simply enforced the fact that  human cowardice and weakness is forgiven  by the  act of self subjugation and self sacrifice of Christ on the cross. These were the factors that found resonance in our souls and made us stand proudly in collective unity as Christians , the Children of the One True God.  My grief is that this understanding of Unity now lies shredded by the very people who once taught us its meaning. Why is this happening ? Where have the shepherds of the Church disappeared to? The flock is in need of directions for it is left in disarray. The wisdom of  Psalm 23 seems to have been overtaken by pride and self importance.  So what do we do now?

As this rift within the church progresses there are some developments that I believe needs to be reviewed by all stakeholders, right from the office of the Synod Sepngi, The Shillong Rilum Presbytery and the opposing parties. I feel that somehow decisions, at various levels,  had been taken in a huff, prompted more by inflated egos and self importance  than by logical reasoning. As a Church  lets turn to the word of God, rather than man made rules to guide us in this matter. The Bible describes God “testing” or “searching” the kidneys as a form of deep internal audit: Psalm 26:2 “Examine me, O Lord, and try me; test my kidneys and my heart.” The psalmist is asking for a divine scan of his deepest intentions. This  biblical “kidney check” is essentially a call to radical self honesty. It’s about looking past your outward behavior and examining the “hidden” motives that drive you in decision making. In modern  terminology we call it Introspection. Can those involved do it in the interest of Church unity?  For example, (a) The suspension and ultimate termination of Pastor Macdonald Pyngrope by Synod Sepngi, smacks more like an exercise of a show of power; a poor imitation of what perhaps a powerful bureaucrat of the Govt would have done than a decision taken in the best interest of the Presbyterian Church. I make this observation not because of any desire to destroy discipline within the Church Hierarchy but simply to draw the readers attention that rules for Govt servants are punitive by nature while that of the Church are usually based on consultations driven by love and redemption as propagated by Jesus Christ. Nothing is beyond  clemency (b)  The reaction to this decision of Synod Sepngi by some members of Mawkhar Church has been of indignation and anger. It has resulted in the unfortunate decision for the Church to disassociate itself from Synod Sepngi and for the church to seek association with some other Synod. Is this based on a well thought out plan or a decision taken in a huff? I suspect the latter and  if the other Synods refuse, then what ? Hot headed calls for an independent Mawkhar Church have also been sounded. I have no concept of an  Independent Church in the Presbyterian fold? So is this a sinister design to turn Mawkhar Church into a Charismatic Church based on the Fellowship design? Either way it is a ridiculous thought unacceptable to the majority of Mawkhar Church members. All of the above are purely the result of inflated ego driven decisions. Disintegration of Mawkhar Church will be the end result. What is really needed is a forgive and forget  compromise that should lead to reunification of the Church. Our efforts should be towards that goal. That’s why the urgent need for introspection by all concerned.

I have spoken about ego ( ka ma nga)  and inflated egos ( ka tang ma nga)  and my suspicion about the corrosive influence they have on the subject under discussion. So what is Ego and why is it necessary to suppress it especially for the case under consideration? The ego   is a rigid mental protective shield each of us built unconsciously around ourselves  to maintain the specific self image we have of ourselves;  to secure our social status and to prove our own righteousness. It is usually a state of narrow chronic self-inflation that prevents a person from seeing the “bigger picture” of the society around him. Its exactly what is prevailing in Mawkhar Church. When an institution (like the Church or its leaders ) fails to ” mold” the ego into a more inclusive community based need, the resulting social damage is profound. First because ego is inherently opinionated and take sides not based on the truth but on what protects its own position. It loves to build human silos where people only associate with those who validate their self-image, destroying the social fabric of diverse cooperation. It thrives when communities are fragmented. Second, because ego is inward looking it loses the capacity to understand or empathise with the feelings of others, especially those who remain  outside one’s  own immediate circle. In cases of leadership, ego often leads to dogmatism , where leaders are more interested in being “right” than being effective  and helpful. Most social strife  is the result of “ego-clashing.” This prevents the forgiveness and compromise necessary for a functional society. Ego leads to conflict escalation. We therefore need to predict where an escalation in this Mawkhar Church conflict is likely to lead the Presbyterian Church in Meghalaya and Christianity as a whole . Let me assure the reader that it does not present an assuring picture.

I firmly believe that it is high time for us  to express our thoughts, opinions and suggestions on how to end the dispute. Our prayers is that the matter be resolved as soon as possible before it explodes into a wider public domain. The fear is that if we continue to let emotions and ego  guide our actions, the matter might just end up in a court of law, into a domain  where it can be exploited by others who have no love for Christians. Let me be more specific. Today in India, Christianity manages to exist in a hostile environment. Don’t believe me? Just see that RSS video of Pynter village in EKHs. If the dispute of Mawkhar Church ends up in court, who is there to stop a  Hindutva from intervening or requesting the Court  for Amicus Curiae status on the plea that they can advise the court on other “serious Church related issues” that has bearing on the case. One such “serious related matter” might be the charge of forcible conversion or doubtful sources of income. For those who are skeptical let me assure them that these are the two main charges that the Sang Pariwar believes can help it bring down Christianity in India. That they haven’t done so is simply because of lack of opportunity .  So are the two pigheaded parties involved in this Mawkhar Church dispute willing to provide the Sang Pariwar that opportunity it is looking for? Please think carefully. Please think beyond the limited vision of your inflated egos.   If the matter should go to court, the case might then even get dragged right up to the Supreme Court , not by the two contesting sides but by this third party who managed to implead itself as an interested party.  One hopes that the actors involved in the Mawkhar Presbyterian Church drama have enough sense to at least acknowledge the fact that what they are now engaging in has all the potential to destroy the whole Church system in India. I doubt if they really wish for such a fate to befall the Christianity in India.

Let all of us admit that this is not the first time in the history of Christianity that the Church has been split by toxic ego generated nonsense. It has happened before especially to the Early Church during  the era of St. Paul.  We read through the letters of St Paul and realize the mental anguish he most probably underwent as he wrote to these warring factions of Christians. The most relevant portion perhaps that can be comparable to what is happening in Mawkhar Church is St Pauls letter to the Corinthians ( 1Corinthians 1-3) where he warns about the division being created by followers of Paul, Apollos, Cephas or  Christ himself. These letters condemn difference of opinion and disunity among the early Christians and reminding them that all leaders serve Christ, and the church should not be split into leader based factions. Paul identifies Unity and emphasizes Church unity as the best strategy for survival in dangerous times. To me it is exactly what the Church experiences in India today and that is why coming together again as a united body of Christ is so important. Here Paul acts as a mediator. Does the KJP have mediators to bring back unity in Mawkhar Church? We need trained mediators here.  Let me inform the reader that the Meghalaya State Legal Cell has trained a number of persons as mediators to arbitrate as peace makers in contentious cases. Many of these trained mediators are Presbyterians whose trained expertise can be utilized in this particular case pertaining to unity in  Mawkhar Church.

In conclusion I would like to come up with some long term strategies for the KJP Church. Once again introspection is needed here and if we are true to ourselves we have to admit that Khasi Jaintia Presbyterians are perhaps the worst institutional managers in the World. We have managed to bring mission assets, that were once the pride of the region ( Mission Hospitals and Educational institutions and today even the Balang Kmie) from their heights of glory to the derelict and forsaken bodies they now present. Let us also admit that we have plenty of young enthusiastic pastors who are ready for their  Praise and worship missions  but are totally unprepared to carry out concepts of leadership management that the Presbyterian Church is in desperate need of. For instance we lack the following skills in most pastors :-

Our Pastors do not have these management skills and these skills do not come naturally. So the Mawklot Seminary has to make some momentous decision on the future syllabus and curriculum for its students . Tying up with some local University that can provide the academic wherewithal for such management courses would be the most ideal solution for  this  skill enhancement need.