1 Corinthians 11:17-34 - "Don't Be Harmful to the Church!"

"In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God's approval. When you come together, it is not the Lord's Supper you eat, for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk. Don't you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you for this? Certainly not!
For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, 'This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.' In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.' For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.
So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for each other. If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment..."

This passage is very interesting because it touches on two very relevent topics with our ministry and church: Division/cliques and discipline.

Never, in any case, is segregation or divisiveness a positive thing in the life of a Christian. Especially in youth ministry, I have seen too many times when there is no sense of community or family because people don't like someone or have issues with another. As believers, we should be able to set aside our own agendas and personal preferences and be in communion with all believers. Who cares if someone is annoying...who cares if that kid is too emo...who cares if someone doesn't dress the same or like the same music. We should be able to worship God together in one accord!

When Jesus was engaging in the Lord's Supper with the disciples, he didn't say that there would be a buffet where you could come and go and grab food whenever you choose. He made all 13 of them sit down at the exact same time and pray together for the food and to talk about life. They shared life even they all came from different background... Peter and a few others were a dirty old fishermen... Matthew was a nasty tax-collector... Jesus was the son of a carpenter... The Bible also says that they supported each other and so Paul tells us in this passage to do this Christian life together (one of the most significant things being Communion).

When it comes to discipline there are a variety of ways God intends for this to go...1) The obvious ways: Spiritually and physically. 2) Be disciplined in putting others before yourself. 3) Being disciplined in showing no favoritism towards anybody. 4) Being disciplined in something as simple as waiting for everyone to be ready to eat a meal together. 5) Not getting drunk or keeping somebody from enjoying the same share of food and drink as you. 6) Being disciplined in being just as humble as those people who are poor and have nothing. 7) Being disciplined in evaluating your heart before God every single day. 8) Being disciplined in serving God and living for God every single day. 9) Being disciplined by seeking the Lord's guidance. 10) Being disciplined in showing compassion and love towards any and all people in your life.

The list goes on...but these are just some I have gathered based on this passage. Where is your heart? Is it divided or is it united with the heart of Christ?