Taking steps toward relational unity
In two previous posts, I’ve discussed John H. Armstrong’s book Your Church is Too Small (see “Your Church is Too Small – a review” and “Real Unity – Is it possible?“). Armstrong argues that the unity for which Jesus prays in John 17:20-23 is relational unity, not only spiritual unity.
“Relational unity” is visible, palpable. It can be pointed out and experienced. It can also be quenched and grieved.
Few (if any) would argue that the church today rarely shows relational unity across denominations, theological systems, historical traditions, institutions, organization, or even “local churches”. We occasionally attempt to relate to those who are like us and who believe like us (although even this is difficult in today’s church where acquiescence to a set of beliefs has replaced true community).
Thus, the church today is splintered and fractured, and lives as an anti-apologetic to the good news of Jesus Christ.
For those of us who are grieved by this state of affairs, how do we take steps toward relational unity. First, we must realize that we cannot create the kind of unity for which Jesus prayed. God creates unity in Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit. We can only maintain or quench this unity.
Second, we must realize that we cannot make the choice of maintaining unity for others. I cannot force you into relational unity with me. However, I can make the offer and be open to relational unity, whether you desire unity with me or not. I can love you and serve you, whether you accept me or not.
Finally, we must realize that relational unity cannot be organized or institutionalized. Now, don’t misunderstand me. Organizations and institutions can help or hinder relational unity, but neither organizations nor institutions can maintain relational unity.
“Relational unity” is relational (seems simple enough, doesn’t it). This means that relational unity is based on relationships between individuals and communities. What does this mean for us?
Let me give an example. Let’s assume that two of my neighbors are believers, and each of them are part of different denominations than myself. That makes three believers and three different denominations. If our denominations choose to interact with one another, that choice will not create relational unity between myself and my neighbors. If our denominations decide not to interact with one another, that decision will not destroy relational unity between myself and my neighbors.
So, what is it that creates or maintains relational unity between myself and my neighbors? God creates the unity, and we decide the maintain that unity in the way that we treat and interact with one another. If we decide to ignore one another, even though we say we are brothers/sisters and even though we live next door to one another, we will quench the work that God is attempting to do in our lives in creating and maintaining relational unity.
However, if we choose to spend time with one another (regardless of what our denominations decide), and if we choose to accept one another and treat one another as brothers/sisters, then we are working to maintain the unity that God has created in Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit.
This is the kind of unity for which Jesus prayed, and this is the kind of unity that Jesus said would demonstrate to the world that the Father sent him into the world.
Real Unity – Is it possible?
In his book Your Church is Too Small, John H. Armstrong begins his argument for real, relational unity from Jesus’ prayer in John 17:
I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. (John 17:20-23 ESV)
Early in his book, Armstrong says, “I knew that I couldn’t be satisfied with loving a concept of the church. So I set out to find God’s people, to get to know people outside of my own tradition.”
Concept… We love in concept. We’re united in concept. We’re family in concept.
But, Scripture doesn’t describe or exhort a concept of church, love, unity, and family. Instead, as we read about the church in the New Testament, we read about a reality of love, unity, and family. However, like Armstrong, whenever I talk to people about unity, I hear these kinds of interpretations (taken from Armstrong’s book specifically of John 17):
- We should never try to unite different churches or congregations. The union of churches or denominations is not in view here. Jesus is not interested in such unity.
- We should never engage in serious dialogue with churches that we believe to be unfaithful to the truth. We will become disobedient if we follow this course.
- There is no common mission that churches are called to engage in; thus there is no reason to work together to achieve Christ’s mission in our communities.
- There is no concern in this prayer for the worldwide church, at least as seen in a visible form, since this will lead to ecumenism, a great twentieth-century enemy of the gospel.
- We must always keep in the forefront of our practice the serious biblical warnings about compromise and false teaching (see Deuteronomy 7:1-6; 2 Corinthians 6:14; Revelation 18:4). These great truths always trump concern for visible unity among churches and Christians.
How would you respond to the five objections above? Yes, no, why, or why not?
And more importantly, how do we as believers move forward toward unity, and how do we encourage churches to move forward toward unity?
More Worship Service
Sunday evening worship service = Margaret and Miranda helping some friends paint their house. I “cooked” dinner for them: McDoubles and Fish Filet sandwiches.
Tuesday evening worship service = helping our friends hang a light fixture. Unfortunately, we were not able to complete the project. But, maybe we’ll be able to soon.
The wisdom of mutual encouragement
The exhortation to mutual encouragement was wise: in isolation from fellow-believers each individual among them was more liable to succumb to the subtle temptations which pressed in from so many sides, but if they came together regularly for mutual encouragement the devotion of all would be kept warm and their common hope would be in less danger of flickering and dying. In isolation each was prone to be impressed by the specious arguments which underlined the worldly wisdom of a certain measure of compromise of their Christian faith and witness; in the healthy atmosphere of the Christian fellowship these arguments would be the more readily appraised at their true worth, and recognized as being so many manifestations of “the deceitfulness of sinâ€â€¦ [I]n a fellowship which exercised a watchful and unremitting care of its members the temptation to prefer the easy course to the right one would be greatly weakened, and the united resolution to stand firm would be correspondingly strengthened. (F.F. Bruce, The Epistle to the Hebrews. NICNT; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991100–101)
There is something fundamental about fellowship
So, I seem to be on a “unity” kick lately, huh? I’m probably thinking more about unity because I’ve been reading John H. Armstrong’s book Your Church is Too Small. But, actually, I’ve been thinking about and writing about unity for quite some time.
Three years ago, I wrote a post called “There is something fundamental about fellowship.” This post casts our unity with one another in the language of fellowship. Our fellowship with one another (or lack of fellowship) is a demonstration of our fellowship with God (or lack of fellowship).
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There is something fundamental about fellowship
Fellowship… There is something about fellowship that makes it fundamental to the church. When Jesus was asked to name the greatest commandment, he answered:
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets. (Matthew 22:37-40 ESV)
There are at least two amazing things about this passage. First, Jesus did not stop with the commandment to “Love the Lord your God”. It would seem that commandment would be enough. Instead, he said there is a second command that is like it. Similarly, Jesus said that the Law and the Prophets depend on both of these commandments. Again, the Law and Prophets do not just depend on “Love the Lord your God”. The Law and the Prophets also depend on the commandment “Love your neighbor as yourself”.
There seems to be a fundamental connection between our relationship with God and our relationship with other people. John said something similar in his first letter:
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. (1 John 4:7-8 ESV)
This seems very simple. If we love God, we will love others. If we do not love others, that demonstrates that we do not love God. The two are fundamentally connected.
In the prologue to his first letter, John also discussed our relationship with God in terms of our relationship with one another:
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life – the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us – that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship (κοινωνία) with us; and indeed our fellowship (κοινωνία) is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. (1 John 1:1-3 ESV)
When we have fellowship (κοινωνία – koinonia) with one another, we are demonstrating our fellowship with God. Verse 3 could even be translated as follows: “… that you too may have fellowship with us, and that fellowship of ours is truly with the Father and with his son Jesus Christ.”
We cannot separate our love for God from our love for other people. We cannot separate our fellowship with God from our fellowship with other believers. Fellowship is fundamental in the life of a believer and in the inter-connected lives of a group of believers.
But, just as we cannot create love for God and others, we cannot create fellowship either. Instead, the Spirit creates a bond between His adopted children that humans cannot create on their own. The fellowship (“sharing”) that we have in common is the presence of the Holy Spirit. And, this fellowship exists between all believers. Certainly relationships can be deep or shallow, intimate or surface-level, but fellowship between believers is created by the Spirit, not by our interaction with one another. Relationships that are based on this Spirit-created fellowship should be nurtured, strengthened, encouraged, and sought through continued interaction. But, those relationships must be built fundamentally on Spirit-created fellowship.
What does it mean for fellowship to be fundamental to believers and the church? Here are two examples:
Discipleship depends on fellowship…
When we recognize that discipleship is more than simply teaching facts to someone, then the fundamental role of fellowship becomes clear. Discipleship requires sharing life together. Without fellowship, discipleship is reduced to the transfer of information, which is not true discipleship at all.
Discipline depends on fellowship…
When a brother or sister is living in unrepentant sin, we are taught to disassociate with that brother or sister. In modern times this has been reduced to preventing attendance at certain activities. However, if there is true fellowship involved, then discipline requires the rupture of vibrant relationships: like divorce in a family, back when divorce was not an accepted option.
Fellowship… There is something about fellowship that makes it fundamental to the church. I want to learn more about fellowship. Perhaps others could share what they’ve learned about Spirit-enabled, Spirit-created, Spirit-driven fellowship…
Another Wednesday Night Worship Service
Tonight, “Wednesday night worship service” = being taken out to dinner by our good friends. They thought they were doing this to thank us, but really they were doing this because we wanted to spend time with them. Don’t tell them though.
A Theology of Y’All
My presentation of “A Theology of Mutuality” at SECSOR 2010 went pretty well. I started having allergy problems yesterday. (Welcome back to Georgia!) I had a little trouble breathing, watery eyes, and a scratchy throat while delivering my paper. But, I made it through, and even had a few good questions. One person suggested I turn the presentation into a book.
A new friend, Neil Carter, from the blog “Christ in Y’all” and author of the book Christ in Y’all, sat through my presentation. Neil gave me a copy of his book, and we were able to talk together for a while. Meeting Neil was a great bonus to this conference, because I’ve been following his blog since before I started my own blog.
So, today went very well overall. Tonight we’ll have dinner with my family, and tomorrow after our drive home, our friends have invited us to have dinner with them. Opportunities for more “mutuality”… or “Y’all”.
Philemon and Community Living
Consider Paul’s address to his recipient(s) in his letter to Philemon:
Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved fellow worker and Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier, and the church in your house… (Philemon 1:1-2 ESV)
Markus Barth and Helmut Blanke comment on this address:
[Paul] makes the assembled community co-responsible for the implementation of his concern—the brotherly reception and treatment of Onesimus. All those worshiping together, men and women, the rich and the poor, those more and those less educated, including slaves and children, are charged an enabled to exert some pressure on the slave owner, if ever he would prove reluctant to fulfill Paul’s expectations… All those present are expected to hear the reading of his letter, to ponder its substance, and to assist one another in making decisions and taking actions… While the decision to be made by Philemon and his future permanent attitude toward Onesimus are very personal matters, they are yet not so totally his private affair that they are nobody else’s business… [The letter to Philemon] announces an invasion of privacy and reveals that every distinction and separation of personal from private matters contradicts Paul’s thought and intention. In other words: Paul’s ethics is social ethics. (Markus Barth and Helmut Blanke, The Letter to Philemon: A New Translation with Notes and Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000), 262-63)
They say that Paul’s “social ethic” was revolutionary in his day. It is still revolutionary today. Are we truly willing to invite our brothers and sisters into our “private affairs”?
Working together to serve others
I haven’t written about our friends in “the Neighborhood” lately. We met Mrs. WÂ in the neighborhood almost two years ago. At first, we had a hard time talking to her. It wasn’t that she was mean or anything, but she just wasn’t very talkative. Eventually, though, after visiting with her week after week for over a year, she started talking to us. She tells us about her life growing up around Wake Forest and about her family.
But, in all the times that we’ve visited her, she would never let us do anything for her. Even when we raked leaves for other neighbors, she said that she wanted to rake her own leaves. And, that was cool, because she likes to be outdoors and that’s about the only exercise she gets.
Just before Christmas, she mentioned that she was having a hard time cleaning her apartment. Her family had been helping her, but they didn’t clean like she wanted. She never asked us to clean her apartment, but one afternoon Margaret (my wife), Miranda (my daughter), and another lady cleaned her apartment. (see my post “Wednesday Afternoon Worship Service“)
Last Saturday, when we were talking to Mrs. W, Margaret didn’t even ask if she wanted her apartment cleaned again. She simply told Mrs. W that she wanted to clean her apartment again. The next day, Margaret asked if anyone would like to help her clean Mrs. W’s apartment.
So, this morning, Margaret, Miranda, three other ladies, and one of their daughters cleaned Mrs. W’s apartment again.
I appreciate their example of working together to serve others!
Disagreements without Separation
I had a very encouraging conversation yesterday with a brother concerning Romans 14:1-15:7. We were talking about how to disagree with brothers and sisters without separating from them. Here are some points from our discussion:
- Start with our agreement, primarily in the person and work of Jesus Christ, in our common relationship to God and to one another. When we start with our agreement we can recognize that most of our disagreements are insignificant compared to the greatness and immensity of our agreements.
- When we finally discuss our disagreement, we do so as brothers and/or sisters. Thus, we treat one another with respect.
- We also hold our beliefs (even strong beliefs) with humility, recognizing that God can always teach us through our brother or sister.
- While discussing our disagreements we never say anything or do anything that would cause our brother or sister to stumble or to hinder their growth in the faith. We also regard our brother or sister as more important – even more important than showing our views to be right.
- Even if we fail to agree and even if we continue to hold our own beliefs (being convinced in our own consciences), we live in a way that honors our brother or sister.
- Even if we fail to agree, we end with a reminder of our mutual relationship to one another through Christ. If God has accepted us in Christ, then we must accept one another.
- If the brother or sister chooses to separate from us, we do not have to react by separating ourselves from him or her. We cannot choose how another persons acts toward us, but we can choose to be loving in return.
What do you think? What would you add?
(And, by the way, yes, there are disagreements that can cause us to separate. We read about some of these in Scripture. But, they are usually well beyond what usually causes us to separate from brothers and sisters.)