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| Wednesday, June 25, 2008 |
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The Witness of Unity
Church of God Ministries, Church of God - General
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SOT conference focuses on global partnerships
By Richard Willowby
“Does unity have a cost?” asked conference attendee Nathan Wiebe. The conversation prompted by Wiebe’s question ended with a consensus suggesting that indeed achieving unity exacts a price—even sacrifice.
David Neidert, director of Anderson University School of Theology’s Center for Christian Leadership, hosted the conference, titled “Global Faith Partners: a Conversation about Unity." Those attending discussed John 17, a passage central to Church of God theological thinking for nearly a century and a quarter. Jesus’ prayer pleads for the unity of his followers and “those who will believe in me through their word” (v. 20).
In addition to those attending, Neidert had conducted an e-mail conversation with other persons around the world. Their e-mails were made available to those who attended.
Neidert affirmed unity as a gift of God. Human activity, however, actualizes this gift of the Spirit. Pastor Ibanphrang Khyriem of the Church of God (Ecclesia) in Shillong, India, wrote, “Differences on petty issues or doctrines affect Christian unity because many times people forget the essentials of Christianity, which Christ taught…[that] the Church in the first century manifested. I believe…we need to go ‘Back to the Blessed Old Bible’ more often then not [if we are] to realize the dream Jesus has for his church.”
Other barriers to unity were identified as lack of respect; intolerance; ethnocentrism; cultural, gender, and doctrinal differences; competition; and inferiority—big versus little. These barriers were affirmed as formidable.
Other struggles revolve around personal ambitions, social and historical patterns that are difficult to break, and the confusion of personal preference with biblical mandate.
Fargo Kharknogor, a ministry student at Union Biblical Seminary in Pune, India, said through e-mail, “As a church we need to strive towards that God-designed unity if our mission is to be effective. By doing so we are honoring and glorifying God.”
Perhaps the most compelling aspect of the discussion arose in understanding, from the John 17 passage, that it is the unity of believers that is to provide the most potent witness to the world. Maybe the old Christian Bothherhood Hour slogan says it best, “A United Church for a Divided World”—the power of One-ness.
A version of this article appears in the Thursday, June 26, 2008, edition of the NAC roundup/08 newsletter. To view the newsletter in its entirety, click here (1.57 MB). The document is in PDF format and requires Adobe Acrobat in order to read and/or print it. If you do not have Acrobat installed on your computer, you can download a free copy of Acrobat Reader here.
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