Category: unity

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What’s in a Name?

The Southern Baptist Convention is thinking about changing the name of the denomination. I don’t believe they have come up with a new name yet. I do have a suggestion, but I doubt they’ll take it. There are some who don’t want the name to change. One leader of a church in California said that if the convention dropped the word “southern” it would water down their theology. He also advocated keeping “Baptist.” I can understand wanting to keep “Baptist.” I used to be one. I didn’t realize that there was some sort of a southern theology. I wonder what that entails.

Names are important. Parents put a great deal of thought into picking meaningful names for their children (although I wonder what some of them were thinking). A name can open or close doors in certain situations. Names carry the weight of a family’s history and can be very encouraging and challenging. Names can also be an albatross around the neck. A name can cause shame and can drag a person down.
Names also distinguish and separate. That can be a good thing, but it also can be a problem. When a group of Christians put a particular label on themselves, they automatically put distance between themselves and other Christians. Most of the time that distance is never bridged. That is a problem. Jesus prayed that his followers would be one. I believe there are currently something like four hundred denominations in the United States. Somehow I don’t think that’s what Jesus had in mind. Over the years, those who claim to be followers of Jesus have separated themselves into increasingly restrictive groups, many times over insignificant points of dogma.
The early Church had no problem knowing what to call themselves. They were known because of who they followed, not the creed or doctrines they adhered to. At one point they began to be know as Christians, because they were acting like Christ. Unfortunately, even that term has become something other than what it should be. Most of the time the early Christians called themselves disciples, followers of the Way, believers, the church that meets _____________.
What do we call ourselves? I prefer follower of Jesus, because that describes me better than any denominational label. Besides, I don’t think Panerist is a denomination is it? Anyway, how about we simply live our lives as subjects of the King and show his love in such a way that the world has to talk about that love, even if they don’t know what to call us. Maybe we can be like Christ enough that the term “Christian” becomes a good thing again.
Ready for my suggestion? Drop the denominational labels and let our actions speak.
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Wisdom of Pooh Bear

The other night, Jan and I went to the $2 theater and saw the new Winnie the Pooh. We thoroughly enjoyed it, because we are longtime Winnie the Pooh fans, and because it was a well done film. As usually happens when watching a movie, the wheels started turning in my brain.

What struck me while sitting in the dark was the way the characters related to each other. In the Hundred Acre Wood, there is a wide variety of personalities, with accompanying idiosyncrasies. Each character brings something different to the table, and each has strengths and weaknesses. In spite of all these differences they all get along. As the story unfolded, there were misunderstandings, miscommunication, and a lot of times when one character would do something that would cause a huge disruption. Through all of the coming and going, no matter what happened, the entire Hundred Acre Wood community was characterized by love, grace, and acceptance. No matter how many times Tigger bounced into a scene and created havoc, there were no harsh words spoken. Even though Owl was a pompous windbag at times, no one was critical. Every time there was potential for conflict, it ended with grace and forgiveness. In the end, each of the characters contributed from their strengths and the goal toward which they had been working was reached.
I know that Winnie the Pooh is a children’s story, and some may say that it presents an idealistic view of how things could be in order to teach. Think about it. Jesus said that we enter the Kingdom by becoming like a little child. In the Kingdom, we each bring our weaknesses and quirks, as well as our gifts. We are told to let our relationships with others be full of grace and love. We are told to forgive without end. We are told to look out for each other’s interests ahead of our own, as Pooh did when he put his hunt for honey on hold to help rescue Christopher Robin. We are told to lay down our lives for each other.
Winnie the Pooh may be a children’s story, but I believe there are a lot of lessons there.
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Forgiveness and Wholeness

The readings this week in the Mosaic Bible are on forgiveness. In one of the selections, Bill Senyard writes:

“Think about this. If the victim and the perpetrator are both, by faith, made whole-
imagine the new dynamics between them and with others. The result is a new creation-
a community that looks strangely fearless, vulnerable, and intimate. Of the present fruit
of the passion of Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:18), I would suggest that this is one of the most
neglected.
Many Scriptures describe what redeemed relationships could now look like in Jesus
Christ – husbands and wives, parents and children, masters and workers. If each party is
redemptively healed, then relationships take on a radical trajectory – for no one needs to
steal, to use, to abuse. In the end, only forgiven people are free to give to others with
abandon.”
I agree with Senyard that the most neglected, even forgotten, part of forgiveness is reconciliation. We are taught, rightly so, that God forgives us our sins, and therefore God will not punish us. That is true, but I believe that God’s forgiveness does more than take away our guilt and punishment. According to 2 Corinthians 5:18, God has reconciled us to himself through Christ. One of the aspects of our forgiveness is reconciliation with God. Our relationship with him is redeemed and we are healed. We are made whole.
Because we are forgiven, we are to forgive others. As Senyard writes, only the forgiven are free to give to others with abandon. An important part of forgiving others is reconciliation. If I am wronged by someone, and I don’t seek to be reconciled and see both of us made whole, am I truly forgiving? Am I whole if my relationship with others is not whole? Some who wrong me may have no desire to be reconciled. I believe that I should still go to them and make the attempt. If they do not wish to be made whole, then I have no further responsibility, but I can at least try. In that attempt, I believe healing will take place in my own heart.
Another part of seeking wholeness is making sure that we are blameless in our relationships. Sometimes we are guilty of sinning against others. Either we truly don’t know about the offense, or we are so wrapped up in ourselves that we don’t recognize what we have done. If my relationship with my wife is strained, and I don’t go to her and find out what the problem is and seek forgiveness and reconciliation, can I really say that I love her? By the same token, if my relationship with a brother or sister is strained and I have even an inkling that I may have sinned against them, I am to go to them and do what I can to make it right. If I don’t, can I really say that I love them?
Jesus gives both parties in a relationship responsibility to maintain the health of that relationship. In Matthew 5:23-24, he teaches the responsibility of the one who commits an offense. In Matthew 18 Jesus gives us the responsibility of one who has been wronged. In the passage in 2 Corinthians, Paul states that we who have been forgiven and made whole have been given a ministry of reconciling others to God. I believe that part of that ministry is bringing wholeness to our relationships with others, which brings wholeness to us and to them.
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Soup and Relationships

I know. You’re wondering what in the world soup has to do with relationships. I’m glad you asked. For in-service training at the middle school where I work, we are reading Soup by Jon Gordon. It is a book about a company that makes soup and the lessons that the new CEO learns on her way to turning the company around. While reading this book, I was once again struck by the idea that all truth is God’s truth, and that we can learn from unexpected sources.

At one point in the story, one of the characters makes this statement: “Communication, trust, and love create the foundation for any successful relationship. Without communication, trust, and love, your relationship won’t be very strong; and without strong relationships you can’t have a strong team; and if you don’t have a strong team, then you can’t have a strong organization. Relationships are the foundation upon which winning teams and organizations are built.” While this statement does work for businesses, I believe it is just as true for those of us who follow Jesus.
Our faith is a faith built on relationship. We belong to a God who is a relational Being. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are in a perfect love relationship with each other. I think you could say they have communication, trust, and love. We are also called into relationship with God. He has adopted us into his family, and calls us to accept his love and love him in return. God is someone who we can trust, and he communicates with us. Belonging to God is not a matter of saying or doing the right things. It is a matter of accepting and living in the love the Father has lavished on us.
Our relationships with others must be built on communication, trust, and love. Many of the problems in marriages, family relationships, and churches could be solved if we communicated with each other, if we trusted others enough to feel safe enough to communicate and were worthy of that trust, and if we loved enough to work through any problems that come from communication, or miscommunication. The primary command that Jesus gave us is to love each other as he loves us. We are to lay down our lives for our friends. How many times is our lack of communication, trust, and love due to our unwillingness to lay down our preferences, our “rights,” our comfort. We don’t put forth the effort to build relationships with fellow believers, and therefore our lives and churches are smaller and have less joy than what is possible.
Communication, trust, and love take work. It can be messy, and sometimes we can get hurt. But just as building relationships was the foundation on which the revival of the soup company was based, so relationships are the foundation on which God’s kingdom is built. After all, Jesus did say that our love for each other would be the way the world would know that we belonged to him.
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Disunity and the mind of Christ

This is the eleventh post in a chain blog on “Dealing with Traditionally Divisive Issues,” started by Alan Knox. At the bottom of this post you’ll find links to the other posts in the chain blog.

In John 17, Jesus prays that his followers would be one. Anyone who takes even a cursory look at the church today would realize that those who claim to follow Jesus are not one. The body of Christ is divided into groups based on any number of doctrinal differences, and possibly an equal number number of practices. Churches that may agree on doctrine and practice are sometimes divided over relationship problems. I believe that part of the answer to the divisiveness in the church today is found in Philippians 2.

As different denominations and groups have grown up over the centuries, they have usually been built on distinctive doctrines or differences in organization. Dallas Willard calls these things vessels which hold the treasure which we have been given. The treasure is Jesus, and the problems come when our focus gets off the treasure and onto the vessel. Philippians 2 puts the focus back on the treasure and exhorts us to have the same mind as Christ. Paul bases this exhortation on the mercy, love and encouragement that we have in Christ through his Spirit.
What does it mean to have the mind of Christ? Paul tells us that Jesus did not consider his glory and position as something to be used for his own purposes.When he came to this earth, he didn’t come with fanfare as a conquering king. He humbled himself and came as a helpless baby born to a working class couple from a nothing town. As Jesus went through his life, he didn’t force the disciples to do what he said, nor did he lord it over the folks he came in contact with on a daily basis. At the end of his time here, he did the work of a common household slave and washed his disciples’ feet! Then, this one that we rightly proclaim as King of kings allowed a kingdom of this world to put him to death. Unfortunately, this doesn’t sound like some leaders in the church today.
Before Paul gives us the example of Christ, he exhorts the church to be like minded, having the same love. This comes from doing nothing for our own selfish ambition or empty conceit. Instead, we are to humbly value others above ourselves and seek to advance their interests rather than our own. This is exactly what Jesus did. He loved. He did the things he did for the glory of his Father and the good of others. He did nothing out of selfish ambition.
There are valid reasons to separate, but most of the divisiveness in the church today has been caused by losing our focus on the treasure and focusing on the vessel, whether that vessel is doctrine, practice, or our own heart. What would the church look like if we each sought to have the same mind as Christ, if each of us put others first, humbled ourselves, and did what we did for the benefit of others? I would love to see that.
Chain blog rules:

1) If you would like to write the next blog post (link) in this chain, leave a comment stating that you would like to do so. If someone else has already requested to write the next link, then please wait for that blog post and leave a comment there requesting to write the following link.

2) Feel free to leave comments here and discuss items in this blog post without taking part in the actual “chain”. Your comments and discussion are very important in this chain blog.

3) When you write a link in this chain, please reply in the comments of the previous post to let everyone know that your link is ready. Also, please try to keep an updated list of links in the chain at the bottom of your post, and please include these rules at the bottom of your post.


“Links” in this chain blog:

1. “Chain Blog: Dealing with Divisive Issues Introduction” by Alan
2. “Chain Blog: Dealing with divisive issues starts with love” by Arthur
3. “I am divisive” by Jeremy
4. “Chain Blog: Please agree with me” by Jon
5. “Division and our shared humanity” by Andy
6. “Chain Blog: solving the problem” by Bobby
7. “Divisiveness: Acts 2 & Ugly Carpet” by fallenpastor
8. “Stimulating our Collective Memory” by Trista
9. “No, we can’t just get along” by Alan
10. “Who says we are divided?” by Jon
11. Who will write the next “link” post in the chain?

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Church: First Century and Twenty-first Century Part 2

On Tuesday, we looked at the first two things to which the church in Acts 2 was devoted. To sum up, the early believers were committed to Jesus Christ and to each other. Today, I want to discuss the other two things that had the church’s devotion.

The Christians in the first days of the Church were devoted to the breaking of bread, according to Acts 2. Breaking bread meant something far greater than taking communion together, especially the way it is done in many churches today. I believe that this goes along with fellowship. In those times, to break bread with someone meant to share a meal with them. Sharing a meal meant that person was accepted as an equal, as someone who was valued. When the Apostle Paul gives his instructions concerning the Lord’s Supper, he is talking about more than just passing a few crackers and cups of grape juice around. The early church met together for meals, and it seems that “communion” was a part of those meals (Someone who has more knowledge than I do can feel free to correct me). Table fellowship is an important part of living life together. It is around the table that conversation flows, and folks get to know each other. It is around the table that the relationships so vital to the body are formed and strengthened.
The last focus of the church was prayer. When the early church prayed in Acts 4, the place where they were was shaken. Their prayers shook buildings and empires. Today, we have reduced corporate prayer to something that happens on one night of the week or when there is an emergency situation. I wonder if one of the reasons we don’t pray as a church is because we don’t know each other. If we aren’t devoted to the life together, we aren’t going to feel comfortable letting each other know what our real needs are. So, our times of prayer as a body can tend to be very shallow. Our personal prayers for each other can also become flat, if we aren’t able to be open and honest with each other. Prayer may be the single biggest thing missing in churches today. I think that lack may be tied to the lack of devotion to Christ and to each other.
A great deal of negative rumors were spread about the first Christians, but the one statement that no one could deny was, “Behold, how these Christians love one another.” I pray that statement once again becomes the truest thing that people can say about us.
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Church: First Century and Twenty-first Century

In Acts 2, Luke gives us an account of the first days of the early Church. Verses 42-47 describe what the earliest believers did as a group:

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

I don’t believe that the accounts of the practices of the first century churches are prescriptive. Many of the things they did would not fit in another time or another culture. However, I do believe that the attitudes that the first Christians had, and the actions driven by those attitudes, are necessary for any group to be vital and show Christ to a watching world. This is especially true in smaller fellowships where it is not easy to get lost in the crowd.

Notice verse 42. The early followers of Jesus were devoted to four things. We’ll talk about the first two in this post, and the next two in another post. The first was the teaching of the apostles about Jesus Christ. They were committed to learning how to follow this Lord from the ones who had spent three years as his disciples. They weren’t learning how to be a better ____________________. Somehow in the last 2000 years, we have drifted away from that original teaching and replaced it any number of teachings that could easily pass for motivational lectures, or sermons that betray the speaker’s desire to control the lives of his listeners.

The second thing they were committed to was fellowship, or as The Message puts it, “the life together.” Again, we have drifted away from the original. Fellowship now means a covered dish supper or some other type of special event where church members get together. To the early church, fellowship carried the idea of living life together, of being involved in one another’s lives, of having an intimate relationship with their brothers and sisters and fellow members of the Body. There was a bond that they were committed to.

You could say that the first century Christians were devoted to Jesus Christ and to each other. In a later post, we’ll look further at the devotion of our spiritual forerunners.




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Resurrection and Unity

Rachel Held Evans is the force behind the Rally to Restore Unity. I am not really worthy to be in the company of some of the bloggers that are adding their voices to the effort this week, but I am chipping in my two cents anyway. As part of this, there is a a fundraising campaign going on for Charity: Water. Even if you think I’m full of hot air (or something worse) :), consider helping out this worthy charity.

Alan Knox wrote this post in April concerning the failure of the disciples to believe in the Resurrection until they had actually encountered the risen Christ. I immediately thought about the folks who came to faith during the first century. They also came to believe in the Resurrection because they encountered the risen Christ. Not in literal bodily form, but in the followers of Jesus they encountered in the day-to-day. It was the presence of Jesus in the “Christians” (little Christs) that cause those people to put their faith in Christ. Those early Christians lived a Resurrection life. They could not have done what they did had the Resurrection not have really happened.
Today, the world looks at the Church and sees a fractured, disunited body. They see us divided into camps based on anything from translations of Scripture to what styles of music. They see a group of people that are known more for what we are against than what we are for, and if we’re not busy fighting the culture war we are fighting each other over how to interpret prophecy or who is a “real Christian.” Is it any wonder the world doesn’t believe in the Resurrection when they don’t encounter the risen Christ? We celebrate Easter and put on a big show, but do we live in the power of that resurrection the other 364 days of the year?
The Resurrection of Jesus changed everything. It still does, if we realize that the same power that raised Jesus is now in us. Life as a follower of Jesus is not an easy one, especially when it comes to living in unity with those we disagree with. Our tendency is to hang out with those who we agree with. That extends to our gatherings as the church. We want to be comfortable and accepted, and I don’t believe there is anything wrong with wanting to be accepted. What we fail to remember is that because of the Resurrection, we are accepted by God. Because of the Resurrection, we are part of God’s family.
Because of the Resurrection, we have the power to live as brothers and sisters, as friends, as members of one another in the Body. We have the power to look past the differences, the disagreements, even the passionate (ahem) “discussions.” Because of the Resurrection, we can have Jesus’ prayer that we be one as he and the Father are one answered in and through us. When that happens, the world around us will be like the ancient Romans who said, “Behold how these Christians love one another.”
Then they will encounter the risen Christ. Then, maybe we’ll turn the world upside down.
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Community: All For One, One For All

“All for one, one for all” was the motto of the Three Musketeers. It could very easily be the motto of the church. As a people who follow Jesus Christ, you could say that we are all for One, and that One is for all of us. At least, that’s the way it should be. Sometimes though, it seems that the church has become more “all for us.”

I think that Jesus had the same idea as Alexandre Dumas when he established his Church, his Body. Scripture records Jesus teaching the importance of our relationships within a community of his followers. In Matthew 5:21-22, he says that treating others with anger or contempt puts us in danger of judgement. In verses 23-24 of the same chapter, Jesus tells us to get our relationships put right before we come to worship him (Hmmm, I wonder how many places would be empty on Sunday mornings if we really believed that). I think it is interesting that in those verses Jesus tells us to go and be reconciled with our brother or sister if they have anything against us. He doesn’t put that responsibility on the one who has been offended, and he doesn’t tell us to go if we think we are responsible for offending someone. In Matthew 18, Jesus does direct us to go to those who sin, but again, the goal is reconciliation. And, let’s face it, almost all of our problems within a community are due to things other than direct sin (although sin can result because of those things).
In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul describes the church as a body. To me, this chapter contains a perfect picture of what a community of faith is. It’s a body. Think about your body. Does your hand deliberately form a fist and hit your nose with it? Of course not! If your hand accidentally moves in a way that causes it to strike your nose and cause it to bleed, does your hand say, “Oh, well. I didn’t mean it, so I don’t need to do anything.” No, your hand is involved in getting tissues and holding them to your nose and trying to stop the bleeding. Every part of the body is important, no matter how small or weak. If any part of the body is hurt, the rest of the body feels that pain. A bad headache can cause the stomach to feel sick. An imbalance in the feet can cause damage to the knees, or a misalignment of the spine. The body is designed by the Creator to function as one, and when it does we see the glory of a great athlete or a prima ballerina.
Christ’s body is also designed to function as one. In John 17:11, Jesus asks the Father to make us one, just as he and the Father are one. When the body of Jesus functions as one, we see the glory of grace, the beauty of love, and the Kingdom of God is built up. When that body stubs it’s toe, or when a hand accidentally flies up and causes hurt to another part, that damage must be repaired. If it is not, the result is a deformed caricature of a body that is ugly and repulsive. The result is a body that does not bring glory to its Creator.
All for one, one for all. What would things be like if Christ’s body on this earth lived by that motto?
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Don’t Forget

  • A few years ago I watched a video from the “That the World May Know” series. It was titled “Walk as Jesus Walked: Don’t Forget Us”. It’s about following Jesus in suffering and persecution. I’d always thought that while Christians in countries such as China or the Sudan were suffering for their faith, we here in the “Christian” West had it easy. And that is true to a great extent – the biggest thing we have to worry about is having someone make fun of us. The video showed me something that I had never thought of before. In 1 Corinthians 12:12, 26, Paul writes, “The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ….If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.”

    Do we suffer with the parts of the body that are going through persecution and suffering? Do we even know when they are suffering? I think the fact that we generally don’t enter into or even know of the suffering of our brothers and sisters is because we have lost that sense of oneness in the body that the early church had. Most of the time we don’t even know the struggles that others have in our local churches, so how do we expect to know what goes on around the world? There is no excuse for not knowing what is going on out there. Voice of the Martyrs and other organizations are constantly giving accounts of the suffering in the body. It does take a little work, but it can be done. Find out.

    If you want an object lesson about what it means when the whole body suffers because of one part, hit your thumb hard with a hammer. Then tell me if your whole body feels it or if you can keep the effects localized on your thumb. That is how the body of Christ is. Or at least how it should be.

    Find out how your brothers and sisters in Christ are suffering. Pray for them. Let their suffering affect you. Above all – never forget them.