THE LAST RIVER MILE

I use a daily devotional app called Lectio 365. Last week’s contributor was a Jesus-follower named Carla Harding. In one of the sessions, she said something that rings true for all churches who aim to be obedient to the mission of The Great Commandment (Mark 12:28-31) and The Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). She noted that division disempowers mission. The more we who claim Jesus are divided from one another, the less impact we have on people who have yet to meet him.

I once arrived in a community where I had been sent to pastor a church only to discover something alarming about the churches in that place. The area had one ministerial alliance made up of white church leaders and a different organization made up of black leaders. It was discouraging to see how much this compromised the ability of churches to make new disciples for Jesus the Christ. Why would anyone believe “all are one in Christ Jesus” when the Body of Christ could not get its act together over so-called racial lines?

Look at the myriad divisions between churches in North America from the standpoint of someone who has no affiliation or experience with faith or church. They live in a world which is hopelessly divided right now in all kinds of ways. Why would they be drawn to something that is equally as split? No one in the unchurch community cares if my church has the “right” doctrine. It makes no difference to any of them whether or not my church has the “right” biblical interpretation. No one cares if we have the “right” practices. (How much water to use for baptism, who gets to receive communion, etc., etc.) No one cares which music or worship style is “correct.” Organized Christianity acts as if people will flock to our church buildings just as soon as we prove that we alone have won the correctness battle between church communities. In the words of a late, great friend and colleague, J. Brent Mustoe, “How’s that working for us?”

People who have yet to experience Jesus don’t need the winner of the church rightness battles. They need compelling good news that they are infinitely loved and valued as they are, and that they have a different, hopeful, unified way to live ahead of them. Shortly before his execution, Jesus prayed that those who followed him would be one, even as he and God are one. (John 17:20-23.) He prayed for unity, not for uniformity. There is a difference. The call of the original twelve apostles, radically diverse as they were, evidenced that unity would be around something other than common background, common experience, common status, common viewpoints, and all the other uniformities that have seduced human beings through all of history. The common denomination would be nothing more or less than love made known by him. “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:35.)

The Holy Spirit challenges me to build and grow relations with Jesus-followers who differ from me and my church. That’s not easy, and I’m a long way from doing a good job at it. But it reminds me that I have not cornered the market on “right.” There’s something greater than the where any of us who follow Jesus are at this moment.

Well, I’m rambling now, so I’ll quit. I’ll see you around the next bend in the river.