Wednesday, May 29, 2002
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Wednesday, May 29, 2002 |
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We must break out of cultural prisons and unite Why is the 11 o'clock hour on Sunday so segregated? May I offer three reasons? Race, denomination, and culture. These are not necessarily bad things, but they do tend to hinder our unity in the Body of Christ. I am an African American pastor here in Fayetteville and I would like to see more unity in the county's churches. This won't happen without some intentional moves on the part of our church membership and leaders. The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Philippians told them that he had very good reasons to believe that God was pleased with him since he was a Jewish man who was born into the "right" race; circumcised on the "right" day; was from the "right" tribe; was in the "right" profession; and had the "right" religion. Paul was strong in his zeal for race, religion and culture. However, Paul declares that only the grace of Jesus Christ makes us right before God. It is the salvation that comes through faith that makes us all "sons of God," no matter what our race, religion or culture happen to be. Okay, now that hopefully we agree that we are all redeemed, what will it take for us to show that the Body of Christ is spiritually one race? How do we practically pursue unity? I believe that we must challenge some of the ideals and traditions that we hold very near and dear and see if they are hurting the unity that Jesus petitioned the Father for in the Garden of Gethsemane. His prayer was "that we (the church) would be one." Here are my suggestions. 1. I believe that the problem of race can be overcome through face to face dialogue and honest sharing, covered with prayer for the unity of the races of the believers. Please, no more unity "events" until we sit down and talk. We need to hear each other's hearts over lunch. I will always be a black man, even in the new heaven and on the new earth, so let me help you get used to me. I also am commanded to love and get used to the skin tone of other believers. The Lord purposefully made us the colors that we are and in His divine providence He has put you and me in the same county so let's make the best of it. 2. I believe we can begin to overcome the problem of denominationalism by pastors and ministry leaders sitting down and eating breakfast at Denny's at 8 a.m. each Tuesday. That's where I have learned that Lutherans and Hispanic Charismatics are some pretty cool dudes. 3. I believe that the problem of church culture can be overcome by having unity church services together with a willingness to allow each church to express its worship style. You may be surprised at what you are missing by not singing hymns or by not using a guitar or by not reading creeds. I love the African American church and the way we, in general, do things in the church, but I don't want to miss out on what the Lord is doing in the Body of Christ as a whole. It is His will that we come together more and learn more about each other. Please do not try to change your culture, that is who God made you; just don't make culture or denomination or race more important than Christ and His church. We can do this without compromising what we believe to be true about Christ. However, the "Sacred Cows" must be slain for the sake of unity. Can you hear them "mooing" in the background? I can hear mine. Mike Higgins, pastor Redemption Fellowship Fayetteville
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