Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one…. My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. John 17:11b, 20-23
Several years ago, I ran across the story of Centerville, GA which at the time had a population of just over 5,000 people but a total of 48 Presbyterian Churches. The high number had to do with multiple splits that had taken place over the years.
Originally, in 1899, only one Presbyterian church existed, simply known as Centerville Presbyterian Church. By 1911 the church had grown to almost 150 members, a considerably large church at that time. But a dispute arose within the congregation over whether or not the offering should be taken before or after the sermon. Thus the first split took place, with the dissenting congregation forming the Centerville Reformed Presbyterian Church.
In 1915 a dispute arose among the members of that church over having flowers in the sanctuary. As a result, it split. As a result, Trinity Reformed Presbyterian Church of Centerville was organized with 25 members.
Several more splits took place over various issues between the years 1915 and 1929. It 1931 another dispute arose among the members of Seventh Presbyterian Reformed Covenantal Church of Centerville over an issue that no one can seem to remember. Even so, nine people formed Third Westminster Trinity Covenant Presbyterian Reformed Church of Centerville.
Again, another split took place over the issue of merging with another Presbyterian denomination. At that time Eleventh Westminster Covenant Presbyterian Church of Centerville voted to remain in their current denominational structure. So fifteen members broke off and formed St. John’s Presbyterian Church. One week later, St. John’s Presbyterian Church split over the choice of name for the church as several members objected to using the word “Saint” in the name of the church.
Since 1975 several more splits have happened with the most recent occurring a few years ago, when a dispute arose among the members of Second Street First Ninth Westminster Covenant Reformed Presbyterian Church over the issue of the observance of the Lord’s Day. The issue in question was whether or not it was acceptable for someone to check their email on the Sabbath. Those who objected split off and formed The Presbyterian Totally Reformed Covenantal Westminsterian Sabbatarian Regulative Credo-Communionist Amillennial Presuppositional Church of Centerville.
Can you imagine how much a sign would cost for that church?
All kidding aside, the issue of congregational disunity is surely one of the major inhibitors of a church being what church was intended to be. Any sense of outward focus and kingdom advancement is shelved as sides are taken in all sorts of matters many of which can be down right silly at times.
I think this is why Jesus included the issue of unity in what is commonly called His “High Priestly Prayer” in John 17. There Jesus prayed not only for His current disciples but also for all those who would eventually come to faith due to their witness. That includes modern day believers in congregations large and small. Throughout the prayer, Jesus expressed His desire for His followers to be brought together in such a way as to be one. This unity would include many things such as unity of purpose, unity of character, and most certainly unity of relationship. The deep cry of Jesus’ heart is for His people to be one.
This unity doesn’t mean that distinctions will not exist. He isn’t seeking Christian clones who move in robotic step with one another. Instead all the diversity that makes up the human race can be maintained in the process of seeking this unity. I guess you might say that the purpose of the unity is to create a means whereby believers can cooperate with each other despite the things that would normally divide them.
It would seem natural that most any believer would welcome such a unity. And yet when you look at the landscape of church life in our world, it seems that we are far from being unified. In fact, in a recent count of Christian denominations in our world there are approximately 22,000 different groups all of whom believe they are the closest to being what is right.
So we have a long way to go. To get there, we need to understand what it is that creates this wonderful blending of personalities, cultures and experiences. It doesn’t come by legislating it. You cannot make enough rules or laws that will bring believers into a state of unity. Likewise, unity isn’t created by sacrificing truth. Throwing out the heart and essence of the faith as a means of creating unity is nothing less than unfaithfulness to Christ. So that won’t do either.
Unity is created as believers are brought closer to the Lord. And that unity is a direct reflection of the unity that Jesus had with His heavenly Father. Look at what Jesus said in verse 21. He prayed that we would be one in the same way that He and the Father were one and that we would be unified with them.
Of course, Jesus was one with His father, because He constantly maintained His relationship with Him. We are unified with Jesus in the same way. And therein is the key to being unified as a church. The more we are in right relationship with the Lord, the more we will be in right relationship with each other. Therefore, a lack of unity with other believers is undeniable evidence revealing a breakdown in someone’s relationship with the Lord.
How else can you explain why churches have train wrecks over things like worship styles, programmatic preferences, personality conflicts and more? Instead of seeking first and foremost to be a part of God’s will being done on earth as it is in heaven, churches full of disunity are striving for their own will to be done with little thought of seeking first the Kingdom of God. What is lost in all of this lack of oneness is the power to show the world how much the Father loves them. For if we can’t love each other enough to remain in unity, why should we expect the world to believe we have anything of value to offer them?
In my next post I’ll identify some of the ingredients of church unity. But for now, may all of us who claim to love the Lord and His church come to a renewed resolve that we are going to defend and preserve the unity of the congregation we serve.
Timely.
I think about this often.
I think folks have many different interpretations of “on earth as it is in heaven.” I know as a good Baptist teenager I had this vision of what this may look like. I felt I understood that there were certain boxes that had to be checked. As I have gotten older, I have come to a realization that these check boxes have become blurred and things aren’t as clear as they once were. My understanding of love changed. I believe having a child does that to you, two in my case.
When I began to understand love better, it is amazing how walls and check boxes became obsolete. Many of the things you describe above seem very adolescent and sad to split a church over. I think the things I see today that are breaking church unity are those we decide to love. If we decide to love and take care of immigrants we’re unamerican or socialists. If we decide to befriend LGBTQ+ we are not Christian or are looked down upon. Worse, if we decide to love someone of the same gender we are going straight to hell. If we believe that Roe vs. Wade is a good thing there is no way you can be a Christian.
I have found that God asked us to love our neighbors, he didn’t say who not to love, he said love you neighbor. I find many churches are becoming very unfriendly to folks that don’t look like them, talk like them, love like them, etc. If I am gay, if I wear an earring in my nose, have all kinds of piercings, tattoos, wear all black, not the right skin color, etc., folks at some churches look down on these folks. It’s not a Christians job to fit these people in your box. It’s a Christians job to love their neighbor, no questions asked.
I was at a deacons meeting one time. These deacons were in a fuss about a radio ad and where it was going to air. It was only approved to air on a certain station that would get a certain type of audience. How sad!
Unfortunately, “on earth as it is I heaven” is a dream state and is in the mind of sinners. Heaven can only be achieved in heaven. We need to figure out, as individuals on how to love one another. This love starts when we start seeking God’s face,spending time with folks that don’t look like us, and we turn off Fox News, CNN and MSNBC, etc.
Unity begins when we are uncomfortable. When we are comfortable, we arent growing. Sunday morning needs to be a time where all sinners come together to reach out to God in praise and not worrying about who is in the pew beside you. Let’s get uncomfortable. Remember, we are aliens in a strange land.
I hear you Brandon, loud and clear. A child’s perspective of Heaven has always been some place above the stratosphere; up where we can’t see. But Heaven, the Heaven I’ve grown – ever so reluctantly – to know is where my Jesus lives. And if he’s in our heart, then he is right there to whisper in our ear when we turn away from a neighbor… any neighbor.