On Sunday night, November 1, 1998 at Atlanta Christian Center there was a great demonstration and celebration of unity within the Body of Christ. Many churches from the south metro area came together and had a blessed evening.

Unity coming out of such diversity was something to behold. As David Epps of Christ the King Charismatic Episcopal Church said in the opening prayer, "we may be from many tribes but there is only one nation."

This service reminded me of something I had read years ago about the effort of oarsmen. According to the materials I read when oarsmen talk about their perfect moments in a boat, they talk of the feel of the boat with all eight oars in the water together and the synchronization almost being perfect. In moments like those they claimed the boat seemed to lift right out of the water. Oarsmen call that the moment of swing. One Olympic contender said what he liked most about it was that it allowed you to trust the other men in the boat because you can not have swing unless everyone is putting out in exact measure, and that is what makes possible this trust among oarsmen.

Unity is risky because it means you have to trust others who may be quite different then you. But as in any investing the greater the risk the higher the returns.

Sunday night many of us continued our determination to let down our guards and trust each other. In oarsmen's terms we could say it was a moment of swing.