That the Church should be one is not debated. The Bible makes it pretty clear that God’s intention for the Church is oneness. Jesus, in the garden before his betrayal, fervently prays that his followers will all be ONE (John 17:21). Paul makes it pretty plain in his letters that all believers are baptized into ONE Church, part of ONE body (1 Cor. 12:12-31; Eph. 4:1-16).
But, while we do not doubt that the Church should be one, we seem to have a lot of questions and disagreements over how we get there, and what that looks like practically. Well I can’t pretend to have all the answers, but I can throw out some food-for-thought and maybe encourage further discussion.
Unity NOT Uniformity
When Paul talks about us being baptized into one body, it is understood that we all are not supposed to be the same parts of the body. Uniformity implies a same-ness. Things that are uniform are intended to look the same, work the same, and effectively be the same as the rest. But Paul makes it clear that we aren’t intended to be the same. The unity of the Church is not in appearance, but in purpose. All the parts of the body of Christ, with their different roles, talents, and gifts, are working toward the same end. This means that it doesn’t matter if churches look the same, have music that sounds the same, or have the same dress code. Those are uniformity issues, and we are not called to be a uniform church. We are called to be a unity church, which means that even though each local church (as well as each individual person) is unique, they are all united in one purpose, one goal, one mission: to please God. As long as we are doing what pleases God (living out these seven themes), uniformity doesn’t matter. Which leads to my next point…
Diversity NOT Division
I’m going to deviate a bit from an historical position of the Church of God: I don’t take issue with the existence of the myriad of denominations. In fact, I actually like that there are many denominations. This is a rather large break from Church of God history, because we believed that denominations were man-made divisions of God’s Church. Therefore, the early Church of God practice was to call people who were apart of these denominations (“Babylon”) to come out of them, into God’s true Church. This practice was termed, “come-outism.” We have since abdicated this practice. We no longer treat people in other denominations as pseudo-Christian, or call them to leave their denomination to join the “true” Church. And I believe this to be a good and spiritually healthy thing, and here’s why.
The big complaint against multiple denominations is that it creates division in the Church. Unfortunately this is often a valid criticism, with denominations bickering and competing with one another. However, I do not believe that has to be reality. I think denominations can and should be beneficial to the universal Church. I think that because I believe that God loves diversity. I am a Wesleyan in theology, and as such I believe in experience as a method of receiving revelations from God (that God speaks and shapes us through our experiences). Because of this, I understand that not everybody will have the same experience when coming to God. Each denomination provides an opportunity for us to journey through the Christian Faith with people who share a common experience.
When I shared my story of being in the Church of God, I wondered if I would still be Church of God had I grown up in another tribe. I don’t know that I would, because my experience would have been shaped by another tradition, with a different language. When I talk about the Church of God as my theological home, I mean that the Church of God is where I find companionship and commonality in a shared experience of God, Church, even a shared language to speak.
The value in having a variety of denominations is in the many paths within Orthodox Christianity that further allow persons to maintain their uniqueness while journeying with Christ. And furthermore, their different experiences and perspectives can inform and provoke new understandings and practices in my spiritual growth and development. It doesn’t mean I have to agree with every theological or philosophical idea I come across, but it should prevent me from becoming too comfortable in my own beliefs, and cause me to always keep my faith fresh by continual reevaluation. We can never pretend that all of God’s Truth is completely captured within our own wisdom, or even our own tradition. We all have something to learn from each other; because we are all living toward the same end, with the purpose. And we will not grow if we do not embrace the diversity within the Church.
Suffice it to say, Jonathan, that we have been very good to define what unity is NOT, even as you havedone. We fall far short when it comes to practicing what unity is; it is not uniformity with everyone marching lockstep, but it is diversity, recognizing our individual avenues to faith. Being diverse, as was the early church (eg Paul vs Peter or Paul vs Barnabas) we simply must begin practicing our unity where we can by mutually complementing one another denominationally and by cooperating in evengelism endeavors. If we cannot do that at minimum, we just as well close shop and shut down!
It is my understanding (although I was NOT there, as some might think!) that the Church of God had its inception in an era of bitter rivalry among the denominations. Differing faiths turned their backs on each other and drew deep lines of division. In that circumstance, perhaps “come-outism” was a necessary message. In contrast, current religious culture tends to promote diversity without division and allow for more focus on commonality of purpose, as Jonathan wrote. We can be grateful for that.