Unity that Transcends our Differences

A Serious Lack of Unity:

It came up last night at Prayer meeting.  This morning it was a topic of conversation over breakfast.  I hear people saying things like, "Our nation is more divided than it has ever been."  I'll get the objection out of the way first.  Come on, our nation was once so divided that part of it seceded.  Those of us who lived through the civil-rights conflict era saw whole neighborhoods put to the torch.  Disagreements over the Vietnam war led to the disruption of a national political convention and the involvement of US troops.  Maybe we are not more divided than ever, but there is clearly a schism in the American public, and what concerns me most is that this jagged chasm runs right through the body of Christ. On the one hand I hear church-people hurling invective at the other side; each verbal volley only serves to widen the gap.  Then there are those who sound a lot like the late Rodney King, "Can't we all just get along?"  They offer no real solutions other than another chorus of Kumbaya, as if real healing can be based on ignoring the wound.  We can't just get along, but we can take steps that will make it possible for those of us with different political persuasions to work together for greater good. Politics is inherently a messy business.  As I look back over my voting history I see that clearly.  I think Richard Nixon was the first presidential candidate I voted for.  Knowing what I know, now, would I do that again?  He is but one example.  We never have an absolutely pure candidate for whom to vote.  We never know all that we wish we knew.  Casting a vote is more like throwing hand-grenades than shooting a rifle.  If you get it close, most of the time, that's pretty good. Talk of the future of the Supreme Court, and legacy can lead us to believe that this election has ultimate, eternal consequences.  How we cast our vote is important, but it's not ultimate.  The Sovereign of the Universe is not on the ballot.  He is secure in that position. I have found over the years that often times people who come to different political conclusions than I do, do so for credible reasons.  I ought to hear them, especially when they are my sisters and brothers in the Lord.  After I listen I may still very-well disagree, but often I'll find that they have a point that is worth considering.  A few days ago a friend pointed me to this article (Warning: this article contains language I don't approve), which is an example of that point.  I ought not assume that someone is an idiot, a bigot, liberal, or (insert your own invective) until I give them an opportunity to explain their conclusion. I figure if there had been an election in the First-Century Roman world that slaves and masters would likely have been interested in political platforms that were radically different.  Yet in the churches of the day there were both bond and free, Jew and Gentile, and Romans from the conquering class along-side representatives of the conquered.  Those love-feasts,1 Corinthians 11, likely included some rhetoric that was anything but lovely, but somehow they made it work.  So must we. Our political process involves real differences that are important.  We ought not to ignore them, but we must never forget that our being known as followers of Christ, Christians, is always more important than whether we are Independents, Green, Libertarian, Democrat, or Republican.  Undeniably, our nation is divided.  The church shouldn't be.  We can't just get along, but we can get along if we work at it.   It’s STTA.   Over at one of my blogs you can find some other thoughts on this matter.  Scroll down and look around. You can read more about the life-changing Good News, that far exceeds all earthly dogma,  here.

Standing with Those Who Stand for Christ

Ask not for whom the bell tolls:

The Institute on Religion & Democracy calls it Jihad on the church. Father Jacques Hamel, an 86 year old Roman Catholic Priest was leading worship when two Muslim extremists, burst into the church in Normandy France, shouting, "Allah Akbar," and slit the cleric's throat.  ISIS issued a statement that two of its soldiers had carried out the attack. The murder took place in a country other than mine, in a church that is different than mine, and it was perpetrated against a pastor whose Theology and practice are not my own.  What I, and others like me need to realize is what made Father Jacques Hamel a target of terrorism is something that is absolutely true about me.  He died as a representative of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was born of a virgin, lived a perfect life, died in our place, and arose victorious.  In no sense was it one of them who died in this cowardly, ugly attack.  Father Jacques was/is one of us. So, how do I react? My branch of Christendom--Evangelicalism, Conservative Evangelicalism, The movement formerly known as Fundamental, Historical Fundamentalists, I don't know what to call my kind--suffers serious division on how to answer this question.  At the risk of creating further divide, but in hopes of moving us toward sanity, I make the following suggestions: My kind has a history of "coming out from among them."  I was taught the virtues of separation.  Not so much the value of unity.  This is a time to link arms, to embrace.  We may disagree on the definition of what it means to be a Christian, certainly we have a variety of answers to the question of how we do Christianity, but let us not forget.  Father Jacques was not killed because of what he believed about the mass he was performing, or because of his allegiance to the Roman Catholic hierarchy.  His throat was cut because he was a follower of Christ, and because he was leading others to follow Christ.  He and I are the same.  No "buts." We have to walk spiritually, and chew gum politically at the same time.  One of the terrorists who attacked the church in Normandy was a known terrorist.  The church was known to be on a hit list.  One of the tasks of governments, perhapsTHE task, is to keep order, to keep the citizens of a land, and others within its borders, from killing each other.  I need to be disciplined enough to give the same answer when the attack is by "Christians" on a group of Muslim worshipers.   My nation, the United States, has a history of protecting freedom of worship.  That value seems consistent with the teaching of Scripture.  The Bible presents a balance and a tension between a personal response that is characterized by charity and forgiveness, and a governmental policy of security and justice.  Having police armed with Glocks is not contradictory with the response of the members of Emmanuel A.M.E. church in forgiving the murderer of their pastor and fellow-church members (here). Christians who emphasize the importance of forgiveness are right.  Likewise those who stress law and order are on solid ground.  Those who exclude one or the other are wrong. We need to eliminate from our thinking any notion that this business of standing up and speaking for the Lord is safe.  It isn't.  That distortion has been perpetuated because we, my kind, have been living in an anomalous time and place.  Christians always and everywhere have been called to a Romans 12:1dedication.  It's just getting clearer, now. We do not stand for Christ because it is easy or safe.  We do so based on this calculation:     We believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them. (2 Corinthians 5:14–15, NLT) The prayer requests that the Apostle Paul offered in the First Century make a great deal of sense in our world. ". . . pray for us that the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified . . . and that we will be rescued from perverse and evil men; for not all have faith" (2 Thessalonians 3:1–2). ". . . pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak" (Ephesians 6:19–20). One missions leader, for a period of time, forbid the people in his office from praying for the safety of the personnel they represented.  Prayers for safety were taking up all the air in the room.  Prayers for boldness and effectiveness need to be offered, as well. So, I close this STTA with prayer. Lord, I pray for those who love Father Jacques; May they know your comfort and peace.  Grant that they will respond with the grace that is becoming to those of us who bear your name. I ask that the authorities in France, the US, and around the world will act with justice and appropriate firmness.  I pray that all--even those whose worship is a lie--will have freedom to worship in safety. As the Lord of the harvest, I ask that You will send forth laborers into the harvest, even the parts of the field that are not safe.  I pray that those who represent you in dangerous places will be effective witnesses.  As your servant, the Apostle Paul observed, that might be by life, or by death. I pray that Your will be done down here in this messy world, and, Lord, I yield myself, dedicate myself, to that task. I long for Your Kingdom to come. Amen.      It’s STTA.   You can read more about the life-changing Good News, that gives us something worth dying for,  here.

Two Fellows In The Same Ship:

Something To Think About, The Fellowship:

Last Sunday at CBC we celebrated Communion and explored the communion or fellowship that Christians share in Christ.    “Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ? Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread.” (1 Corinthians 10:16–17, NASB95)   In the passage above the word "sharing" is a word that is often translated "fellowship."  In fact some churches and ministries have simply transliterated the Greek word and used it as a title.  Do a websearch for koininia and you'll find numerous examples.  Like most brief and cute definitions, this definition of fellowship (koinonia) is inadequate, but "Two fellows in the same ship," does move us in the right direction.  Everyone who is in Christ is not only in a relationship with the Lord, but is linked with everyone else who is in the Lord.  If you read 1 Corinthians 10, you'll notice that the Apostle Paul points out that there are some kinds of behavior that just don't match up with our involvement in this fellowship.  If two fellows in the same ship are going to get along, each of them needs to agree to not do certain things, like knocking holes in the bottom of the boat, or setting the thing on fire.  What I do affects you, and what you do affects me. So, who gets to call the shots.  We have had 2,000 years of inner-fellowship squabbling that sounds a lot like, "I'll do what I jolly-well please."  and, "You're not the boss of me!"  No, I'm not your boss, and you aren't mine, but we both claim allegiance to the same Lord, and part of our responsibility is to help each other honor Him.  Not in the least discounting the profound differences that exist within this fellowship, can we agree to work to not needlessly make one another look bad?    "Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven . . .  “Father . . . glorify Your Son . . . I come to You. Holy Father, keep [those you have given me from this world] in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are." (John 17)   It's Something To Think About.