Guilt you could cut with a knife... PART ONE

At a pastor's retreat last night, after a day devoted to the subject of functional unity, the facilitator called the group to a time of personal meditation. Here's PART ONE of the download God gave me...

(I'll send out PART TWO in a week or so...)

He spoke to my heart to stop dwelling on WHAT unity looks like, but focus on WHO it looks like. For authentic unity looks precisely and only like Christ. No other model even comes close.

Beloved, listen to what Jesus says about us as He prays to His heavenly father..."And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one, just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one..." (John 17:22-23)

The glory of our unity is "perfected" though CHRIST IN US, "the hope of glory." (Colossians 1:27)

God impressed on me that a WHAT focus on unity can easily degenerate to the knowledge-realm alone, whereas a WHO focus stays firmly rooted in Christ, the perfect embodiment of love. This brought to mind the Scripture in 1 Corinthians 8:1... "Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up."

If I have a "what" rather than a "who" focus on unity, even with the best intentions, I can fall into judgment as I observe (read: scrutinize) others in the body of Christ. Even worse, because this mission is so built upon the subject of "unity" (RU4ONE: Repentance in Unity for One Nation under God), if I'm not careful, I could end up fancying myself as some sort of "expert" on the subject.

Puleeease!

Even my heroes in the faith, even the most brilliant brothers and sisters among us still "see in a mirror, dimly" (1 Corinthians 13:12) just like you and me. Thus, there are no "experts;" there is only God---as revealed in His Word. While we need to be honest and forthcoming about our shortcomings as the body of Christ, we must remain repentantly pure, lest we lure each other into the trap of collective finger-pointing... "Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord; though they join forces, none will go unpunished." (Proverbs 16:5)

God showed me how a WHAT approach to unity can bury me in the guilt of never-ending demands, whereas a WHO approach always sets me free...not just for my sake, but for His... "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free." (Galatians 5:1) This not only keeps me grounded in Christ, it places me at "ground zero" in His "concentric-circles" of priority in my life.

Jesus commands us to repent because the kingdom of heaven is "at hand." (Matthew 4:17) That means His plans and purposes for each of us are right at our doorstep.

As soon as you get a group of us pastors sitting around talking about unity, you can usually cut the guilt with a knife...brothers and sisters regretting where they haven't made a better effort to engage with other leaders around town. And indeed, many of us reverendized dudes are remiss when it comes to the simple blessings of authentic friendships.

(Never mind the sad fact that if-and-when we do stop isolating ourselves, we often tend to befriend only ministerial peers. This can lead to ethnocentric commiserating, rather than the iron-sharpening-iron dynamic afforded by a wider bandwidth of Christian relationships...not to mention God's salt-and-light admonition to hang with the unchurched every once in a while...)

And that last part isn't just a pastoral problem... Forgive us all, O God!

Now, since I made that parenthetical confession about my vocation's collective dysfunctionality, let me add that it usually "takes two to tango." Typically, when a ministerial leader has become comfortable on a pedestal of relational isolation, two parties are responsible: the person standing on the pedestal, and their congregation that built the blasted thing.

Again... Forgive us all, O God!

IN PART TWO, I'll unpack what I mean by "'concentric circles' of priority." I'm splitting this communiqué into two parts for two reasons...

1) When I write these messages, I'm extemporaneously preaching to myself as I'm sharing with you (hopefully, by the Spirit). That "not to mention" quip a few paragraphs back---about not having unchurched friends---really cut me to the core... I could use a Selah after that, and I'm thinking maybe you could too;

2) And just a few days ago, I began to feel like I'm supposed to ask you---very directly---to weigh the prospect of sowing a significant year-end gift into this mission. The approach I'm considering is far more straight-ahead than anything I've employed before. I need more time to pray it through to make sure I'm really hearing from God.

Now, some might think that second point is a veiled attempt to "prime the pump." God forbid. I hope and trust you receive it as the complete opposite...as a means of giving you some advance notice in an area I believe is important to both of us in this missionally symbiotic relationship.

So until next time, let's keep our eyes on the King with guilt-free hearts.

With deep love and respect,

Tom
tomdemaree@pentecostwalk.org