Labels, Adjectives, and Division
Assemblies of God church… Lutheran church… Baptist church… Presbyterian church… Methodist church… Anglican church… Catholic church…
Denominational church… nondenominational church…
Evangelical church… Liberal church… Orthodox church… Conservative church… Emerging church… Missional church…
Mega-church… house church… seeker church… simple church… cell church…
Traditional church… Progressive church… Cutting-edge church… Alternative worship church…
I have read that these labels are very important. The labels and adjectives tell people something about the people that form that particular church. But, to whom are these labels and adjectives meaningful?
Are the labels meaningful for nonbelievers? For the most part, no. There are some people who do not follow Jesus Christ, but who nevertheless know the difference between the various flavors of the many Christian denominations. Some unbelievers probably even know the slight differences between the various types of Baptists, Methodists, Anglicans, etc.
But, primarily, these labels and adjectives are used to distinguish one type of Christian from another type of Christian using terms and descriptions that are only meaningful to other Christians. Thus, these labels and adjectives tend to divide God’s family into various groups.
When people use these labels (Please, notice that I said “when”) to exclude brothers and sisters because they do not fit the “label”, then those people are being divisive and are not maintaining the unity of the family of God. Usually, this occurs because people want to congregate with those who are like them. This is not scriptural. We are part of the body of Christ with everyone who has been indwelled with the Spirit of God, whether or not they look like us, talk like us, smell like us, think like us, do like us, etc.
Excluding people because of labels also removes the responsibility and privilege of discipleship from believers. Instead of accepting others who are different from us (like Jesus accepted us) and teaching them how to walk with our Master, we exclude them from fellowship. Yes, discipleship can be difficult and messy this way. But, is anything else really discipleship?
Look at the variety of people that Jesus called disciples: fishermen, a tax collector, a zealot, a friend of the high priest, a thief, even women… unclean women… prostitutes. Jesus welcomed them and encouraged them to follow him. What would have happened if Jesus had excluded people based on labels? He would have ended up with a group of Pharisees following him… and the Pharisees would have been very pleased with this.
The next time you hear a follower of Christ referred to by a label, remember that the person is your brother or sister. You are part of the family of God with them. You need that person and that person needs you. Yes, teach them… but also, listen to them. You may find that God wants to use that person – the person that you might intend to exclude – in order to help you grow closer to him.
Why do we care about the church?
A couple of days ago, I asked you, my readers, to introduce yourselves to me and to the other readers. I also asked you to answer this question: “Why are you interested in the church?” (By the way, it is not too late to introduce yourself and respond to this question. See “Please allow me to introduce myself“.) Several responded. Since the responses about the church encouraged and challenged me, I thought I would take this opportunity to compile an edited version here. I am not attempting to put words into anyone’s mouth with this post. Instead, I’m using the responses of my readers to help express my own thoughts. Feel free to continue adding your own thoughts as well.
So… why do we care about the church?
God has adopted us into his family. He adopted us completely by his grace and not because of anything that we have done or think or will do or will think. He demonstrated his love for his children by coming to earth as a human, teaching us how to relate to the Father and to one another, living a sinless life, dieing on behalf of our sins, rising from the dead, and continuing to make intercession for us.
We are now children of God, part of God’s family – a present family, as well as an eternal family. God has confirmed our relationship with him by indwelling us with his Holy Spirit. Through the Spirit we relate to God, to other members of God’s family, and with the world around us. The Spirit prompts us to move toward God in faith and obedience, and to move toward one another in love and unity.
Jesus gathers his followers (the Father’s children) together into an assembly of God’s family through the work of the Spirit. This Spirit-assembled group is the church. As the church lives and works and loves and cares and laughs and cries and learns and grows, it becomes a community – a people that share a common existence in God through Jesus Christ enabled by the Spirit.
The church sometimes operates within organizations and structures and models and methods and programs, but these are not the church. God’s children continually follow the Spirit so that organizations and structures and models and methods and programs do not displace the church.
We recognize differences in one another, but work to maintain the unity of the one body, one faith because their is only one Spirit, one Lord, and one Father. We do not criticize one another, but we do teach one another. We do not ridicule one another, but we do attempt to understand one another. We do not exclude one another, but we do accept one another. We are family.
The children of God do not simply meet together, but much more importantly, they live together as family. They spend time with one another and encourage one another to grow in maturity in Christ (since none of them are perfect) through their words and their deeds. They recognize that the Spirit is working in their midst and desire to see one another exhibiting the fruit of his presence through demonstrations of love and good works.
These demonstrations of love and good works are directed toward brothers and sisters in Christ, but also toward those outside of God’s family. The Spirit of God works through the Father’s children in order to carry out God’s mission on earth. This mission is the Spirit-led and Spirit-enabled responsibility of every child of God – individually and corporately.
Individually or together, in small groups or in large, we recognize only one Lord, one Master, one Shepherd. We belong to our Lord and submit as his servants and servants of one another. We do not promote ourselves, but humble ourselves. We accept that when we work and when we serve and when we teach and when we give and when we make disciples and when we get our hands dirty – when we are following our Master, we are simply servants doing the work of servants, and we desire and deserve nothing.
We go when our Master says, “Go.” We speak when our Master gives us the words. We serve when our Master provides the strength. At other times, we wait for our Master, recognizing that we are nothing and can do nothing apart from him. But, we also know that He loves us – not because of anything in us, but because of who he is.
Why do we care about the church? Because the people who gather together are our family. Because God loves them and cares about them. Because Jesus died for them. Because the Spirit indwells them. Because we need them.
Kuiper on Unity…
A few months ago, a friend gave me a copy of The Glorious Body of Christ by R.B. Kuiper (who died in 1966). I have not had the chance to read it yet, but I was able to skim it a few nights ago. I was pleasantly surprised by what Kuiper said about unity:
It can hardly be denied that ideally the church of Christ should be one in outward appearance as well as inner reality. In that respect it ought to resemble the apostolic church, which certainly was intended in the main as a pattern for the church of succeeding ages… In the measure in which the visible church fails to manifest that attribute [unity], outward appearance belies inner reality.
For that reason the notion, which has long been prevalent in orthodox circles, that denominationalism is perfectly proper insofar as it is occasioned by God-appointed natural factors, must be rejected. The fact that Christians speak different languages is a poor excuse for their dwelling apart in different denominations. As it is, there are denominations in which several languages are employed. It is difficult to see why a dozen or more could not be used in one communion. Again, if geographical distance ever was a valid reason for denominationalism, it can hardly be so regarded in this age of fast travel and almost instantaneous communication. It is not nearly as far from New York to Shanghai today as it was from Jerusalem to Rome in the days of the apostle Paul. And as for differences in racial traits, Christians do well to remember that in Christ there is neither Greek nor Jew, Barbarian nor Scythian, white man nor colored.
The ideal is clear. However, no less clear is the fact that the basic cause of division within the church of Christ, namely sin, is operating as powerfully today as it was in the past and that beyond all reasonable doubt it will continue to operate as powerfully in time to come…
Shall we then discard the ideal? God forbid! It is of the essence of Christianity to strive for the unattainable.
Kuiper says that sin is the basic cause of division within the church. As I’ve studied this previously (for example, see “Is unity important?“), I’ve found that Scripture only gives us a few reasons to separate from another follower of Christ: unrepentant sin (Matt 18:15-20; 1 Cor 5:1-5), disorderliness (2 Thess 3:6), refusal to work (2 Thess 3:7-10), false teaching (contrary to the Gospel, not contrary to YOU and your tradition) (2 Thess 3:14-15; 1 Tim 1:20; 2 John 10-11), and divisiveness (Rom 16:17-18; Titus 3:10-11). If we separate ourselves from other brothers and sisters in Christ for any other reasons, then we are guilty of divisiveness, which is sin.
Kuiper says that neither language, nor geographic distance, nor race are reasons for groups of believers to separate from one another. What about the more prevalent reasons today? What about differences in biblical interpretations? You know, those pet “doctrines” that are so important to us, but are interpreted differently by other believers. If these “doctrines” do not teach contrary to the gospel, then they are not reasons to separate from other believers. What about what is commonly called “worship style”? Again, this is not a reason to separate from other believers. What about leadership style? Nowhere in Scripture are we told to separate from other believers because we disagree with someone’s leadership style.
Can we, like Kuiper, admit that separating for these reasons admit to divisiveness, which is sin? I think that once we admit that the divisiveness that we see in the church today is sin, then we are making the first step toward unity. And, if we are honest and admit that we are partly responsible for this division, we are taking another step toward the unity that we have in Christ. And, if we then stop trying to be united by our own means, and rely completely on the grace of God, and live in unity even with those believers who are not just like us, we are again beginning to walk in unity. Can we truly begin to maintain unity as we are instructed? Can we humble ourselves before God, stop trying to prove ourselves right in everything, and accept other believers as Christ accepted us, and trust other believers to accept us (in spite of our problems and errors!)?
We are one in Christ. If we are not living as one, then are we living in Christ?
John 17 and Unity…
Toward the end of his account of the gospel, John records Jesus’ prayer for himself, for his followers, and for those of us who would follow them. This is part of the prayer that Jesus prayed for us:
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)
There are two important features of this prayer that I would like to discuss.
The first important feature concerns our unity. Notice that Jesus prayed that we (all) would be one just as he was one with the Father. Notice that when Jesus prayed for our unity, he used the word “one” to describe our relationships with one another. Jesus had previously used the word “one” to describe his relationship with the Father: “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). For making this statement, the Jews attempted to stone him. Why? They said, “… because you, being a man, make yourself God” (John 10:33). The Jews understood the significance of Jesus being one with the Father. Do we understand the significance of believers being one with other believers?
Similarly, Jesus described our unity as follows: “Just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us” (John 17:21). Just as Jesus was one with the Father and the Father was in Jesus, and just as the Father was one with Jesus and Jesus was in the Father, we are to be one (united) with one another by being in God – Father and Son. Father and Son are one by nature. Our unity comes from being united with God – by finding our commonality and common unity in God Himself, not by finding it in ourselves. Any loss of unity on our part comes from being “out of” (not in) God. Thus, a loss of unity drives us back to the Father through the Son by means of the Spirit, not back to one another. This unity comes through our relationship with God. Our relationships with one another demonstrates whether or not we are relating correctly with God.
Finally, on this first important feature of Jesus’ prayer, notice the sentence that begins in John 17:21 – “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…” What glory has Jesus given to us? Could it be the same glory that he mentioned when he began this prayer? (“And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.” – John 17:5) This glory that God has given to Jesus – the glory Jesus had from the beginning – is now given to us for the purpose of unifying us, for the purpose of perfecting our unity. There has been much talk of glory… the glory of God and the glory of Christ. Here, Christ tells us that at least one reason for his glory is the unity of believers.
This unity is not trivial. It is not something to set against God’s holiness and purity. Holiness, purity, and unity go together, and they cannot be separated. Those who attempt to hold onto holiness while separating from other believers do not understand holiness. Those who attempt to remain pure while not living in unity with other believers are not pure. Those who seek unity apart from the person and character of God do not find unity, holiness, or purity. Jesus prayed for our unity and provided his glory to perfect our unity. If we are not maintaining this unity – by the power of the Spirit – then we are not living holy, pure, or united lives.
The second important feature of Jesus’ prayer in John 17:20-23 concerns the results of our unity. Notice that Jesus said certain things would result from our unity with one another. In verse 21 Jesus says that the result of our unity would be that the would would believe that God sent Jesus. In verse 23, Jesus repeats this result of our unity, then adds another: because of our unity which is being perfected, the world will know that God loves them (the world) just as God loves Jesus. It seems that the world should know much because of our unity with one another.
I think we should think about these results very carefully. Does the world know that God sent Jesus? Why or why not? Based on Jesus’ prayer, could our lack of unity play a part? Does the world know that God loves them? Why or why not? Based on Jesus’ prayer, could our lack of unity play a part?
It is easy to dismiss the world’s response. It is much harder to dismiss what Jesus actually prayed. Jesus prayed that we would be one – united – so that the world would know that God sent him and that God loves them. Does the world know these things? Are we united? So, do we still need to stress holiness and purity above unity?
More unity…
I often discuss unity on this blog. I believe that our lack of unity demonstrates our lack of love for one another, which in turn demonstrates our lack of following Christ as his true disciples. Here are two recent blog posts that also discuss unity in Christ:
Matt at “Kingdom Living” explores “The Secret to Christian Unity“. Matt discusses Philippians 2 in relation to unity. He concludes:
What is the secret to Christian unity? Living out the example of Christ (humility, servanthood, and death to self) and removing all obstacles to making that happen (selfish ambition and vain conceit). Only then will our tenderness, compassion, and unity with God translate into tenderness, compassion, and unity with each other. One last bit of motivation.
Could it be that our failure to live in unity with one another is merely a symptom of the deeper problem of failing to live in unity with God? I think so.
Johnny at “Pure Christianity” learned something about unity at a “Prophetic Conference“. Though he did not agree with some of the teachings, he found that God could speak to him in spite of his disagreements. He says:
The Holy Spirit began to speak to me about unity. Unity is not about doctrinal agreement, style similarities, or even personalities. Instead, it is about the heart. We can be knit together in our spirits and work towards building the Kingdom of God together. I still do not believe that I need to fight devils, but I do believe that I need to be able to stand with fellow believers no matter what doctrines we practice or believe.
Could it be that we have lost our desire to unite over the main things because we are majoring on minors? Could it be that God could actually teach us through “those people” who believe or act a little differently than us? We’ll never know, unless we live in our unity in Christ.
Two on unity…
Here are two new posts on unity that I found very challenging.
Ted, at “Jesus community” (Didn’t I just link to him?), has a post called “unity in love“. He begins with this:
Our Lord delights in seeing his children getting along well together. In the love of Christ, this is how it’s to be. We’re to be united in spirit and of one mind, even though we don’t agree on everything. In most every case we’re to set disagreements aside. And when we do discuss them, to do so in love and agreeing in the end to not be disagreeable.
It seems that unity requires humility – both admitting that we may be wrong and that the other person may be right. That is not always easy for us, at least not by human nature. Perhaps it takes us living in a different nature to reach this unity in Christ.
Similarly, Terry, at “Sun Ministries” adds to the discussion with his post called “Unity“. He lists five things necessary for the church to recognize its unity. They are all important, but I think this one is especially crucial:
4. We must all become more Kingdom focused. Only when we value the growth of God’s Kingdom over the growth of our local church will we ever have opportunity for unity.
Are we willing to look beyond our “church” and understand that God is using people in His church to change His world? Perhaps we should do more sending than gathering…
Is unity important?
A few days ago, I posted a blog called “Unity in Christ…” For hundreds of years – perhaps over a thousand years – the church was (more or less) united through hierarchy and doctrine. During the reformation, something incredible happened. Though believers sought to return to Scripture, they also began dividing. Today, the institutional church looks like a jigsaw puzzle with very few matching pieces. Why?
According to Scripture, there are various reasons that believers should separate from one another. (When I say “separate”, I mean refusing to fellowship, teach, and gather together.) However, in each of those instances, one group of believers is separate from an individual believer. This separation only happens after attempts to reconcile have failed. Also, there are only a few reasons given for dividing. More importantly, though, it seems that in Scripture, when a group of believers separates from someone, they begin to treat that person as if he or she is an unbeliever. We never see an example of believers separating from one another, while continuing to treat each other as believers.
What are some reasons for separating from someone who calls himself or herself a believer? I’ve found these reasons:
- Unrepentant Sin (Matt 18:15-20; 1 Cor 5:1-5)
- Disorderliness (2 Thess 3:6)
- Refusal to Work (2 Thess 3:7-10)
- False Teaching (contrary to the Gospel) (2 Thess 3:14-15; 1 Tim 1:20; 2 John 10-11)
In the last case, this always seems to be false teaching related to the gospel. In other words, believers should separate from someone who is teaching salvation through someone or something other than Jesus Christ. This kind of “false teaching” does not mean that someone teaches a different brand of eschatology from someone else. Teaching ideas contrary to the gospel of Jesus Christ was considered “false teaching” – not teaching differently.
Scripture gives us one more reason for separating from another person who calls himself or herself a believer: divisiveness. Consider these passages of Scripture:
I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. (Romans 16:17-18 ESV)
As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned. (Titus 3:10-11 ESV)
In both of these passages, believers are urged to separate from someone who is attempting to divide the church. And, thinking about the other passages on discipline (i.e. Matt 18:15-20), this means that believers are to treat a divisive person as an unbeliever. This only works if there is true community/fellowship between believers. Only then will discipline affect the person being divisive. If the church has little community or fellowship, then the divisive person will not care if he or she is being disciplined. He will not care if other people are separating themselves from him, because he will not be missing anything.
When I put these thoughts together, something occurs to me. Unity is necessary if discipline is going to be a deterrent from divisiveness (or any other unrepentant sin). Think about that for a moment. In order for discipline to be effective, there must be unity. Perhaps this is one of the reasons that we rarely see discipline today: discipline doesn’t work because there is no unity to begin with. Of course, this is just one reason that the church should live in unity. There are many, many more reasons.
May we begin to live in unity with brothers and sisters in Christ, even if we disagree with them.
Unity in Christ…
The post “A fading unity” by Chris Milliken has caused me to think about unity again. He makes several statements that force me to think beyond contrived “unity” based on our shared affinities. Consider his opening paragraph:
As followers of Jesus, we are expected to experience a degree of unity that comes from sharing the Seed of Life that is inherently different than what can be experienced by anyone else… Jesus said the world would know that we are His disciples because of our love for each other. Not because we are all good friends who do alot of “one-anothering” just like people without God can do, but because there is something fundamentally other-worldly about the bond that unites us that is clearly something that humans can’t cook up on their own. It reveals a weighty God because a people evidence God with their unity like the moving leaves and tree branches reveal wind.
I have unity with other brothers and sisters in Christ because of our shared relationship with God. I have unity – I don’t create unity. We have unity in God, not because we share things in common. Even those without God have unity with others like them. But, our unity must be different and demonstrated. If I cannot demonstrate unity with a brother or sister who does not like me, who is not like me, or who disagrees with me, can I demonstrate unity at all? (Considering our earlier, but ongoing, disucssion, this statement also holds for love: if I cannot love someone – not limited to a brother or sister in Christ – who does not like me, who is not like me, or who disagrees with me, can I love at all?) Is our unity in God evident?
He continues:
Its really not that hard to experience some harmony from time to time that we mistake for unity. But it fades. Unity from God is solid and unchanging – because it is the very Kingdom itself that the scriptures call “unshakable”. It is a life-integrating unity that is undeniably the work of God’s spirit; a transcendant unity that is as tangible to our souls as bread is to our flesh, and which the scriptures are not silent on…
Yet, in our desperation to create community, to succeed in our efforts and carve out a “space” where we can find shared life and unity, the temptation is always before us to cultivate a sense of it through other things; shared interests in sports, shared hobbies, social service experiences, shared cultural backgrounds (high school experience, tv shows, movies, etc), shared meals, musical tastes, demographic-specific needs or any one of thousands of peripheral things that tempt us to ‘major’ our unity in while ‘minoring’ unity in Christ: where awaits the tangible power of endless life. We do lots of stuff and always try to mix in a little Jesus somewhere.
You know, there are times when I wish a good article would stop. There is so much to meditate on here. Have I ever demonstrated a unity that is “unshakable”? Of course, this immediately causes me to ask the question, “How?” which he anticipates:
Perhaps reading this, something in you agrees in part but find yourself wondering “How?” How do we enter into this unity in Christ? Isn’t it enough to assume that because we all admit to wanting more of Jesus and we sing and have a few conversations about it, that this is enough? Maybe sometimes it is. Please don’t misunderstand. I think the answer to this is a little like learning to farm. Its a lot more humbling work, commitment to unseen results and grueling patience than we would choose for ourselves, but the joy at harvest is unlike any version we’ve adopted in our shortcuts.
So what might this path look like? First of all, answering “what-does-it-look-like” questions is sometimes dangerous because giving the answer tempts people to start imitating the fruit without developing the root.
Gee, thanks. But, of course, he’s right. If I seek the fruit (unity), then I miss both the fruit and the root (the One who produces the fruit of unity). But, if I seek the One… I have much “humbling work” left before me – work that leads me to the One who produces unity.
There is more to the article, which I recommend reading in its entirety. However, for now, I have enough to ponder. I need to seek the One who produces unity in the first place. Then, and only then, I may demonstrate unity – even with brothers and sisters who do not like me, who are not like me, or who disagree with me, but are connected to the same One nonetheless.
How do we deal with Christian brands?
Michael Spencer, the Internet Monk, has a very interesting post titled How God Ruined Church for Me: A Post-Evangelical Apologia. Yes, the post is long (very long), but it is well worth reading.
Consider this paragraph:
The work of bringing unity in the body of Christ isn’t a work of structure and institution. I doubt if God cares how many different ways we gather, worship, work or do mission. The work of unity is a work of the Holy Spirit in my heart, bringing me to love other Christians and to see Christ in them and for me.
Praise God for his church, especially the mongrels and mutts! I realize that some will read this article and begin to point out flaws in the various denominations. I choose to recognize that God can work in different ways. Certainly each group is wrong in some aspect of theology or practice. But, then again, I am included in “each group”. Perhaps if we looked beyond denominationalism, we will recognize the manifold glory of God being revealed by his church.
The unity of the church…
I’ve written several times concerning the unity of the church. But, I’ve never written anything like this blog entry. I hope you enjoy, and I hope it causes you to think about the church in your area.