Christian Unity

One hundred and ninety-eight years ago this month, Thomas Campbell wrote the most influential man-made document in Restoration Movement history, known as the Declaration and Address of the Christian Association of Washington. In that document he appealed to all believers in Christ to drop their sectarian differences and to come together on the basis of the scriptures. The centerpiece of the document was a set of thirteen propositions on which he believed unity could be built. (I wrote a fifteen-article series of comments on these propositions in the early days of this blog.)

For the subsequent few decades, great progress was being made toward the vision of the elder Campbell. But by the time of the American Civil War, the movement had strayed from the unifying heart of the thirteen propositions. From that point forward, the movement fractured again and again over many issues. Not only did the Restoration Movement fail to unify all believers in Christ, but the movement could not even remain unified within itself.

I do not believe the fracturing of the movement had to happen. There was a lot of wisdom in those thirteen propositions (after all, they were drawn directly from Scripture!) which could have prevented the divisions.

I also believe we can still learn from the past and correct the course. The last chapter of this story has not yet been written. I hope that we can discern how to worship and to serve God according to our own consciences, while accepting others whose consciences perceive things differently from ours. And I hope we can discern how to treat one another with the respect that is appropriate toward one for whom Christ shed his blood.

Maybe I am excessively optimistic, but I believe I see early signs that many in the Restoration Movement are becoming ready for a more informed effort towards unity. At many centennial events, sincere men from different fragments of the movement met together to talk about what is needed for unity. In many of these cases, animosity has been left behind. One can see the beginning stages of respect. People are weary of the division.

So perhaps the time is right to make a modest proposal–or rather, a series of proposals. I intend to spend the next few weeks posting a series of articles proposing how we might move forward together toward unity. I want to frame these proposals loosely around the original thirteen propositions of Thomas Campbell. But I want to connect them to current realities in the various segments of the Restoration Movement. Perhaps, by studying these topics with the benefit of history, we can better understand what God would have us to do from this point forward.

The original thirteen propositions make a compelling case for a particular kind of unity. It is not unity based on perfect agreement on all topics, but rather a unity based on a common relationship with our Father in heaven, through our common Lord and Savior. It is a unity based on being adopted into the same divine family, on our mutually being sons of God by faith (Gal 3:26-27). It is a unity based on our common commitment to Jesus. It is a kind of unity that I think, today, many of us are ready to try. I think it is the unity for which Jesus prayed. Let’s see if we can find it together.

Act 10:9-16
About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air. Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”
“Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”
The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”
This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.

Act 10:34-35 Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.

To Peter, it seemed impossible, unimaginable. Inconceivable! Would God accept uncircumcised Gentiles in to the church of Christ– men who did not follow the law of Moses? But it was evidently so. The Holy Spirit came upon these men in a startling way–not as a result of baptism (Acts 2:38) nor as a result of an apostle laying on hands (Acts 8:17-18) but spontaneously and unexpectedly, with no human intervention (as in Acts 2:2-4). It was just like at the beginning (Acts 11:15). Here, as on Pentecost, God was providing a sign endorsing the proceedings. In Acts 2, the sign demonstrated that the gospel message spoken by the apostles was from God. In Acts 10, the sign demonstrated that the gospel message was not only for the Jews but also for the Gentiles. In both cases, the sign enabled the Jews who were present to overcome their preconceived ideas so they could understand something that was totally new and unimaginable to their Jewish minds.

Like the Jews, we have preconceived ideas about who can be saved. And like the Jews, our ideas are often inaccurate. We tend to think that only people like ourselves can be saved. Especially, we think that only people who believe exactly as we do can be saved. Restoration Movement Christians have a long history of excluding people over issues like instrumental music, missionary societies, communion cups, the practice (or lack) of pre-baptism “counting the cost”, existence or absence of discipling relationships, or even the name on the sign outside the church building.

None of those issues is made a condition of salvation in scripture. There may be biblical truth on one side or the other of each issue. Some may be matters of indifference to God. But regardless, we are not authorized by scripture to draw lines of fellowship over such disagreements. On the contrary, we are prohibited from doing so:

Rom 14:4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

I do not think God appreciates it when we reject those whom he has accepted. We must not call anything impure which God has made clean.

Thanks to pinakidion for pointing out a new effort towards unity in the Restoration Movement. The new site is called Connect 4 Change. The stated goal of the site is:

Connect4Change.net is devoted to providing a place on the Internet especially for Christians from different wings of the Restoration Movement to develop relationships, understanding and trust in order to help each other change and more effectively fulfill the ministry given us by Jesus.

The site founders are soliciting personal profiles from people in various segments of the Restoration Movement, as well as articles on topics such as various church cultures, stories of growth and victory, and other articles examining topics relevant to the Restoration Movement. I encourage folks to visit their site and contribute to the conversation.

General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall! — Ronald Reagan, Remarks at the Brandenburg Gate, West Berlin, Germany, June 12, 1987

For twenty-six years, the Berlin wall had stood as a symbol of the Cold War. The wall separated people from their immediate families, from their jobs, from their homes. The personal tradgedy and loss was immeasurable. While there were numerous successful escapes across the wall over the years, there were also tragedies as nearly 200 people were killed trying to cross.

On June 12, 1987, in the defining moment of his presidency, Ronald Reagan issued an historic challenge to the Soviet leader to tear that wall down. Finally, on November 9, 1989, the East German government announced that people would be permitted to pass freely between east and west. What followed was a scene of euphoria, of tearful reuninons, a mass celebration unequaled in our times. Weeks of ecstatic celebration were broadcast on television news around the world. It was indeed a great time as the entire world shared in the joy of these events.

The churches of Christ have their own “Berlin walls.” These walls are not made of concrete, steel, and barbed wire. They are not defended with machine guns, but they are tenaciously defended nonetheless. Like that other wall, these walls represent faulty ideology. These walls divide families. They are monuments to sin and folly, and they stand in the way of the mission of the church toward the world. Those walls need to come down.

Those whom God has adopted as children (Gal 3:26-27) should not be divided over sincere differences of opinion on lesser matters. Differing opinions are inevitable among fallible humans. God made us, and He knows what we are made of. God has made it abundantly clear what are the essential elements for unity (1 Cor 15:1-11, Eph 4:1-6). We have no right to erect walls of division over other issues.

What euphoria, what celebration will be seen among the children of God when these walls come down! What joyful reunions! What a great news story for the world, as the Lord’s prayer for unity finally comes to fulfilment in the church! What a great day for belief and conversion that will be!

Brothers and sisters in Christ, if you seek to do the will of God, if you seek to win the world for Christ, if you seek to show the love of Christ to those who, like yourselves, have been saved by grace, then come here to this gate. Brothers and sisters, for the sake of our Lord and his church, open the gate! Brothers and sisters, tear down those walls!

My wife and I have been travelling in Virginia and Maryland for the past few days. It was good to have dinner with my newly married daughter and son-in-law, and to visit the midweek service at the Mongomery County Church of Christ in the Baltimore area, where they will be members. We also took an opportunity to visit the Sunday services of the Timberville Church of Christ in the north Virginia mountains, about forty minutes from the condo where we were staying. Those were two very different groups culturally, but with all of the most important things in common. We had a delightful time with both congregations.

My online activities have been curtailed for the past week as a result of my travel. I hope to get some time this weekend to catch up.

Some of the most popular articles on this site are in the “Past Series” box on the right side of the screen. (You might have to scroll down a bit to see it, depending on your font settings). I thought it would be worthwhile to provide a brief introduction to these sets of articles so that people who have come along more recently will know about them.

1) Comments on the 13 Propositions of Thomas Campbell

In 1809, Thomas Campbell wrote a monumental document calling for unity among all believers in Christ. That document is known as the Declaration and Address, and is perhaps the most important man-made document in Restoration Movement history. The central points of the document are captured in thirteen propositions, or principles, all soundly based on scripture, which Campbell believed could bring about unity among the believers. As the first series on this site, the articles examine each of the thirteen propositions, with the benefit of almost 200 years of subsequent history, to see what can be learned about the way forward.

2) Comments on Restoration Hermeneutics

As the Restoration Movement became established, a definite set of rules emerged for interpretation of scripture. These rules were concerned with Commands, Examples, and Necessary Inferences (CENI), as well as understanding what is implied by the Silence of the Scriptures on various topics. This series of blog articles examines these hermeneutic rules and shows some of the strengths and pitfalls of the approach.

3) Scriptures, Creeds, and Sand Creek

As the Restoration Movement moved through its second half-century, controversies around the Silence of the Scriptures began to divide the movement. This series of articles begins with a look at Luther’s Sola Scriptura principle, which was a central concept in Campbell’s Declaration and Address. It then traces the fracturing of the Restoration Movement, essentially over controversies about how those scriptures should be understood. In many places, but very notably and especially at Sand Creek, doctrines derived from inferences and silence led to many divisions, beginning in the late 1800’s and continuing through the 1900’s. The series of blog articles concludes with an attempt to identify the cause of the problem and to suggest a better way forward, taking an approach to Sola Scriptura closer to that envisioned in the thirteen propositions of Thomas Campbell.

4) Comments on Romans

The book of Romans is a marvelous treatise on the eternal plan of God for mankind. It is rich in layers upon layers of deep truths about man’s need for salvation, God’s rich gifts to meet that need, and the appropriate way in which we should respond. Throughout the book is a thread addressing Jew vs Gentile issues, calling on the two groups to accept one another and to stop passing judgment on one another. This series is a short commentary on the book, attempting to show what God’s overall plan for salvation means for relationships and unity within the body of Christ.

If you have not had a chance to read some of these, maybe this overview has stimulated your interest. I hope the articles cause people to think unifying thoughts and perhaps even to take unifying action, promoting the unity of believers for which Jesus prayed.

An interesting series of articles and the subsequent comment threads at Mike Cope’s blog have had my attention for the past few days. Those who know me or read here regularly know that I am not a fan of the position taken by the book Mike was reviewing, a position which Mike apparently shares. Not surprisingly, I found myself almost alone supporting the opposing viewpoint in the discussion that followed each article. A few observations I take away from the experience:

1) Most of the people who posted comments, although they disagreed with me, were kind and respectful. I appreciate that.

2) It is hard to know when to stop defending a minority position and to work for peace. It is even harder actually to stop making a defense of your position. As a visitor on someone else’s blog, I don’t want to overstay my welcome. Up to a point, the opposing viewpoint makes the discussion more interesting. Beyond that point it can become obnoxious. It is hard to know when you’ve crossed that line. I hope I didn’t.

3) I don’t know Mike personally, but I doubt he would support all the positions people took based on what he wrote. A lot of the conversation seemed to go farther than Mike’s own commentary. A few gave at least some recognition to the reasonableness of the minority view, but others appeared reluctant to do so. In opposing the minority view, some were questioning the authorship and authority of scriptures. One poster was prepared to apply principles in areas that would not only give women the same roles as men, but would eliminate prohibitions against homosexuality. I suspect even more people thought things like that but did not post about it.

I hope Mike will clarify what he was advocating and what he was not advocating. This is the kind of discussion that can lead to rumors, exaggerations, and unnecessary division. If Mike does not correct some of the things said on his blog, some people might (perhaps unjustly) consider him responsible for supporting those positions. At least, he may be seen as encouraging those who go to those extremes.

As one who is zealous for taking down walls in the name of unity, I think we need to be careful not to inflame those who see things differently from us. We need to be careful not to pour gasoline on a smoldering fire. It takes a lot of work, and humility, and self control, to maintain unity amidst a diversity of strong opinions.