A Meaning of Unity
Eigenheim Church, 1896
“My prayer is not for [these disciples] 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: 20-21)
Unity in the church is not “a theme,” but rather “the
theme” in Jesus’ prayer as recorded in St. John’s gospel. A consistent witness
to the world rides on the back of unity, of course; that Messianic message that
Jesus instilled in his followers can only prosper in the world if Christians
catch the theme and both preach and practice it “in unity.”
(One can almost imagine a reticent former tax collector,
Matthew, glancing over at loud-mouthed Peter and muttering, “Good Luck with
that, Master. Such perfect unity is going to need lots and lots of prayer, I
think!”)
We know intuitively that human nature is as inclined to be competitive
as it is to be cooperative. Our survival through the eons has so often meant
competing for space, for food, for shelter that an aggressive edginess seems practically
“built in.”
But things like agreeing or not about whether to instal solar
panels on the church roof can’t possibly be what Jesus is praying about … unless
we make it critical to our unity by choice, that is. A “pro” side and a “con”
side are legitimate starting points in making decisions on practical matters
that are myriad and ubiquitous. How Kingdom-committed Christians discern/negotiate,
how they make small decisions in love, how they pre-commit to support choices
fairly made, are all crucial. Nevertheless, that can’t be the nub of what Jesus
is praying for, unless there’d just been a rancorous dispute about fish on
Friday, which there wasn’t.
A metaphor (parable?): Every Christmas, the Seventh Street
United Church hosts a performance of Handel’s Messiah. People look
forward to the event and the huge sanctuary is packed. Members of the volunteer
choir and orchestra are pumped to make each subsequent performance the best
ever.
Listeners and performers alike seldom put the meaning of the
experience into words, but the glow on faces as they reluctantly leave for home,
the embraces and handshakes and “Merry Christmases” in the foyer tell a story. All
the fine tuning by a sometimes “picky-picky” conductor, continual niggling
disagreements ranging from dress to chairs to whether to hold the penultimate
note in Why do the nations so furiously rage together a bit longer, all
these have been settled and resolved, and unity so clearly doesn’t lie anymore in
the details being “right,” but in the grand theme of the evening: the spirit of
the living God is coming down once more with a healing, redeeming balm for his
people. His love made manifest, incarnated in the near-flawless harmony, the
crescendo of voices and trumpets united, the spontaneous rising of all present
to join in the Halleluia Chorus, whether its meaning is named … or,
or just experienced, the sheer grandeur of that hour is not … cannot be lost.
If and unless every member of the choir buys into a vision
of purpose that both informs and directs every choice, every detail, so that
even the clothes worn in the choir support that vision of purpose, there can be
no choir, no orchestra.
And if a church community is not wedded to a vision of
purpose, a dream of what humanity could be, and if we are not reaching for the
hope of the peaceable kingdom in Jesus Christ, there can be no community of
discipleship, only ever- shrinking cliques of people who can count on their opinions
bringing nods, content in the company of the comfortable. In the universal
church, we call them denominations; in local church congregations, we see what
we’re seeing as discipleship communities age and disintegrate and feel-good
venues take their place.
It seems simple enough: a denomination, national conference
or a local congregation operates under a Statement of Purpose. Thereafter,
every choice is guided by the determination of whether an action supports
and/or advances the declared Statement of Purpose. But anyone who has worked on
constitutions will tell you that coming to a clear and precise vision of
purpose is everything but simple. Somewhere between “too broad” or “too
narrow,” “too specific” or “too general,” there lies a sweet spot that answers
the need for a guidepost to which all can say, “Amen.”
But without the cornerstone—the guidepost around which a
Christian community plans and carries out its programs—money or power,
tradition or novelty, comfort or preference, or simple taste, etc. will inevitably step in to
influence choices.
Eigenheim Mennonite Church is currently contemplating the
text of a constitution revision. As you would expect, the draft copy contains a
Statement of Purpose. In it’s draft form, it reads: “The purpose of the church
is to provide for the building of the kingdom of God inside and outside the
church by….” the Statement is then completed by a series of actions (worship,
education, preaching, equipping, global participation) clarifying what
activities will follow from it. It’s assumed that after several general
meetings for revisions and clarifications, it will be approved by the general membership.
So, having a Statement of Purpose and an outline of
representative focuses of activities in hand, deciding whether to put an array
of solar panels on the roof should be easy? Well, no. Questions of priorities,
application of limited resources, budgeting, must still be considered, even
debated vigorously if necessary. Every constitution needs to be clear about how
such decisions are reached, and, at their best, should include some solemn pledge
by all present that a decision fairly reached will be supported. It’s more than
consensus, really; it’s a reaffirmation that the vision, the grand theme, the purpose
is in charge.
We’re familiar with Paul’s reference to a disagreement
between Euodia and Syntyche in his letter to the church in Philippi (Philippians
4: 2-3). Paul obviously fears that their disagreement could jeopardize the
unity of the congregation. He doesn’t indicate what the disagreement is about,
doesn’t pick a side, but urges them to “be of the same mind in the Lord.”
“Being of the same mind in the Lord” supersedes differences,
impressions, personal preferences. That’s the reason for a clear Statement of
Purpose and an understanding of its role in everything we do. It’s the guardian of the unity Jesus prayed
for as he approached the agony of his death on the cross.
I’m hard pressed to offer any improvement on the Mennonite
Church Canada Purpose Statement: “God calls us to be followers of Jesus
Christ and, by the power of the Holy Spirit to grow as communities of grace,
joy and peace so that God's healing and hope flow through us to the world.”
George G. Epp
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