The Church is made up of sons and daughters of God, whom have been born again through Christ Jesus, and whom have been sealed with the Holy Spirit.

Why do we expect for such an organic body to not change? Is it better to have the Church follow the marketing strategies, the governance strategies, the vogue strategies, and humanistic strategies that organizations implement and adhere to, in order to guarantee their survival in our society and in the market place?  Is it better (or even possible) for the Church to remain static?  These are questions we need to ask, and more importantly, ask the Lord.  I don't think the Church should follow the strategies organizations employ in order to survive - the survival of the Church is in the hands of the Lord and in His power, not on our efforts and our merits.  What we are to do is to steadfastly seek Him and let Him work in and through us to reach the hurting world.  But in order for this to happen, we have to be flexible to Him - and Him alone.  We must abide in Him that He may be seen through and in us.

Should there be division in the Church?  Absolutely!  Let me explain.
 
When a diploid cell (a cell in our bodies) divides, it produces two identical daughter cells.  We see this happen before our eyes when children grow from newborn to adults.  In like manner, there should be 'cell' division in the Church.  This division of which I speak is a personal one and should not be confused with the tragic divisions we see when entire Churches split; that type of division is not from God.  What I mean by 'cell' division is that when I share the redemptive news with someone and that someone is born again, the cell (in this case me) hasn't divided to produce an identical cell yet, this is just the beginning.  I am to disciple him/her and teach him/her to observe all that Christ has commanded us, teach him/her to walk with Christ by coming long my side and walking with me for a time.  Just like the first disciples walked with Jesus and beheld His glory, this newborn should walk along my side in order to see the glory of Christ through me (making it essential for me to stay close to Christ and abide in Him).  This newborn will learn from me how to walk with Christ day by day, trial through trial, joy through joy, fall through fall.  After this newborn is grown and ready to have others walk alongside him/her, then the process of 'cell' division has taken place.  He/she will repeat this process with someone else and produce an identical 'cell'. 

And this, my friends, is the strategy Christ left for us to follow.  He lived this out with the 12, they lived this out with the Church.  Luke is a product of cell division, as is Theophilus, Timothy, Mark, and so many others.  If this strategy hadn't been employed, then where would we be today?  Would we have the Gospel of Luke?  What about the New Testament?  Each one took the time to take people under their 'wing' and pass on all that Christ had commanded; and so we are blessed to receive His teachings in the 21st century, but even more blessed to pass on His teachings to others.

This is the division that we should see in the Church - because the Church is an organism and not an organization.

Don't know if you remember high school biology, however, I was taught that all living organisms would be classified as such (living) if they performed MRS FREG activities.  Who is Mrs. Freg??  No one - but here is what MRS FREG stands for:

M: Movement
R: Respiration
S: Sensitivity
F: Feeding
R: Reproduction
E: Excretion
G: Growth

These activities/attributes came to mind as I was listening to my discipler teach on pouring our lives into others, so that they might also learn to pour out their lives into others. 

So the question is, do I perform those activities (those listed above)?  Do you do these activities?  I don't mean physically, I mean spiritually...for our life is not in the physical, but in the spiritual.  Remember, the dead don't feel, hunger, move, breathe, grow, excrete, etc., the dead are dead.  So are you dead in your sins or alive in Christ?

Movement: Do you move?  Are you moving toward the Light and the Life or are you standing still in the darkness and loving it?  (John 3:19)

Respiration: Is the oxygen your brain and body need circulating throughout your body?  Has the Holy Spirit come to dwell in you - is there life in your being?  Is He permeating every area of your life or are there areas where He is not allowed to dwell or where He cannot dwell because He is Holy? (Ephesians 4:30)

Sensitivity: Do you respond to your surrounding environment, to stimuli? Are you discerning the spirits of those around you, the situations, the work of the Holy Spirit vs the work of the enemy of God, the calling of God and His voice?  (Philippians 1:9-11)

Feeding: Are you feeding yourself the nutrients that your body needs or are you feeding yourself junk food (and possibly clogging your arteries)?  Do you hunger for the Word of God?  Do you feed your spirit the Word of God or do you feed your eyes, your flesh, and your pride of life - whether with images, sounds, conversations, opportunities, etc.?  (Ephesians 4:14, 2 Peter 3:18)

Reproduction: Are your cells reproducing healthy cells?  Are you making disciples who are rooted in the Word of God, who memorize scripture, pray without ceasing, witness to those around them, and who are preparing to disciple others? (Note the difference between witnessing and discipling)  Or are you investing your time in reproducing cells that are not healthy and that eventually can and will grow into tumors?  A simple way to check this out is to turn around and see who is behind you, who are your disciples? (Matthew 28:19-20)

Excreting: Is your body eliminating waste, is it removing harmful matter from your body?  Are you putting off your old self?  Have you put off falsehood, stealing, bitterness, rage, anger, slander, brawling, any form of malice, etc.? (Ephesians 4:22-32)

Growth: has your body grown since you were born?  Have you grown since you were born again?  Are you more like Christ today than you were yesterday?  Are you maturing or are you still a spiritual babe needing to feed on milk instead of meat? (1 Corinthians 3:2)

I can't help but observe that the Christian life is an organic life - it is not static or fruitless.  Are we static and fruitless or are we bearing fruit seen in those branches that are connected to the true Vine?  Are you alive?

It is my prayer that as I decrease (you too), Christ increase in me (and you) and these activities become more evident of His work in and through me (yes, and you!).