My favorite musical is Rent. The gritty, raw drama about late 1980s Bohemian life touched on issues most musicals avoid. Intertwining timely song and dance with issues such as gentrification, drug use, queer rights, and the AIDS crisis, it’s not surprising that Rent won many awards in its day.
One of my friends favors the movie Pacific Rim to Rent. They are drawn to the sci-fi nature of this movie, which has a strong cult following. We all tease them about their obsession with this movie, which has manifested on their blog, in sermons, and on a podcast episode we did together. At every turn, if they can insert something about Pacific Rim in the conversation, they will! Another friend is a huge fan of the long-running anime One Piece. While it doesn’t come up in conversation as often as Attack on Titan, the characters of the Straw Hat Pirates and their leader, Luffy, are frequent illustrations for spiritual themes among our group.
The three of us prefer entertainment in different genres, styles, and eras. But Rent, Pacific Rim, and One Piece all hold one base thing in common: they are all found family tropes. Even though we might not like the same form of storytelling, at the end of the day, we all like the same story.
Among Christians, we often talk about “putting aside differences” in favor of commonalities. This is easier said than done. What should we put aside? Are there things we can’t ignore? How do we determine what’s essential? Read on to learn about commonalities and differences and the role they play in our Christian communities.
Figuring it out
The early church is often pictured as a unified, singular body of agreement. We look at our churches today and can’t figure out how the early church accomplished this united feat. In a world where we can’t agree on anything from politics to the color of the church carpet, it’s tempting to think the first believers knew something (or better yet, had something) we don’t. If we can’t get it together, why could they?
The early church wasn’t “closer” to the Gospel than we are now. They didn’t have a special pipeline to the Holy Spirit that’s been paved over by a highway. Their Christian faith wasn’t more devout than ours. Honestly? The early church was a motley crew trying to figure their new beliefs out. Apostles established communities of believers, each with their own cultural flair and understanding. If you are careful to study the history behind each of the New Testament letters written by Paul, John, Jude, Peter, and James, each of them holds a key to differences in Christian communities. The Apostle James, most likely writing his letter before the rest, addresses conflicts galore among early Christian communities. These included favoritism, treating rich and poor differently, judging each other, boasting, cursing one another, and relying on money.
What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. (James 4:1-3, NIV)
Not all about doctrine
The Apostle James paints a picture of the early Christian communities that is far different from our imaginary versions. It sounds like the early church was much like our own: people didn’t always get along, some were treated differently than others, some fought, some were fixated on money, some didn’t have the right motives, and others were trying to figure stuff out (imperfectly, at that). The human element has always been part of Christian communities, whether we like it or not. Being a Christian doesn’t erase human nature. We strive to overcome it one step at a time, but it’s still there. And sometimes it gets the better of us – just like it did in the first century.
Human nature is human nature is human nature. When Jesus returns, it’ll get sorted out. In the meantime, we live with the reality that our beliefs must find a way to adjust in a world full of imperfect people (ourselves included).
In Christianity, we tend to be centered on doctrine and light on action. I think we do this because it’s easier for us to discuss what we believe – and judge others according to it – than it is to actually get out there and live what we believe. James’ letter challenges us about this very issue. His letter deals little in doctrine and heavy on living our faith in a tangible way. This isn’t to say it doesn’t matter what we believe, but that that it’s not all that matters. Our creeds, statements of faith, and mission statements don’t save us.
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. (James 2:19, NIV)
At some point, we’re called to apply our faith and respect our differences. How do we do this in our Christian communities?
The essential of Christian communities
At the beginning of this column, I paralleled my friends’ and my favorite things: Rent, Pacific Rim, and One Piece. These are vastly different in genre, style, and interest. Underlying their differences, they all have strong messages about found family and community. On the surface, they seem different. In reality, they are about similar things.
The Apostle Paul worked among vastly different communities throughout the Middle East and East Asia. Through his mastery of communicating the Gospel through culture, we get a clearer picture of the essentials and non-essentials of the faith.
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, Who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4:2-6, NIV)
Even in discussing doctrine, the Apostle Paul starts by urging believers to remain humble, loving, and one through the bond of peace. It’s essential Christians believe in one body (church), Spirit, one hope, Lord (Jesus Christ), faith, baptism, and one God and Father of us all. These are foundational to Christian belief, spoken as simply as possible. If one claims to be a Christian, they should have no problem believing these basic things.
The non-essential
It’s a little too simplistic to say everything else doesn’t matter. Christian communities have been sorting these issues out for centuries. What is essential to remember in non-essentials is so simple, it probably smarts a bit: we must deal with one another in love, especially when it’s outside of the foundational truths. The Apostle Paul refers to these issues as “disputable matters.” In the first century, these issues included observance of special days (the Sabbath, Jewish holidays) and vegetarianism.
Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.
One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. (Romans 14:1-5, NIV)
Even Paul points out that avoiding meat in the defense of faith was a misappropriation (sign of weak faith). Such people were afraid if they ate something unclean or offered to an idol by accident, they would be displeasing God. But he doesn’t say believers should dispute over this matter. Salvation is stronger than choosing vegetables over meat and deciding to pray on a Sabbath instead of Sunday. No one will lose their salvation over doing these things. They’re not worth the fight.
Finding the Gospel in Christian communities
Despite our differences, Jesus Christ’s life, ministry, death, and resurrection is the Gospel, or good news. It is this central reality that transforms every Christian and unites us together. We are called to proclaim this essential message from now until the time that Jesus returns. Even in the first century, believers had their differences. Much like today, those differences too often defined Christian communities instead of the Gospel. If there’s one thing we can draw from the passages we reviewed today, it’s that our underlying, common message should always be the Gospel and guided by it. Following our Savior’s example means we learn to get along, even if we see things differently from one another. If we are willing to do this, we will cover leaps and bounds in our Christian understanding.
For more on Christian belief, check out my book Ministry School Basic Training: Be All That You Can be in God’s Army (A Guide for Lay Membership).
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