Here I continue discussion of the book That We May Be One: Practicing Unity in A Divided Church by Church of God pastor Gary Agee Here I will take up Chapter Three: Taking on a Posture of Unity. You are welcome to comment even if you have not read this chapter, but know that you may then misunderstand and be open to correction.
I have already decided that Agee is talking in this book about unity among Christians and I assume he means broadly orthodox Christians, not cultists. If I really thought he meant unlimited unity among all people who CALL THEMSELVES Christians I would have no real interest in the book.
In this chapter Agee focuses on developing a posture of unity in a divide church. Undeniably, American Christianity is severely divided along lines of race and theology. Agee asks how we can lean into greater unity among real Christians, across racial, ethnic, and theological lines.
First, he emphasizes humility. I agree with him that “There is no hierarchy in the body of Christ” (46) and that “We are at our best when we hear one another.” I pause, however, when he says that we should make room for other Christians “even if these same individuals don’t hold all our cherished convictions.” “Cherished convictions” is a pretty broad category. Should we ever exclude someone from our Christian fellowship because they hold and teach wrong beliefs?
Illustration. I attend a modern Mennonite church that is very tolerant when it comes to our cherished convictions. There are members who are not pacifists. (Mennonites are traditionally pacifists.) Next door is a church that believes and teaches that water baptism by immersion is a necessary part of salvation. Our cherished belief is that is wrong, even bordering on heresy. What if one of their members wanted to join our church and teach that baptism is a necessary part of salvation? Would Agee want us to include him or her?
How to have Christian unity in spite of disagreement about very important doctrines? Well, we can listen to each other to make sure we understand each others’ beliefs. I have done that. I have had Church of Christ students in my seminary classes. We have been respectful to each other but we agreed that we could not belong to each others’ churches.
I agree with Agee that intellectual and spiritual humility is good and important when listening to other Christians, even to non-Christians. It can help us overcome unnecessary barriers to unity.
Agee then emphasizes “listening,” “self-awareness,” and “transparency.” He concludes the chapter with advocacy of “A Holy Curiosity.” I can whole heartedly agree with these postures while demurring when he suggests that Jesus demonstrated a posture of unity. Did he?
Jesus said “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. I have come to set a man against his father….” (Matthew 10:34-35 NRSV) At least three other times in Matthew Jesus is quoted as saying that not everyone did or will enjoy unity with him. Jesus had conditions for unity. So did the Apostle Paul as in 1 Timothy 1:19-20.
Don’t get me wrong. I believe Jesus wants his true followers to be united in mind and spirit. Does that mean we must seek to abolish all denominations? I don’t think so. I have moved back and forth and back again across denominational lines without any trouble. Yes, there are some denominations I could not belong to, but I can have Christian fellowship with them anyway. Then there are those I cannot really enjoy Christian fellowship with because their beliefs and/or practices are simply unbiblical. In some cases I have found some churches to be biblical in beliefs but unethical in practices and I have had to leave.
Agee’s calls for unity are ideally good but vague and practically impossible. I can honestly say I have eagerly explored the possibilities of Christian unity, sometimes with success and sometimes without success. During my teaching career (theology in four universities) I have invited numerous religious people to speak in my classes and I have taken classes to visit numerous churches and other religious centers of worship. I have broad and deep experience in ecumenism, having created spaces for inter-religious and inter-denominational dialogue. In many cases I have found genuine ground for unity with those speakers and churches we visited. In other cases, such unity was impossible because of wildly diverse worldviews, beliefs, and practices.
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