“The unity of Christendom is not a luxury, but a necessity. The world will go limping until Christ’s prayer that all may be one is answered. We must have unity, not at all costs, but at all risks. A unified Church is the only offering we dare present to the coming Christ, for in it alone will He find room to dwell.”
Bishop Charles Henry Brent
I recently had a walkway put in on the side of my house. It had been a bunch of mud and dirt and was never going to grow grass, so we have been spending this Spring dressing it up. The first major piece was a lined walkway. I explained to the contractor what I had in mind and he seemed to understand pretty well. “Crushed granite”, he said…”That’s what you’re looking for, right?” Well, I had no idea. I knew the look I wanted, but I didn’t know the name of the material. “Yes,” I answered in complete ignorance. I should have pressed for more clarity.
It was all installed in a day…while I was gone. As it turns out, it wasn’t what I had in mind at all. It’s a different color, a different consistency and pretty much completely different than what I envisioned. But I’m learning to like it. I also learned how important it is to see the materials before you start building with them. Because the materials matter. In fact, in this case I strongly suspect that the materials I had in mind were not nearly as practical nor as useful as what I got. So I have decided to like it.
When Paul talked about the “materials” for building the church in I Corinthians 3, he also concluded that the materials matter. He said some of us would build with common materials such as wood, hay, and straw. Others of us would build with extraordinary materials, such as gold, silver and costly stones. Then he said, “…his work will be shown for what it is because the Day will bring it to light…it will be revealed with fire and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work.”
I have seen some of the “tests” churches go through, and believe me, they don’t all pass with flying colors. Many of them crumble under the stress, because they have been “building” something other than a church. I cannot begin to describe for you how many church leaders have come to the end of their rope with their church and have said something to the effect of, “we wasted a lot of time here on things that did not matter.” I think Jesus would ask them, “What, exactly, were you thinking…what were you building here?”
So, what “materials” should we be using to build Christ’s church? Are we building with the precious materials He expects us to be using? Are we building something He will be pleased to find when He returns? What exactly is He expecting of His “bride” upon His return?
I do not pretend to know all the answers to these questions. But I do know one very important one: He expects unity. I know that because, at a time in history when He knelt to pray for His future church (John 17) and He could have asked the Father for anything at all on behalf of His church, He prayed for unity. It is one thing He will expect of us as His people. If there is one, fundamental, primary “material” with which we are to be building, it must be unity.
So, as I think about my own church and my own work in helping to build it, I take very seriously that expectation on Jesus’ part. I think we all should. Whatever else you are building, whatever other materials you are using…”bleeding edge” cultural relevance, Spirit-filled worship, doctrinal purity, creative programming, dynamic preaching and teaching…whatever you value in your church, I trust that unity is at the very top of the list. I pray that building a unified community of believers is the highest priority for you. Because that is the church for whom He will return one day. Wouldn’t it be a good thing if, upon His return, he finds exactly what He was hoping to find in His church
© Blake Coffee
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Hey Blake,
Great post. I was thinking of blogging on something similar. I really feel, and God’s been pointing this out to me allot lately, that our churches are a mess and we are so divided, and the Bride is ugly because we have truly lost our first love, Jesus Christ. Not only that, but we have forgotten the sovereinty of God. We don’t fear Him, We don’t see Him for who He really is. We don’t bow down before Him in reverence, in true surrender, in true repentence, in true gratituede and worship. I think knowing our church history is important, and it’s something God is showing me more and more. I think knowing why you believe what you do is important; Anyone can call themselves a Christian and say “Yes, Jesus saved my life”; but it goes so much deeper than that. Do you truely get that He was a living sacrafice, and does that change the way you worship and adore Him? Do you love Him for not only who He is, but what He has truly done! Where is the fear and trembling that we are suppose to have? Look at Moses, Look at Job, Abraham… They trusted and obeyed in such powerful ways that God Moved! God does not move today because People don’t want to think too deeply; they leave interpreting and understanding the Bible up to the pastors; church leaders are running around trying to follow every church fad and best seller church success story and be the Purpose Driven Church for All; but this is not what God comands; this is what the appostles warned of. I fear we will never see unity in our churchs, we will never see our prayer meetings overflowing, we will never see our numbers in whaterver area of the church that we are dealing with UNTIL we remember How HOLY OUR GOD IS! WE ARE TO BOW DOWN IN WORSHIP WE ARE TO TREMBLE T O THE FOOT OF THE CROSS! That is gone in today’s churches, and unitl it get’s back in us, even starting on an individual level, I really don’t see our churches changing in revivalistic ways. God said “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” God’s not moving b/c we’re not truly doing what He commads us. We just try and spin The World of God to whatever is gonna fill the seats, or whatever we think will make us better leaders, but we are so way off!
Unity is so important but most people don’t really understand unity. Just like your sidewalk – it doesn’t match, it’s different, but it works with what you have. Most people think unity has to be the same, we have to think the same, look the same, talk the same, NOT!
Thanks for the illustration.
Blake,
After a while, I’m beginning to wonder if “unity” isn’t so much what we believe or think (which causes a good deal of strife throughout the Church) as a function of how we act: how we worship, how we join in seeking the wisdom of Holy Scripture, and how we pray together. Rather than working on intellectual assent to a set of propositions or a method (say, of worship or understanding scripture), we concentrate on unity of action and thereby join in the mission of the Church.
Just random thoughts…
Robin- I am tracking with you completely. Check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBhqrtMqrv8
I think it says a lot of what you are saying. We have become a bunch of lukewarm Christians.
Laura- I’ve been given an entire ministry to help illustrate what real unity looks like, so I absolutely agree with you. Saying we need unity is one thing. Understanding what that entails is quite another.
James- I would say it is both: what we believe AND what we do. In fact, we waste our time trying to correct our behavioral patterns if we are not first changing the way we perceive things. It’s like that diet we go on over and over again but never really change our behavior. Until we change our perception (i.e., how we think about something), we’re not likely to change our behavior. i think this is what Paul described as transformation through a “renewing of the mind” in Romans 12:1-2.
Thanks, guys, for these comments. Insightful as always. I love this forum for conversation.
IMO unity requires us to set aside some elements of 1) democracy , 2) logic, and 3) business “best practices” in favor of God’s wisdom and leading, and that would be a big, long-term paradigm shift for many churches.