Knofel
Staton, at the time president of Pacific Christian College—now called Hope
International University (Fullerton, California)—urged people in Christian
churches and churches of Christ to turn away from their/our isolationist
tendencies in this piece from 35 years ago. Here is a shortened version of his
long article.
_ _ _
Isolation—Leave
It in the Grave!
By Knofel Staton;
Oct. 14, 1984; p. 4
. . . My
sister Knova and I grew up in the same family but were very different.
Sometimes I did not act like I was in unity with her, but I have come to
realize that our unity does not depend upon conformity—but on something more
lasting. We are kin to each other; we share the same genetic background.
Consequently, we owe it to each other to be involved and reject any temptation
to be isolated from each other; for in isolation, we become little internally.
With involvement we become bigger.
Our
problem—Isn’t it tempting to isolate ourselves as Christians from
others who were not born in our house (church)? After all, Christians in those
other houses do some things differently. But if we are kin to each other, we
owe it to each other to recognize that kinship and treat each other the way our
Heavenly Father would want His children to be treated.
I am
the father of four children, and I confess to you that few things would break
my heart more than to watch my four children grow up isolated from each other
because they wanted it that way. I would be so grieved if each of them became
adults who refused to admit kinship with each other, or who might admit it, but
would never speak to each other except in competitive or condescending ways.
How brokenhearted I would be if each tried to outdo the other, refused to
rejoice in any honors the other received, and rejoiced only when one of the
others got into difficulties. What a shame!
I am
convinced that few things grieve our Heavenly Father more than watching how
many of His children go after the jugular veins of His other children. Of
course, our God-Father is grieved when so many people do not come to Him
through the Savior Jesus, but it must dampen His delight when those who do come
to Him through Jesus are mistreated, misunderstood, categorized, and rejected
by other members of God’s family. Isn’t it time that God’s family receive as
brothers and sisters those whom God himself has received and has rejoiced to
receive?
There
will be no divisions beyond the grave. There we will leave all those
differences that we think are so important now—style of music, dress, order of
worship, one cup or many cups at Communion, clapping or not clapping in worship,
our understanding of the millennium, etc. If those differences will make no
difference beyond the physical grave, can we teach each other that those
differences are to make no difference in our attitudes toward one another
beyond the most significant grave—baptism?
It is
after baptism that we begin to live the resurrected life of eternity. The
newness of life starts then. It is after baptism that we become living
sacrifices.
Being a
“living sacrifice” calls for us not to be squeezed into the mold of this world
but to be renewed in our thinking (Romans 12:2). The first area that needs
renewing is that we not think more highly of ourselves than we ought (Romans
12:3). That is so easy to do when we think that we (individually or as a church
body) are more correct than others. Evidently the Jewish and Gentile Christians
were isolating themselves from one another. So Paul reminded them that the body
of Christ is one, but with members who were different (Romans 12:4-8). Since we
are members “one of another” we ought to do the “one anothers” in the New
Testament. Just look at all the “one anothers” in the rest of Romans.
Rejecting
isolationism involves giving honor to others instead of cutting them down
(Romans 12:10), having empathy with others (Romans 12:15), not dividing over
opinions (Romans 14:1), bearing with the weaknesses of others (Romans 15:1),
accepting others (Romans 15:7), and greeting one another as family members in
spite of differences (Romans 16:3-16).
I saw a
beautiful demonstration of unity in Christ . . . a few years ago in Oregon. A
Church of Christ building burned to the ground one Sunday evening. Before the
smoke cleared, a pastor of an Assembly of God church nearby came to the Church
of Christ pastor and said, “Our church building is yours to use. So we can feel
some of your pain, we will move our Sunday morning worship to an early hour, so
you can keep the regular hour. We will also meet in the afternoon, so you can
have the regular Sunday evening time and be able to use the gym and fellowship
hall afterwards. We will also move our midweek service to another evening, so
you can keep Wednesday evening.”
For it
is the putting on of Christ at baptism that not only unites us to God but also to
each other, for we are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28). We cannot do
the “one anothers” if we idolize a theology of isolationism.
Christ’s
example—Isn’t it easy to think we are correct and others are
wrong, and then have nothing to do with them? But God is not like that. “As the
heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my
thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9, quotations from the Revised
Standard Version, unless otherwise indicated).
God is
very different from us, but He does not use His superior position as a reason
for isolation. . . . Jesus was God in flesh, but He didn’t become an isolationist.
Instead, He dwelt among us (John 1:14). . . . The first message to Joseph that
Jesus was to be born highlighted the fact that Jesus was involved with man: “‘and
they will call him Immanuel,’ which means. ‘God with us”‘ (Matthew 1:23, New
American Standard Bible). God with us is God for us and that spells “involvement.”
After
Christ’s death, God highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above
every name (Philippians 2:9). But did Jesus see that as a reason to isolate
himself from us whom He knew were lesser beings than He? No! Instead He promised,
“I will be with you.” That is involvement.
Our
Father expects us—and even commands us—to take off the garment of isolationism
and put on the sacrificing robe of involvement. Much of what Paul wrote in his
church letters deal with this very point. We are told clearly that, “Whoever loves
the Father loves the child born of Him” (1 John 5:1, NASB). One of the proofs
that we really love God is our love for God’s other children. We can talk love
all we want to, but God wants to see it in action—not isolationism (1 John
3:16-18; 4:20).
When
God inspired the words “lay down our lives for our brothers” (1 John 3:16) and “love
the brotherhood” (1 Peter 2:17), is it possible that He had a different
definition of “our brothers” and “the brotherhood’’ than we do? Is it possible that
He recognizes His whole family?
Paul
reminded the Corinthians that the people not only belong to a local church—“at
Corinth”—but also “with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ their Lord and ours” (1 Corinthians 1:2). . . .
Isolationism
is sin. It is schism. It is devilish. It is anti-Christian and anti-Scriptural.
It is true that we do not have time to be personally involved with all our
brothers and sisters, but we do have a reason to recognize them and be
affectionate toward them in spite of differences that will be left in the
grave.
Possible
changes—We practice isolationism at several levels: (1) Within the
local church. We often fight and mentally divide over issues which are not
essential for becoming a Christian. Too often even paid staff members of a
church stay isolated from each other. When Jesus first said, “Love one another”
(John 13:34, 35), He spoke it to His leadership staff. Leaders of a local
congregation are commanded to love other leaders in that congregation. It is
time that the ministerial staff of a church, the staff of a Bible college, and
the staff of a parachurch organization get with it. We have surely had enough
of little people bickering over little things while much of the world is going
to Hell.
(2) Across
congregational lines within the same fellowship. Too often we will not
participate with a sister congregation in anything. We will not even publish
special events they are having. Many times while I am speaking at one church,
the preacher of a sister congregation two miles away will ask. “When can you
come and do the same thing at our church?” What a waste of time and
stewardship!
Congregations
differ as do individuals. Surely a congregation has the freedom to do some
things differently from us without receiving our wrath, criticism, and the
putting up of fences. What makes us think that everything we do is the only way
to do it?
(3)
Across congregational lines of other expressions. There is one brotherhood, but
there can be several expressions of it without eliminating the essentials.
There is one body, but many different cell groups. There is one family, but
many different households with that family. Let’s face it. Not all of God’s
people are in the Christian church or church of Christ. There are others who
have the one Lord, one faith, one baptism. And one God. Isn’t it time we see
them and love them?
We
could get to know one another individually. How about taking people of other
churches out to a meal, or enjoying some recreation together, or sharing mutual
interests? How about leaders of congregations having breakfast meetings with
leaders of other congregations? We may love one another more if we would
understand one another better. . . . Surely we could pray with each other. I
wonder what it would do to our fences if we spend time on our knees together
followed up by sharing together in the Lord’s Supper? I’m not talking about
accepting everybody as a brother or sister, but I am talking about accepting
those who are united in Spirit for they are united in what is involved in
becoming a Christian. I am suggesting that we practice, “in all things love, in
nonessentials liberty, and in the essentials, unity.”
(4)
Isolation from non-Christians. Most of my life I have heard that Christians
should not have non-Christian friends, but that is wrong. Jesus was a friend of
sinners and expects us to be. We Christians have a lot in common with
non-Christians—sickness, marital problems, financial difficulties, lawns that
need mowing. . . . Surely we can become friends with some non-Christians that
we have already established some mutuality with at work or in the neighborhood.
. . .
Only as
we get more involved with the non-Christians can we expect to touch their lives
with Christ and help the growth of the church. More people become Christians
because of relationships with Christian friends than we have ever admitted. The
relational dimension of Christianity demonstrates the revelational teaching and
causes that teaching to be attractive. . . .
Christianity
is personal, not just propositional. If we cannot be friends with non-Christians,
then how can we expect parents to be friends with their non-Christian children
as they are growing up in the household? . . .
Where
to begin—Where should a life of involvement begin? It begins by the
way we think—“For as he thinks within himself, so he is” (Proverbs 23:7, NASB).
Surely we can do better in forming attitudes of unity, love, peace, and
gentleness among ourselves. Surely we can leave behind us a generation of
people who will do a better job of having a sweet attitude toward other
Christians than we have had. . . .
We have
done so little in spreading the right attitudes across all Christianity. No
wonder so few in other groups pay attention to us, want to listen to us, or
want to read our writings. We have done so little and seem to be so pleased
with it. But I am sensing that the days of self-satisfaction are over for many
people. . . . Many want the freedom to be peacemakers among God’s children.
With
whom should that begin? It exists [in] the pew more than we probably know. But
it needs to be visible among the leaders. I sense that many people in the pew
are open to get involved, but they do not have role models in their leaders and
do not get encouragement from their leaders. We have divided and subdivided. We
have fenced ourselves in as if to build a fortress to keep all others from
getting in. We have lived too long out of fear. Let us instead live in faith—faith
that the God of involvement in the Old Testament and New Testament days is
still the God of today. And that He lives in us!
Knofel
Staton is president of Pacific Christian College, Fullerton, California.
_ _ _
—Jim
Nieman, managing editor, Christian
Standard
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