Christian Unity in the 21st Century
By Dr. K. B. Brewer

In Ephesians 4:3, the Bible speaks of, endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. It also says in John 4:24, “For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth” (NLT).

Today, with a different church on every corner, are Christians really unified in spirit? The apparent differences in the names of so many places of worship must be a source of great confusion for anyone trying to find God through a local church. If every church has something different to offer in the quest for developing a relationship with God, then how can they all be right? The most logical answer is that they cannot!

The key to understanding any of this lies in explaining the difference between a principle and a method. A principle is the spirit of a thing, whereas a method is the packaging in which the principle is presented. Each church is attempting to express in method its understanding of a principle; and therein lies the dilemma to unity in the body of Christ.

If I were a stranger to Southern California and in need of directions to Los Angeles, wouldn’t having too many different kinds of signs confuse me as much as guide me? Isn’t it possible that I would be tempted to give up because it became too hard to figure out which way was right? The same might be true of those looking for God in the 21st century? Do we offer too many different methods to find God? Some might say that we don’t offer enough, yet the Bible clearly states that there is a way. John 14:6 says:

Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me."

This Scripture states that Jesus is the way of truth, or true understanding about God. So, why can’t Christians come together in unity around principles in Scripture? The answer is not a simple one, but it is not an impossible one either. Just for the sake of discussion, let’s look at two major ways in which we may have unconsciously promoted separatism to Christian Unity over the past 200 years.

First, are we too committed to a specific indoctrinated, traditional, and/or cultural way of worship rather than being committed to whom we worship? Some may argue that God is all things to all men, and that might be true; but then again isn’t that on God, and not us?

So, what is it that is really causing us to have so many different churches worshipping the same God? I believe the truth to our separatism rests not in whom we worship, but in our indoctrinated commitment to how we worship. The way we worship is not born in us from birth, but is taught to us by someone already here. Therefore, if it is taught, it can be re-taught, and has the inevitable truth to have been taught wrong. The knowledge obtained from teaching is (1) only as good as the teacher (a teacher can’t teach what they have not learned), and (2) the true understanding of the sources from which one is being taught.

Furthermore, teaching alone doesn’t “guarantee wisdom” in application. So it might also be with our indoctrinated styles of worship in America. We may have been taught some “indoctrinated” ways of doing things that don’t hold true in “wise application” if globally applied! So, the way we worship God may need some tweaking in order to have a true Global application, not just an “indoctrinated” religious, or specific cultural one. Therefore, if Christian unity is to have a more viable global impact in the 21st century we must be open and willing to reach outside our indoctrinated religious boxes.

I, like many of my peers, must realize that 21st-century Christian unity demands that we understand that the how and the way we traditionally worship is being impacted to the same degree that the dynamics of travel was affected at the turn of the 20th century. As the invention of the “horseless carriage” impacted the modes of travel in the earth, so the space shuttle has impacted space exploration. Today, the question is, do our church/worship services represent a God that is relevant to a 21st-century global society, or a 15th-century religious indoctrination?

Now consider the second challenge to Christian unity - democracy. Democracy is the buzzword for American freedom, yet its true idealistic concept lies at the very root of undermining Christian unity. The bottom line definition of democracy is rooted in the idea of “self-government, or a government unto its people.” The United States prides itself on its staunch democratic process of “a government of the people, for the people, and by the people.” Yet the United States is filled with many different “nations” of people, and one sometimes wonders which ones are the people that the government is of, for, and by.

True democracy demands independent thinking, and the ruling or governing of oneself. In truth, the grass roots idea of the democratic process has never guaranteed right or wrong, but it has most often guaranteed the rule of the majority and the submission of the minority. History tells us that the founding fathers, which forged our present governmental process, had some major ideas in mind, mainly to ensure that the absolute power of the king, and a national religion would never subject our freedoms to foreign control. It was called a Declaration of Independence, and a great war was fought over the concept, the Revolutionary War. This idea of self-government was further tested in another war called the Civil War.

If Christian unity is to progress, then all Christians must agree on a concept called theocracy. This is the total opposite of democracy. Theocracy is God-government, or God rule, compared to democracy, where the key is self-government, or self-rule.

These two concepts (indoctrinated cultural styles of worship and self-government), I believe are the greatest challenges to the so-called body of Christ in the 21st century. Who will be in charge of the church on Earth - God or the people?

We who believe in heaven already know who is in charge there. Can there be such a thing as “a little heaven on earth” for the 21st-century church? Christian unity demands it!