What We Need Before A Building: Unity

I know that expressing the sentiment that Churches must be unified can become cliche or overused. Maybe this is because a "lack of unity" is often given as the reason some provide to keep the local church at arm's length and continue riding high in the saddle of their cowboy Christianity. "Until you overzealous knuckleheads figure things out, I'll be doing Christianity on my own out here on the lonesome prairie of life."

I personally have grown quite tired of the critique of evangelical churches as being disunified. I am not just tired of hearing it, though - I believe it is incorrect. I see great unity among a broad swath of Christianity that encourages me greatly. To varying degrees, for example, our church links arms with multiple other churches by way of prayer, participation against common evils, sharing of resources, and offering pastoral counsel to one another among the leadership.

The unity in mind in this short post is more narrow, or focused. I am writing about the unity we must pursue among our own. I am talking about unity among the people of Bayview Bible Church. Now, again - I am aware that "unity" is a term that can be kept undefined and used as a weapon for manipulation or to bring on a guilt trip. If a member is rebuked or simply told "no" by the leadership regarding any number of issues, the "lack of unity" card can be played as a "get out of church free" pass as they shake the dust off their feet and head down the road.

With all that said, it is undeniably true that the people of God must make an honest pursuit of unity. A couple of passages come to mind.

Consider Jesus' High Priestly Prayer in John 17:

John 17:20–21
[20] “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, [21] 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. (ESV)

Paul's words in Ephesians 4 are also helpful:

Ephesians 4:4–6
[4] There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—[5] one Lord, one faith, one baptism, [6] one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (ESV)

I could pull up a number of other passages, but the point is this: Jesus desires that his people be unified. That unity will be true and realized among all believers throughout all of time, and so it must be pursued in our local church right now.
 
In addition to the words of Scripture, you likely know from illustrations taken from military endeavors or sports contests that few things can sabotage the mission of a team quicker than a disruption of unity among the members. If the members of a team (pr body) are meant to be working toward a common goal but are pulled in separate directions, forward motion will prove impossible at worst and stifled at best. So let me give a few words about the importance of unity in our precious body.

First of all, "unity" does not mean "uniformity".
Uniformity means all parties look the same, talk the same, share the same convictions on every issue and are essentially interchangeable in every regard. The Bible simply does not lay a burden upon us to pursue uniformity on all things. In fact, the thrust of passages like 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12 is that there is a spectrum of people and abilities in the body, and they are meant to work together in a complementary way. Uniformity is not the goal.

Unity, however, is the goal. Unity is the discipline of being able to strive after a common prize with people who bring different thoughts, ideas, and abilities to the table. In other words, our commitment to a common good directs all our difference, gifts, and abilities in the same direction. You don't have to be a clone of someone to share a common purpose with them. To illustrate with some low-hanging fruit, all true Christians are united in the gospel, even if they are in different places in their theological development.

So, in what exactly do the people of Bayview Bible Church need to be unified? Here is what comes to mind.

We must be unified in our status.
By "status" I simply mean that we must collectively understand that we are fundamentally different from the world around us. The local church is not an Elks Lodge or a quilting club. The local church is a regional expression of the souls bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus. This is, to put it plainly, kind of a big deal.

The world can (and does) have a low view of the church, but may it not be so among us! Christian, take some time to consider what the church truly is. We are the prize for which Jesus died. We are the object of the Father's affection through Christ. We are a kingdom of priests. We will inherit the earth. We are chosen sons and daughters of the King of kings.

What would it look like to think, act, and speak as if this were true? We should treasure the church. We should gather with the church. We should speak highly of the church. We should defend the church. We should pour ourselves into strengthening the Body of Christ in our place. This is not just something that will begin once we have a building to call our own. Understand - we already have a God to call our own! Let's be unified in our high view of the church.

We must be unified in our mission.
If ten separate church members are asked what our mission and purpose is as a church, ten separate answers should not be given. Bayview Bible Church is not a "choose your own adventure" book. God has given his mission to his churches, and we need not look beyond the pages of Scripture to find anything better.

Matthew 28:18–20
[18] And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. [19] Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [20] teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (ESV)

This is our mission. All we are attempting to do is take what Jesus has said and apply it in the greater ABC region (Athol, Bayview, Careywood).

On a related note, there are a couple of numbers worth mentioning. I recently looked at our membership roster. There are 133 names on it. Of those 133 names, 93 of them do not live in Bayview. They are found in Athol, Spirit Lake, Careywood, Cocollala, Hayden, all the spaces in between, and even more distant locales. While Bayview is the location where our body gathers in the Lord's Day, embracing our mission means realizing that the influence of our body extends far beyond Perimeter Road and the traffic circle. Being unified in our mission means seeking to apply the mission to these places, as well.

Unified in the fundamentals.
Lastly, we must be unified in the fundamentals. Within our body, there exists a spectrum of theological convictions on various issues, as well as differences in philosophy of how ministry ought to be carried out. The differences my not be tremendous, but they do exist. I want to speak for the elders in saying we are ok with this. We know that our body is made up of people from various backgrounds and experiences. We do not lose sleep over the fact that there is room for healthy debate on certain issues within our context.

There are also, however, certain issues that are not up for debate, and on those issues we must all be able to give a hearty "amen!" Let me list them.

We must be unified in the gospel. That is to say we must all agree on what it means to be a Christian; looking to Jesus of Nazareth, second person of the Trinity, who came at exactly right time to live perfectly and die sacrificially in the place of needy sinners. He was raised again on the third day and currently reigns on high while his enemies are placed under his feet by the power of his gospel going forward into the earth. We see our sin as damning and we see his salvation as great and undeserved. We trust in him for pardon of sins and righteous standing before the Father. We obey his voice joyfully. We repent as needed. We look to his return and the establishment of the New Heavens and New Earth, where we will dwell with God for eternity. This is what it means to be a Christian. On this we will never compromise, and regarding this gospel we have no wiggle room whatsoever for disagreement among our people. 

We are also in agreement with the basics of historic, orthodox Christianity broadly and reformational thought specifically. We believe in the truths contained in the Apostles Creed, Nicene Creed, and Chalcedonian Statement of Jesus Christ.

We believe that the "Five Solas" of the Protestant Reformation are accurate. Sinners are saved by grace alone through faith alone by Christ alone according to the Scriptures alone to the glory of God alone. Fresh or novel ideas or reinterpretations of Scripture that go against these principles are not welcome among us. They disrupt the unity of the truths we hold to so dearly.

What does all this talk about unity have to do with a building? News, we are confident, is coming soon regarding our next steps toward securing a place to finally call our own and carry out gospel ministry in the ABC community the way we believe is best. Please hold tight!
My point here is this: the unity I have described here is far more precious than any structure. If we enter a building without unity, we will tear ourselves down from the inside.
The building will come. Let's build unity now.