I've been thinking more about the quest for unity in the Body of Christ. I claim no special knowledge or prophecies, I only think about it a great deal. And pray about it. For some reason, it's really important to me to get to the bottom of this mystery.
The anonymous response in my post "That They May Be One" several days ago made some points that set off a brainstorm in my head. I don't take the comments of others lightly, even if I disagree. That's why I encourage any readers to respond. You don't have to tell me who you are. Just tell me what you think.
Anyway, what the person said made sense in a lot of ways. The things we focus on in our churches sometimes seem futile. They can definitely take precious time and attention away from other pursuits that might be God's plan for us, especially the spread of the Gospel through our actions and words to our friends and neighbors who have yet to trust Him. I know myself that Sunday night is the time when all my neighbors seem to be out in their yards and relaxed enough to converse and share. Do I really say anything important to them by rarely ever being there at that opportune time? Am I passing up valuable moments I may never get back?
But obviously, Jesus was concerned about our unity. Obviously, Christians NEED to be connected to one another. We can't grow in our faith or encourage new believers if we are not a part of each other's lives. That's why Paul warned us against "forsaking the assembling of ourselves together."
Then again, "not forsaking the assembling" can become an idol to a church. When we blindly pursue the same tradition and comfortable zone of driving to the building, sitting in the pews, singing the songs and listening to the sermon, then drive home as everyone is retiring to their homes, I would be so bold as to suggest we have made our church an idol.
Where is the answer? Where is the path that God would have the church of this age tread upon? And will His people be bold enough to pursue His Spirit to uncharted territory? Will we trust Him if He strips us of all our comforts and traditions? Will we stay if He asks us to grow in our relationships, past the polite greetings in the lobby, past the squeaky clean smiles we take care to present to our fellow believers? Can God convince the survivors of church idolatry to give up the pretense and really love other people, in all of the truth of our failures and struggles with sin?
To find God's answer in all of this, we will have to give up what's wrong with church. That's going to be a problem for many Christians. For a generation that has believed that church was ours to fashion to our own liking, change is going to be brutal. Imagine singing to worship God instead of to please ourselves and our preferences, or to prevent as many waves as possible. Preaching focused on what God really said rather than what we like to think He meant because it makes us feel better or serves our purposes. Loving someone who has revealed to you a devestating problem with sin. Letting others in on your own private struggle with that bad habit. What if God would have us pursue the positive trends of our culture, like helping the needy, living a healthy lifestyle, and accepting people as they are so that we can show them what they can be in Christ, instead of potluck dinners and the like that teach us to indulge in unhealthy behavior, judging the poor and the sinful as unreachable and detestable, and witnessing only on our terms in the way that we feel most comfortable?
No wonder Christianity has earned a few sneers. It didn't have to be that way. And God will not allow His people in the long run to trample HIS way in favor of their own. We are not in a good position if we think we can do it apart from His Spirit.
So who's ready for an adventure? Who's ready to set out in the darkness of this world, armed ONLY with the flashlight of God's Word and the presence of His Spirit to guide us? Who's ready to lose the baggage and find the heart of the Gospel during our days here on earth?
Every great movement takes a leader. Will you volunteer for the position to get back to the basics in your community of believers?
From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.-Ephesians 4:16
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