By Dan Reiland

What do Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard and Katherine Parr have in common? In addition to being wives of King Henry VIII, they were all part of church politics on steroids.

We could drop in on church history at any point and find political issues. In the case of King Henry (1491-1547), church politics were out of control at best. Henry wed his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, through an arranged marriage to help secure strong political relations with King Ferdinand II and Spain – forming a strategic alliance against France. King Henry became impatient with Catherine’s inability to bear him a son, and things got worse when he became attracted to a young courtier in the Queen’s entourage, Anne Boleyn. He sought the Pope for an annulment. This, however, was problematic because Henry had been a strong supporter of the Catholic Church even writing against Martin Luther. The Catholic Church could not support the divorce, and debate over consummation and/or lack of consummation ensued. As you can imagine, this was church politics at its finest.

Nonetheless, with the help of Thomas Cranmer, who became the Archbishop of Canterbury, Henry abolished papal supremacy, and declared himself head of the Church of England – The Anglican Church. The Pope reacted by moving to excommunicate Henry (a little like trying to discipline an angry church member who left to start their own church – as if they’re going to listen to you or care!). this obviously led to tremendous religious upheaval.

Anyone who opposed Henry’s religious policies was quickly suppressed. Several monks who stood against Him were even tortured and executed.

This short romp through church history has gone beyond anything we have experienced. However, most of us are aware of church politics on the local level that are nearly as disheartening and on a personal level just as devastating.

Today, “Church Politics” has taken on a more contemporary definition, pertaining specifically to the local church. It’s a sad truth, don’t you think, that whatever the definition, we instinctively grasp the meaning of the term. And it’s easy to make a list of potential places such politics can take root:

• Decisions made at Church board meetings
• Who’s on the Church board
• Annual Business Meetings
• Worship style
• The Pastor's resignation
• A Pastor's hiring
• Staff feuds
• Building programs
• Church Budgets

I’m sure you could double the length of this list including things right down to who gets what room for a Sunday School class!