By David Faust
One hundred years ago something terrible happened: the Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906. It measured 8.3 on the Richter scale, it killed hundreds of people, and the worst part was the aftermath. Ninety percent of the damage was caused not by the earthquake itself, but by all the fires that burned for days afterward.
That same year a different kind of earthquake shook our land. A movement dedicated to the restoration of Christian unity and biblical faith was tearing apart at the seams. Tempers flared. Churches split. Harsh words were said. People were confused and hurt. The U.S. Census Bureau noted the division in its 1906 report.
How do you recover from an earthquake? In San Francisco they decided to build stronger bridges. The Golden Gate Bridge combines great strength with great flexibility. Each cable in the Golden Gate Bridge contains more than 27,000 wires all bound together””80,000 miles of wire altogether, intertwined in the bridge”s cables.
Today the Lord is binding his people back together. He”s building strong, flexible bridges that will stand even when the world around us is shaking. He”s putting out fires that have been burning far too long.
Don”t you agree that it”s time for a family reunion in the Restoration Movement? If we”re going to have any credibility when we speak to the world around us about biblical truth and Christian unity, we need to get our own house in order first.
The Restoration Movement didn”t begin in the 19th century. It didn”t even begin in the first century. It began in the Garden of Eden when God set out to find and restore the man who had sinned. It continued when Jesus came to seek and save the lost. It continued when 3,000 new disciples were baptized on the Day of Pentecost and devoted themselves to the apostles” teaching and fellowship, the breaking of bread and prayer. It continued when bold believers like Alexander Campbell and Barton W. Stone stepped out of their denominational boxes and said, “We want to be Christians only.”
Today, the ideals of our movement are just as valid as they”ve ever been. We still need to lift up Christ, crucified and risen again. We still need to teach the Bible clearly and sincerely. We still need to work together without letting manmade barriers divide us.
We used to be passionate about this. We called it the “Restoration Plea,” or simply “the Plea,” because we would plead with the lost to accept God”s grace. We would plead with our friends in the larger body of Christ to come together and be “Christians only.”
I am not ready to give up our plea. The problem is, for 100 years our actions have contradicted our plea. Lynn Anderson says, “We have been divided far too long over far too little.” This is not just about musical instruments. We”ve been divided by doctrinal differences and cultural differences: large churches from small churches . . . rural churches from urban churches . . . Northern churches from Southern Churches . . . new churches from older churches . . . traditional churches from contemporary churches . . . black churches from white churches. We”ve criticized each other, quarreled with each other””and maybe worst of all, we”ve simply ignored each other. It”s time for this to stop.
Today the Lord is moving his people to cross the barriers, cross the street, and cross the keyboard. But how does this actually work?
WHAT CAN BRING US TOGETHER?
“¢ The Lord we”re called to serve””In Ephesians 4:1, Paul calls himself “a prisoner for the Lord.” He was in jail for preaching the gospel, but he was the Lord”s prisoner in another sense as well, for Christ had taken his heart captive.
Unless we are captivated by Christ, we will never come together in unity.
How did Matthew the tax collector ever get together with John the Son of Thunder? How did Peter the impetuous fisherman get together with Paul the former persecutor? How could Jews and Gentiles both be called Christians in Antioch? How could slaves and masters worship side by side? They came together in Christ.
A convention can”t unite the church, but Christ can. A denomination can”t unite the church, but Christ can. A talented preacher or a fancy building can”t unite the church, but Christ can. We”re pieces of scrap iron, but Christ is the magnet that pulls us together. He”s the focal point of our unity, the foundation of our church, the focus of our faith.
I love Muslims, but I am not united with them in Christ. I love Buddhists, but our worldviews are fundamentally different. I love my unbelieving friends, but I can”t just shrug my shoulders and say, “It doesn”t matter what you believe.”
The Bible says, “For he himself [Christ] is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility” (Ephesians 2:14).
The dividing wall of hostility is still coming down today. Blacks, whites, Asians, and Latinos, males and females, the older generation and the younger generation can come together in Christ. So can “traditional” worshipers and “contemporary” worshipers, King James readers and NIV readers, urban dwellers and country folks. Classical music lovers can even come together with those who love country/western. (I haven”t seen it with my own eyes, but I believe it”s possible.) And if those groups can come together in Christ, so can instrumental and noninstrumental believers.
This can be the generation that leads us to a new day of harmony in the body of Christ.
“¢ The work we”re called to do””Paul says, “I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received” (Ephesians 4:1). Another translation says to walk worthy of your “vocation.”
No matter how you make your living, serving Christ is your vocation. Some of us are cleverly disguised as factory workers, nurses, auto mechanics, and computer technicians, but we”re all called to the ministry. Recently I visited a church where every new member gets a bag of M&M”s to remind them of their “Ministry and Mission.”
Our convention theme, “Together in Christ,” isn”t just about unity. It”s about our ministry and mission. God has work to be done, and divisions get in the way.
Can we collaborate in spite of our differences? Collaborate simply means we are colaborers, joining together in God”s work. And it”s already happening.
Church planters are working together across the keyboard to start new congregations. Campus ministers are working together to reach students. Preachers are coming together for prayer. Missionaries are working together in other lands. Academic leaders are working together to equip servant-leaders for the church. Bible translators and publishers are working together to spread God”s Word. Christian churches and churches of Christ are constructing church buildings together, sharing Bible classes and youth events.
A brother who preaches at an a cappella church of Christ in Mississippi told me how thankful he was for the help his community received after Hurricane Katrina. Many of the helpers came from Christian churches in other states.
He said, “When you wake up one morning and find everything you own covered with mud, it changes your perspective. You don”t have much interest in the things we usually fight about.” He said, “When you see people working together to clean up the mess, it takes the hard edge off the things you used to say about them.”
He”s right. We need to quit slinging mud at each other and get busy cleaning up the mess.
“¢ The attitude we”re called to show””In Ephesians 4, Paul lays down some basic truths we must never compromise”””one Lord, one faith, one baptism,” and others””because a church without truth is like a body without a skeleton. But along with the right doctrine, Paul tells us to have the right attitude. Ephesians 4:2 says, “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.”
Too often over the last hundred years, even when our position has been right, our disposition has been wrong. We haven”t been humble, gentle, or patient with each other. We”ve been too preoccupied with our internal battles to serve the people outside the church. We”ve been like two lifeguards who get into a fistfight on the beach while a swimmer is drowning in the water.
It clears away a lot of confusion when we decide that the Bible alone will be our standard for faith and practice. But how should we handle it when we still disagree about some of the details? Our attitude needs to be “completely humble and gentle.” We don”t have to give up our convictions, but we do need to give up our pride.
Mike Shannon tells about a soldier named Johnny whose mother was very proud of him when he dressed up in his uniform. One day Johnny”s mother and a friend were watching his company march in a parade down the street. She said, “Oh look! Everyone”s out of step except my Johnny!” It”s easy to think everyone else is out of step except us!
You know what humbles me? Believers in other nations who suffer for the gospel while we have the luxury of arguing about our preferences.
The Christian Chronicle quoted a missionary in South Africa who said, “When you are dodging Muslim bullets, cradling starving babies, [or] comforting a malaria-ridden brother,” some of our arguments sound like nonsense.
Our divisions didn”t arise overnight, and they are going to take time to heal. That”s why Ephesians 4:2 says, “Be patient.” That”s why it says to bear “with each other in love.”
We debate what it means when the Scriptures speak and the Scriptures are silent; but the Scriptures are not silent about love.
We quote the slogan, “In essentials, unity . . . in opinions, liberty.” And we debate what”s essential and nonessential. But don”t forget, there”s a third piece of the slogan: “in all things, love.” Love is one essential we can all agree about.
“¢ The bond we already share””Ephesians 4:3 says, “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”
Notice it says, “Keep the unity of the Spirit.” We don”t create unity; God does. We just preserve and protect it.
In the church, the Holy Spirit binds us together like cables in the Golden Gate Bridge. We already share this bond. Wherever God has a son or daughter, I have a brother or sister.
THREE WAYS TO KEEP THE UNITY OF THE SPIRIT
There are some practical things we, you, and I can do in response to this Scripture text.
“¢ Put unity on your prayer list””Unity was on Jesus” prayer list. He prayed, “May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me . . .” (John 17:23).
Unity was on Paul”s prayer list. He said, “I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ” (Ephesians 3:17, 18).
When something becomes a priority in our prayers, it becomes a priority in our lives. And when we come together in prayer and genuine repentance, our differences begin to fade.
“¢ Ask God to change your own heart””Honestly, have you been making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit? Have you been making any effort at all?
I told one of my a cappella friends, “I hope the NACC will be instrumental in bringing us together.” He said, “Dave, you might want to think of a different way to say that.” We both laughed. Later in the conversation I observed, “I believe the Lord is orchestrating this unity effort.” He said, “There you go again,” and we both laughed.
This takes effort! But it”s worthwhile. There are great preachers I haven”t heard, great books I haven”t read, great college campuses I”ve never visited, great churches I haven”t known about, great friendships I”ve been missing””and I don”t want to miss out on them anymore.
“¢ Make peace one friend at a time””Barton W. Stone, Raccoon John Smith, and others gathered in Lexington at Christmastime in 1830. They were all part of a growing movement to restore the New Testament church. There were still many differences among them, and a lot of things about the future they hadn”t figured out. But they simply agreed to let the Scriptures be their guide and to love each other as brothers.
Raccoon John Smith said, “Let us then, my brethren, be no longer Campbellites or Stoneites, New Lights or Old Lights, or any other kind of lights. But let us come to the Bible and the Bible alone, as the only book . . . that can give us all the Light we need.”
They shook hands, they sang together, and on the next day (a Sunday) they shared the Lord”s Supper as one body””together in Christ.
Can it happen again?
I believe we can bring comfort and hope to a world full of suffering if we serve together in Christ.
We can preach the gospel, baptize new disciples, send missionaries to other lands, plant churches, feed the hungry, nurture families, bring dignity and hope to the poor, save marriages, teach children, care for the elderly, and change our cities if we serve together in Christ.
We can reverse the negative effects of that sad religious earthquake that divided our Christian family a century ago.
We can once again be a movement that shapes America and the world, but we can”t do it alone. God wants us to do it together.
Two thousand years ago some good earthquakes occurred. God shook the earth when Jesus died on the cross. He shook the earth three days later when Jesus rose from the dead. Later when the disciples got together and prayed in one accord for boldness to preach, God shook the place where they were meeting (Acts 4:31). I believe God wants to shake us up again, and bring us together to pray and to preach.
David Faust is president of Cincinnati Christian University and executive editor with The Lookout, published by Standard Publishing.
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