What makes a healthy church? If we truly understand the message of Christ and how He desires for all saints to exist for each other, we will know that healthy relationships will always lead to healthy churches.
Across the centuries, churches have thrived and existed. Some people credit it to sound and appropriate doctrine, but know that there have been more church splits than revivals caused by opposing ideas brought about by the search for the right doctrine.
Others will think that spiritual experiences are what make a church healthy. But remember the time God came down as a cloud by day and a fire by night, or the time when He made manna and quail to come in abundance for the Israelites? That wasn't a very spiritually healthy time either.
One of the biggest factors to church health is relationships. That's why many of Paul's qualifications written in 1 Timothy 3 involves relationships -- relationships with spouses, children, church members and even outsiders. Relationships are key to church health.
That's why Jesus gives us the simplest manifesto in John 13:35 saying, "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another." When we truly understand the love of Christ and how He has given us so much of His love, we will naturally allow it to flow out to others.
Now that's not to say that there will be no conflicts among church community members. Conflicts are not an indicator of poor relationships and in fact they can actually be a very healthy sign of them. What matters most is that through the differences and diversity, church communities fight for unity.
What matters is whether people in church are willing to work out doctrine together while working to keep the unity in the faith or whether people in church will value relationship over political correctness or positions of authority. These things are important, but they will never be as important as relationships.
Because God is a God who works non-stop to provide us with a way to commune with Him and with each other, He desires for us to have the same value for relationships as well. All that God does is for the sake of relationships. That's why He created us. That's why He made us in His own image and likeness. That's why He sent Jesus to the cross to die for our sins and break the wall between us and the Father. That's why He built the church.
