What does First B Jackson teach about church conflict?
Drawn from the messages where it was actually addressed: the words said from the front, the passages taught, and where to hear the whole thing.
At First B Jackson, the teaching on church conflict starts with honesty about how common and painful it is. Pastor Mark, preaching through Acts 15 and 16, was open about having gone through two sharp disagreements of his own that same week, and he said that conflict with a brother or sister in Christ turns you inside out. He worked through the split between Paul and Barnabas over John Mark and was clear that Luke assigns blame to neither man. Both positions had something right in them, and what followed was not a stalled argument but something like cell division: two distinct ministries moving forward. The instinct to simply walk away and never come back is not the answer, he said, but neither is pretending that separation is never the right outcome. The goal is reconciliation and unity, and separation should only follow when other paths have been exhausted.
Deborah, teaching James 4 at the women's Bible study, pressed into the roots of quarreling: almost every conflict, she said, traces back to either jealousy or hurt. She asked the women to take their own inventory before pointing fingers at others, and she drew a sharp line between being committed to God and being submitted to Him. After years of trying to make things right with everyone, she said the Holy Spirit had told her plainly that some people are not your people, and that it is right to let them go while keeping your heart open if they ever repent.
Pastor Russ, preaching from 2 Corinthians 7 on the last Sunday of 2023, brought a different angle. Broken relationships are where the sorrow of the world usually lives, he said, and there is almost always sin on both sides. Godly sorrow, by contrast, produces repentance, a clearing of yourself, and the possibility of restoration. Paul's whole point in writing back to the Corinthians, after they had received his painful letter and done the right thing with it, was: what you did worked, so now bring that brother back in. Pastor Carl, closing out 2 Corinthians, made the same connection, noting that Paul's authority was given to him for building up, not tearing down, and that the list of sins Paul feared finding at Corinth when he arrived, quarreling, jealousy, anger, hostility, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder, are probably the ones most people are more prone to than the ones that get talked about most.
Taught from Acts 15 · 2 Corinthians 7:8-13 · James 4:1-2 · 2 Corinthians 12:14-13:14 · Galatians 6:1
The passage taught · Acts 13
1 Now in the assembly that was at Antioch there were some prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen the foster brother of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
2 As they served the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Separate Barnabas and Saul for me, for the work to which I have called them.”
3 Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia. From there they sailed to Cyprus.
World English Bible
The messages that teach on it
- May 18, 2025 Two Issues Acts 15 shows Paul and Barnabas splitting over John Mark, and Timothy being circumcised despite the Jerusalem Council. Two hard lessons on unity, rights, and the gospel.
- February 14, 2024 Women's Bible Study - February 14th, 2024 - Live with Purpose Deborah teaches James 4 at First Baptist Jackson, exploring pride, slander, submission, and what it looks like to walk the narrow path with God.
- December 31, 2023 Godly Sorrow Produces Repentance Pastor Russ unpacks 2 Corinthians 7:8-13 to show why godly sorrow leads to repentance and restored relationships, while worldly sorrow leads only to death.
- January 3, 2016 One Last Loving Defense Paul closes 2 Corinthians with a parental warning, a call to self-examination, and a benediction grounding Christians in God's faithfulness and restorative love.
- January 3, 2016 One Last Loving Defense Paul closes 2 Corinthians with a loving but firm warning, calling the church to self-examination, repentance, and trust in God's power to restore.
Mentioned along the way
- August 23, 2026 Scubula: Counting It All Loss for Christ A sermon from Philippians 3 on trading religious pride and moral license for the one thing that actually matters: being found in Christ.
- December 29, 2024 We're on a Mission from God Acts 6 traces how the early church handled internal division over food distribution, and what it meant that Stephen's face shone like an angel before his accusers.
- December 29, 2024 We Are On a Mission from God A Wyoming pastor walks through Acts 6, showing how the early church handled internal division and kept the gospel moving forward no matter the opposition.
- December 29, 2024 We Are on a Mission from God Acts 6 shows a church on mission facing murmuring and division. See how the apostles trusted the Holy Spirit to keep the gospel moving forward.
- December 3, 2017 Let This Mind Be in You Philippians 2 shows how Christians get along: by following Jesus, who left heaven's glory, emptied Himself of His rights, and died on a cross for us.
- December 3, 2017 Let This Mind Be in You Philippians 2 sermon on humility: because Christ emptied Himself of divine rights to serve and die for us, Christians are called to pursue unity over pride.
- November 13, 2016 Nothing Is Unclean in Itself Romans 14 sermon on disputable matters, stumbling blocks, and how righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit unite believers across differences.
- November 11, 2015 WWW Be Right (13) Romans 14 calls Christians to stop judging each other over nonessential convictions and to pursue unity, living by faith and love rather than personal freedom.
- July 14, 2013 Three Assaults of the Evil One Acts 6 reveals three schemes Satan uses against the church: persecution, hypocrisy, and murmuring. See how the early believers faced each one and how we can too.
- July 14, 2013 Three Assaults of the Evil One Three threats to the early church, persecution, hypocrisy, and murmuring, still attack believers today. Acts 6 shows how God's people can face each one with boldness.