Something very moving happened at our church recently. The congregation voted on a new pastor—a secret written ballot—and when the votes were tabulated the result was unanimous. 509 to 0. Not one dissenting vote.
Some might say—to quote one of the more memorable Dick Cheney lines—"So?" But to me it seems something to celebrate.
I’ve been going to this Baptist church for almost 30 years, and I remember when 20% of the congregation voted against a previous pastor because he had a beard, wore cowboy boots and like to wear a wooden cross around his neck. That man never overcame his one-fifth of opposition, and the church was in turmoil for years.
Our previous pastor was a great guy—dynamic preacher and strong leader with a spotless track record of ministry. But almost 10 percent of the congregation found some reason to vote against him.
This new pastor, the one we called 509 to zero, grew up in a Catholic home. He only became a Christian six years ago when God called him out of a drug-addicted lifestyle. He had an Apostle Paul like encounter with Jesus Christ, left his old life behind and began preparing himself to preach. He read the Bible, chose to become a Baptist. enrolled in seminary and assumed a pastorate of a church of 70. He is now 32 years old.
Let’s check the scoreboard--this man who generated no dissention in a Baptist church is a former Catholic, drug addict, Christian only six years, new seminary graduate, age 32, with experience leading only a small church (which grew to more than 300 while he was there).
Some might call this unimportant. Some might call it interesting. I call it a miracle—tangible evidence of God working in our lives.
Unity is such a rare thing. We live in a red state-blue state culture. We are divided in so many ways. We clash with our neighbors on abortion, gay marriage, immigration and war.
Even when there appears to be consensus, deep division remains. Should either Barack Obama or John McCain win the presidency in an electoral “landslide” a few weeks from now, at least 40% of the nation will remain bitterly opposed to the winner’s leadership. We’ve lowered the bar on unity, measuring it in approval ratings and confidence levels, which change week by week. E Pluribus Unum—Out of Many, One--is a great slogan that is very rarely true.
With unity so hard to find in our government and our culture, wouldn’t it be wonderful if it were dominant in our churches and in our Christian families? When a weary world, tired of bitterness and division looks for some alternative, wouldn’t be wonderful if they found singularity and peace among the followers of Jesus?
Jesus said, “By this all men will know you are my disciples—that you love one another.” The Apostle Paul encouraged the early Christians to be of “one mind” and to “encourage one another.” These should be the marks of all true followers of Christ.
But often when the world looks at the Church it sees more the same. We Christians can fight over interpretations of scripture, music, worship styles, the roles of women, who should lead, who’s not following and who is a real Christian. Christian unity does not mean that we agree on every thing every time, but it does mean that we agree on the most important things, and we never let the less important divide us.
Whether the spirit of unity surrounding the confirmation of our new pastor remains at our church is uncertain, of course. Continuing in one mind can be difficult. Within the body of the church there are so many individual minds that can be turned by preference, self-interest and pride.
But for the moment, unity prevails. It sure feels right.
Some might say—to quote one of the more memorable Dick Cheney lines—"So?" But to me it seems something to celebrate.
I’ve been going to this Baptist church for almost 30 years, and I remember when 20% of the congregation voted against a previous pastor because he had a beard, wore cowboy boots and like to wear a wooden cross around his neck. That man never overcame his one-fifth of opposition, and the church was in turmoil for years.
Our previous pastor was a great guy—dynamic preacher and strong leader with a spotless track record of ministry. But almost 10 percent of the congregation found some reason to vote against him.
This new pastor, the one we called 509 to zero, grew up in a Catholic home. He only became a Christian six years ago when God called him out of a drug-addicted lifestyle. He had an Apostle Paul like encounter with Jesus Christ, left his old life behind and began preparing himself to preach. He read the Bible, chose to become a Baptist. enrolled in seminary and assumed a pastorate of a church of 70. He is now 32 years old.
Let’s check the scoreboard--this man who generated no dissention in a Baptist church is a former Catholic, drug addict, Christian only six years, new seminary graduate, age 32, with experience leading only a small church (which grew to more than 300 while he was there).
Some might call this unimportant. Some might call it interesting. I call it a miracle—tangible evidence of God working in our lives.
Unity is such a rare thing. We live in a red state-blue state culture. We are divided in so many ways. We clash with our neighbors on abortion, gay marriage, immigration and war.
Even when there appears to be consensus, deep division remains. Should either Barack Obama or John McCain win the presidency in an electoral “landslide” a few weeks from now, at least 40% of the nation will remain bitterly opposed to the winner’s leadership. We’ve lowered the bar on unity, measuring it in approval ratings and confidence levels, which change week by week. E Pluribus Unum—Out of Many, One--is a great slogan that is very rarely true.
With unity so hard to find in our government and our culture, wouldn’t it be wonderful if it were dominant in our churches and in our Christian families? When a weary world, tired of bitterness and division looks for some alternative, wouldn’t be wonderful if they found singularity and peace among the followers of Jesus?
Jesus said, “By this all men will know you are my disciples—that you love one another.” The Apostle Paul encouraged the early Christians to be of “one mind” and to “encourage one another.” These should be the marks of all true followers of Christ.
But often when the world looks at the Church it sees more the same. We Christians can fight over interpretations of scripture, music, worship styles, the roles of women, who should lead, who’s not following and who is a real Christian. Christian unity does not mean that we agree on every thing every time, but it does mean that we agree on the most important things, and we never let the less important divide us.
Whether the spirit of unity surrounding the confirmation of our new pastor remains at our church is uncertain, of course. Continuing in one mind can be difficult. Within the body of the church there are so many individual minds that can be turned by preference, self-interest and pride.
But for the moment, unity prevails. It sure feels right.
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