Reality Wars: When the Church Is Fractured, Not Divided
What if the church’s deepest problem today isn’t disagreement—but a collapse in shared reality?
In this conversation hosted by the 100Movements team, Dele Okuwobi offers a framework he has been carrying for more than a decade—one shaped by pastoral experience, cultural observation, and global perspective. He suggests that many of today’s conflicts are no longer simple divisions, but something far more serious: fracture.
Division assumes shared ground.
Fracture means the ground itself has split.
This teaching explores how fear, narratives, and competing sources of authority reshape how people see the world—and why the church must learn to respond differently if it hopes to bear faithful witness to Jesus in this moment.
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Key Insights from the Teaching
1. Division and fracture are not the same
Division means disagreement while still standing on common ground.
Fracture happens when people no longer share the same ground, language, or understanding of reality.
When fracture occurs, conversations don’t heal—because people aren’t arguing about conclusions anymore. They’re arguing from entirely different perceptions of what is real.
2. The real war is not political or theological—it’s perceptual
We often assume the conflict is about politics, culture, or doctrine. Dele argues those are surface arenas.
The deeper battle is over:
how people perceive reality
which narratives they trust
who or what they allow to shape their sense of truth
This is why fact-checking no longer works and why reading the same Bible can produce radically different conclusions.
3. Fear is the fastest path to loyalty
People become loyal to whoever makes them feel safe.
False discipleship promises safety by fueling fear—of the “other,” of loss, of threat.
Jesus offers something different: presence, not protection.
Fear never disappears. It simply shifts what it serves:
fear serving self-preservation
or fear serving integrity, love, and faithfulness
4. The sanctuary shifted
Many people didn’t abandon faith—they changed where formation happens.
Authority quietly moved from local church communities to digital spaces: podcasts, platforms, influencers, and online communities that speak directly to fear and anxiety. Even when people still attend church, formation often happens elsewhere.
5. The most faithful question we can ask
Instead of starting with debate, Dele invites leaders to ask a different question:
“How did you come to this belief?”
Listening with the intent to understand—rather than correct—creates space for shared reality to begin forming again. Only then is meaningful conversation possible.
Why This Matters for the Church
The church is not simply navigating disagreement—it is ministering in a world where shared meaning has broken down.
If we continue to fight at the wrong level—with better arguments, louder voices, or stricter boundaries—we will keep losing the battle that actually determines formation.
Faithful witness today requires:
humility before complexity
courage to listen
discernment around narratives
and a deep commitment to the way of Jesus
What’s Next with 100Movements
If this conversation resonates, a next step may be joining an Activating mDNA Cohort—a space designed to help leaders and practitioners explore movemental discipleship, formation, and practice together.