Unity in Christ

I (Richard) had an awesome opportunity to lead a group doing some disaster relief in Tuscaloosa, Al. I had been with this particular church before and had been impressed with their servant’s attitude and heart. As a matter of fact, the first time we worked together, I was in charge of leading their team of 42 jr. high students – anyone who has ever spent a week with that many jr. high students can understand what I was thinking I was getting myself into- I was amazed at the maturity that each student showed. We spent one whole day picking up trash in a housing community……oh yeah, and the heat index was 111 degrees with NO shade. I didn’t want to be there, but I never heard one complaint from these kids.

Fast forward and one year later we are going back to the heat of Alabama but this time with an adult team. The trip was great and God used them in many ways. Everybody was included on this trip, BRAND new Christians that were still really trying to figure out the whole God thing to lifetime churchgoers.

There was one person in particular that really encouraged me. She had been saved for just a few months and took it upon herself to find a church to start attending. She was an adult with no real religious background but she said she got to the point where she knew there had to be something more in life (that’s Jesus drawing her to him but that is an entirely different blog post). She accepted Christ and has since started her own ministry working with the homeless (all in the past 5 months). Wait, what?? She can’t do that! She barely knows about Christ herself! She has never been to seminary! She isn’t equipped to run a ministry sharing the gospel and Christ’s love with others! – Really? She’s not? I’ll just be honest with you; she taught me more in her attitude and love for the Bible that week than I have ever learned from a sermon. How is it that someone who has known Christ for less than 6 months has a grasp on the deep relationship that she does? –It is all about Christ. She’ll tell you right now that it is nothing she has done, she has a past but God is now using that for His glory! She doesn’t need to regret or be ashamed of the things that she has been involved in in the past, you want to know why? “Therefore, no condemnation now exists for those in Christ Jesus, because the Spirit’s law of life has set you free from the law of sin and death!” Rom. 8:1-2

We are now slaves to Christ and in HIM we find life, no longer are we subject to the law of sin and death!

Here is my favorite part, that church that I worked with. It’s not the same denomination I was taught and grew up in (let me put in a quick bit here, their fundamental core beliefs are the same, I do not think it is right to work or encourage the work of those that don’t teach Christ as the Gospel (2 John 9,10) but that is certainly not the issue here) yep, we actually had true unity and spirit as we worked and served Christ. They allowed me the privilege to lead their devotions. I, a Baptist, worked with them, Methodists, to serve Jesus and be his hands and feet. Yeah, we may come to different conclusions on certain (non-Gospel) topics of the scripture, but here is a tidbit of information. Christ was neither!

I was encouraged as we were brought to unity under Christ and served him. New believers, youth pastors, people struggling with addiction and difficulties, and missionaries all came together and presented the body of Christ to those who needed it most.

I am convinced that if we could quit bickering and work together with those who truly bring Christ Gospel, we can reach the world! Jesus teaches us in Luke 9:49/50 a very important lesson. “John responded, Master, we saw someone driving demons out in your name, and we tried to stop him because he does not follow us. DON’T stop him, Jesus told him, because whoever is not against you is for you!”

Let’s get over ourselves and our self-righteousness and work with those who are “not against us” to share Christ with the world!

(Sorry, for those of  you expecting another awesome post by my wife, you were undoubtedly let down by this one but thank you for reading what was on my heart! : )

Stupid Elbow

Sometimes, I don't want to be called a Christian.

Yep. You read that correctly.

But the reason I don't want to be called a Christian is not because I don't want to be associated with Christ. As a matter of fact, it's the exact opposite: I DO want to be associated with Christ.

Unfortunately, Christians have done a great job of turning people away from Christ. And by Christians I mean all of us who claim that title. Me included.

I work for a ministry and the other day I was surprised by a phone call I received. We'll keep the real names anonymous, but it went a little something like this:

Me: Hi, Fred. How can I help you?
Fred:  Hey, I was just wondering about the softball trip that you guys have coming up to the Dominican Republic. I was asked to help recruit for it but I wanted to see if Sarah was going. You know the lady from that other ministry.
Me: Um, let me check. *Checks to see if Sarah or anyone from her ministry is signed up* Nope, doesn't look like I have any of them signed up yet.
Fred: Ok, good. I just wanted to be sure. I don't want to go or recruit anyone to go if she or anyone from her ministry is going.
Me: *Pauses for a moment to let it process in my mind what he just said.* Ok, so if she is going, you're not going. But if she's not going, you are going? I just want to make sure I have that right.
Fred: Well, um, yeah, I mean, I just have worked with her before and I just, well, Bill knows why. He understands where I'm coming from. I just, I know what they are like and well.... I'll just talk to Bill about it.
Me: Hm. Oh. Okay.

Yeah. That happened. Someone does not want to go on a mission trip to show Christ's love if someone else is going. And I happen to know that this "someone else" is a lady who runs a really phenomenal ministry to reach softball girls for Christ. She's not perfect, but neither is Fred.

We are told in Romans that we are one body in Christ.

"For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another." Romans 12.4-5 

So how are we supposed to function as one unit if we can't get along?

What if our legs didn't want to go somewhere because they weren't especially fond of how our hands dressed us? Or what if our forearms refused to move because all the elbow ever does is bump into things?

Stupid elbow.

That seems ridiculous, but that's exactly how we act as Christians sometimes. We don't like how someone else does ministry so we criticize [behind their backs of course]. We don't agree with the standards of a particular group of Christians, so we avoid them all together.

Stupid other Christians.

Obviously this is a problem that goes back to the very first Christians, because even Paul had to give a reminder to the Ephesians:

"I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." Ephesians 4.1-3

Think of all that the human body accomplishes when it works together: walking, talking, running, laughing, digesting, smelling, thinking, listening, touching, typing, seeing, holding, crying, writing, reading, healing, sitting, breathing, and the list goes on and on.

The amount of "teamwork" that goes into the processes that make the body function is remarkable.

It's no coincidence that God gives us the analogy of the church as a body, too. Works the exact same way... if we let it.

I admit, it takes a conscious effort sometimes. It would be great if we could function as effortlessly as our lungs do when it comes to breathing or our heart when it comes to pumping blood. But that's just not the case most of the time.

So what can we do?

Well, I guess the answer is pretty obvious: keep our eyes on Christ. It's when we start looking around us and comparing ourselves with others that the bickering and disunity ignites in our hearts. We begin to become critical of others and thereby seeing ourselves as somehow worthy of Christ's love. When our eyes are focused on our Savior, though, it's impossible to see the imperfections in those around us because we are keenly aware of our own imperfections before a holy God and we are willing to not only allow His grace to be sufficient for us, but also everyone we come in contact with.

Richard and I are working to memorize the book of James. It's chocked full of how to deal with these very issues. Because even we missionaries struggle with it. I know. You're shocked.

I challenge you to memorize James, too. It's a big undertaking, but oh so very worth it if it means we can become unified as the body of Christ.

That's what the world needs to see in us.

Will you take the challenge?