I started and finished Together Again by Rick Atchley and Bob Russell on the plane ride back from the Pepperdine Lectureships. It was an entertaining read! It calls christians from the Churches of Christ and the Independent Christian Churches, both rooted in the Restoration Movement, to rethink our historical lines of division and make a renewed stand for unity. This brief book does an excellent job of stating the traditional issues that have kept our tribes distinctive and how we have arrived at those interpretations (mainly the instrumental/a cappella issue), but also argues that what we have in common is so much richer and stronger than the peripheral issues. It also urges that the two churches should begin building bridges to unify with each other, and that it can be done without compromising ones individual preferences in regard to worship style. It encourages us to think creatively about ways we can support each other.
I’ll be honest- I am all over this!!! We have been in this “family feud” with the Christian churches for far too long. And though I still lead worship in an a cappella tradition, maybe I need to begin thinking of ways to build some bridges to our instrumental brothers and sisters. Now, unlike some of my COC brothers, I enjoy worshipping with instruments and have even led from time to time with a guitar (there are some great songs out there that just don’t work without one). Still, I suggest we need to think about unity beyond the borders of Sunday morning. Too often the issues will fall right back into the “worship service” paradigm. We really have to get over this!!! Think “out of the box” here, people! Very little about the kingdom of God falls within the borders of Sunday morning hour at the church building! The church and the move of unity has got about 5% to do with the worship times and 95% to do with serving the poor together, loving and praying for each other, do outreach projects together, etc. In other words: It’s about BEING church, not DOING church!
On top of this, the more I mull all it all over in my head, I feel like, in our context in Rochester, MI, that we could expand the borders of our thinking even more! How can we reach out even beyond our first cousins we’ve been talking about and reach to our second and third cousins?
I’m not making a case that we should assimilate and morph into a new entity. I am saying we should think creatively as to ways we can encourage and empower each other.
Maybe we should put on a musical or dramatic production featuring and directed by multiple people in different churches.
Maybe do joint mission trips overseas AND/OR to the gulf coast.
Host a Wednesday night series on the different branches of Christianity out there and have them come in to speak about their tribe, what makes them distinctive, what they can learn from us, and finally, what they feel we could learn from them.
This is just off the top of my head, but I’m sure there are more. Let us all find us ways to reach out of our little box and show the world how big our God really is.
