For the last several weeks I have been reading up on my heritage—more specifically my church heritage. Let me explain what I mean. For a number of you reading this, you grew up in a particular church, tradition or denomination. Those experiences influenced you greatly in who you are now, probably both positively and negatively. A lot of who you are now as a Christian is related to your church heritage.
My specific heritage comes from a movement called the Restoration Movement and it encompasses primarily churches that you would know as Christian Churches and Churches of Christ. Without getting into an overly detailed account, the movement began in the United States in the early 1800’s as the country was beginning to expand westward. On the frontier there were many people coming together to form new settlements and communities. With these new communities came the issue of people wanting churches but there were not always a lot of preachers, ministers or pastors...in fact there was a huge shortage. And if there was a minister there were usually variety of denominational hurdles that got in the way of people being a part of a certain church. So what happened was there were some leaders in a variety of areas along the frontier who rose up and said in a nutshell, “Can’t we just be Christians, united under Christ with the Bible as our authority on how to live as Christians and operate as a church?”
That idea resonated with a lot of people and it began to spread like wild fire through the areas of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee as well as other states and territories. So what happened was there were Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, and non-Christians coming together to just be Christians only and do church in a new way, based not on creeds or denominational guidelines, but on the authority of Scripture. That’s the basis of the Restoration Movement. That’s my heritage. That is where I come from.
In reviewing my heritage, I have discovered that often times if have overlooked the desire for unity and instead have sought to be right, or maybe righteous is a better word. I have probably overemphasized doing things "exactly" like the Bible teaches and not spent enough time extending friendship to those from different Christian heritages. This is becoming more and more relevant for all of us who are a part of IC Church of Christ. As you worship Jesus on Sunday morning you are surrounded, more than likely, by people who don’t necessarily believe what you believe regarding certain aspects of the Christian faith. More than likely there are people around you who are not even interested in following Jesus…at least not yet.
So what that means is, while you always need to follow Jesus and be faithful to his Word, you also need to engage in relationships with those who are different from you; whether it’s a difference in skin color, socio economic background, denomination, or their interpretation of Revelation. Jesus wants his followers to be united, he’s wants his people to be one. How do I know this? Listen to the prayer he prayed on the night before he was arrested.
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” ~ John 17:21,22
Why does Jesus pray for the unity of those who believe in him? Jesus prays this prayer because he sees unity as the key to accomplishing the Great Commission (even though technically the Great Commission hadn’t been given yet). So as we move forward as a church and as you move forward as a Christian always keep Jesus at the center of your life, humble study the Bible and do what it says, and always work toward the unity of all those who believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the Living God.
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