The following guest post was contributed by Cornerstone teacher and assistant professor of Information Systems, Dr. Orneita Burton.

As I left the Spotlight session featuring John Perkins, a member of the audience commented that they were able to follow along with Perkins until he made a statement that characterized political parties as “left-wing liberals” and “right-wing conservatives,” according to certain weaknesses played out through their influence. Sadly, the listener closed his ears and mind to the rest of the message, assuming Perkins’ support of a “left-winged” position.

 When asked about this statement after the session, Perkins reiterated several points he made that followed this comment:

 We are divided by political parties. We cannot put our trust in party divisions. We are multi-faceted beings created by God. Single-focused issues die; truth unifies. . .  “On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.”

This one interaction illustrates a simple observation: the body of Christ suffers daily from division. Just as the Corinthians struggled with this problem, we accommodate and even embrace division–whether due to political parties, race, gender, nationality, or religion. Perhaps it would be more appropriate if our division occurred through some spiritual insight or superior intellect. However, Paul said that we are divided simply because we do not agree:

I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. (1 Cor 1:10)

 According to Perkins, we are divided because we don’t respect all people. Paul said we are a body of many parts, some given special honor, others with no need for special treatment, so that there should be no division in the body (I Corinthians 12:1-25). The scriptures refer to this divided position as derived through “human wisdom” (I Corinthians 1: 17). Human wisdom misunderstands the spirit and intent of the message, giving honor to those who need no honor, and dishonoring those who desperately need special care.  As a result, we are overcome by natural tendencies that permeate the spiritual influence of Christ.  Often we do so because our physical divisions bring focus on us, translating perceived power to people and away from the power of the gospel.

We need to be reminded of our allegiance through our fellowship in Christ:

Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul? (vs. 13)

 In our last Spotlight session, Randy Harris stated that there is a view that says there are no real atheists, only idolaters. Summit speaker Andy Wall, quoting 2 Peter, challenged our desire to be one of “godliness, not gods”.  In “Follow Me To Freedom,” Perkins echos these views, warning that in our quest to ascribe to others what we do not have, we shape our idols in our image; as a result, we worship men.

One of you says, ‘I follow Paul’; another, ‘I follow Apollos’; another, ‘I follow Cephas’; still another, ‘I follow Christ.’

We might easily substitute names from across the political spectrum. However, the words of John Perkins were simple biblical truths, spoken with the sheer, unadulterated power of God. Though we may not all agree at the ballot box, Perkins reminds us there is a higher allegiance we are called to. In his final comments, he entreated us with this wisdom:

Let us not lower the human race or lower the gospel of Christ through our tendency to disagree. For God has called us into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who alone is faithful. (quoting I Corinthians 1: 9)