Unity would be easy if it wasn't for those pesky convictions.Through
blogging about Christian Unity for the past 30 months, I've come in
contact with a lot of great folks who share my desire to promote unity
among Christians. I've found a growning number of Christians
(particularly among Restoration Movement groups sharing the same
conversion doctrine) who believe we've spent too long defending the
borders of our various factions. Like me, these folks want to be part
of the solution to that problem.Most of the things dividing churches of
Christ are of secondary importance. Communion cups, instrumental music,
kitchens, cooperation between congregations, Sunday school classes,
Bible translations, and the like are not the central issues of the
gospel. (1 Cor 15:1-11) But unity among Christians is of central
importance. Jesus prayed for it the night he was betrayed, so that the
world would believe. That makes unity among the top priorities for the
church. And we must not allow the secondary issues to derail things of
higher priority.Being united does not mean we have to agree on
everything. I think it does require that we agree on the core gospel.
And it requires that we treat one another with dignity and respect in
the areas of disagreement. I've found that a lot of people agree with
me on those matters. However, in a few ways I feel like a square peg
trying to fit into a round hole. My conviction about gender roles
conflicts with the beliefs of the vast majority of people who are with
me on the unity topic. I've listened to other viewpoints and studied
the subject carefully, but I keep coming to the same conclusion. I
think the scriptures define different roles for men and women in the
church. Most of my fellow unity advocates seem to think otherwise. And
often they have a hard time understanding me as a result. How could
someone who loves unity believe what I believe about gender roles? I
don't fit the normal mold.I suspect that many of us are in my position
on at least one subject. We want unity, but we have some inconvenient
convictions that we can't deny in good conscience. I have to live by
what I believe the scriptures say, whether others agree or not. And as
an elder, my conviction affects more people than just myself. That
doesn't mean I can't have unity with people who disagree with me. It
just means both sides have to overlook a few things, and leave it up to
God to take care of the differences. Sitting on this side of the gender
issue, I can clearly see that unity will be a lot more likely if people
on the other side will at least show some respect and deference to my
convictions. That doesn't mean they have to follow my convictions. But
I'm already swimming against the current in order to be true to my
beliefs. Any efforts to avoid making it harder for me are
appreciated!And of course I need to offer the same kind of
consideration to people who hold different inconvenient convictions. I
need to remember how I feel on "my issue" so I can understand how they
feel about theirs.It feels different on the other side of the issue. If
we were more sensitive to that fact, it would go a long way toward
enabling greater unity.

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Posted By Alan to Christian Unity at 4/03/2008 11:53:00 AM