A Meaning of Unity

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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

gg.epp41@gmail.com


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