To me, the point of if its a sunday deal or a conference should make no difference, the point is the same, and there is an honest heart behind it as well.
It may be my upbringing, but I feel like internal matters like these should not be addressed at length from a public platform.
It's not a perfect comparison, but I remember the church my wife and I joined in St. Louis would have brief meetings after Sunday morning services for members to discuss church business.
On the flip side, I can see the argument that church splits affect the whole church, so there's cause for addressing the matter in front of the whole church.
We aren't given the full context of the video, so whether or not the pastor was delivering the message using an appropriate platform is something of a moot point.
The more important issue to address is how to prevent church "piracy" when planting new churches.
Now to church piracy, not all the time is it malicious. One of my previous churches did it in full cooperation and help and support. it was the end result of struggling numbers and how specific issues were handled was the heart ache that ensued and created the division. I had been apart of another church that really did have a malicious or divisive intent to split the church over biblical things and really caused serious church disension (sp?).
I've been fortunate not to have been involved in a church split or attending a local church during a split. The closest experience that I can use to help relate to the situation is when Tribe of Judah's Counter-Strike chapter was in its prime and groups of members left to form a separate clan. Each situation differed, but I remember being frustrated in some cases. I felt as though there was plenty of work to do in Tribe of Judah; why were members leaving to do their own thing instead of helping out?
I don't recall any particularly nasty situations, but I also remember that most members that struck out on their own and formed a new clan closed up shop within a few weeks. I didn't let it stress me out, we stayed the course, and Tribe of Judah is still around today. I don't hold any ill will toward those who left to strike out on their own nor do I get particularly upset remembering that season of Tribe of Judah's history.
I know my experience doesn't compare with the heartbreak and frustration the pastor in the video seems to have suffered and it is certainly not my intention to make light of it. I just wanted to share my own story since Atown asked for people with experience with church planting and church splits.
Regardless of how a situation was handled, how can we plant churches better to avoid these issues? are their techniques or processes that should be followed better? what are your personal experiences?
I think distance is a key factor. Less distance = more friction.
I think consistent communication and transparency between all involved parties is also key to avoiding any misunderstandings.
Not having been involved in any church plants (with the exception of attending a joining a church that was a church plant, which is a bit of a reach because the church had been established a few years before I first started attending) or church splits, I don't feel I have any practical advice to add to the conversation, so I'll hush now and wait for more informed people to post.
)
