Unity via Humility

Awhile back, Brad East posed a question which hasn't stopped churning in my mind:

Re this thread from last week (H/T: @DZRishmawy): For principled magisterial Protestants, in what does the church's unity consist?—that is, in concrete, material, public terms. Is it anything more than the implicit affirmation of *not* openly anathematizing one another? https://t.co/BpMV768l3y

— Brad East (@eastbrad) April 15, 2019

What does "unity" look like? What does unity look like within a local congregation? What does unity look like within a local area of congregations? What does the universal "catholic" church, united in Christ, supposed to look like?

And a follow-up question: is the Church, in its current state, united?

I don't feel like I have a great answer to these questions, and I take some bittersweet comfort in the fact that many theologians that I respect also struggle with this question.

Ben Myers’s clear summary of the meaning of the “catholicity” of the church: pic.twitter.com/BABeAPyFxg

— Daniel Houck (@DanielWHouck) May 29, 2019

And then there's Paul, who asserts that the church is united by virtue of existing under one Spirit:

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. 

Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. (1 Corinthians 12:12-16 NIV)

I think it's not untrue to suggest that we are united, because the Spirit unites us. I'm not content, however, with the current state of affairs. I don't believe that our array of denominations, non-denominations, community churches, Bible churches, and trendy churches that omit the word "church" in their name is indicative of unity. It's not that I mind our diversity, but I lament what got us to that point in the first place. It was secessionism, not unity, that got us to our current state.

So what does unity look like? I'm still not sure. Is it the ecumenical impulse to break bread together? Is it a sharing of resources?

(In my own heritage, there has been the impulse to declare unity as being "of one mind"—which meant agreeing with each other on a list of doctrinal issues. If we agreed on these key issues, we were unified. If we diverted in any way, unity was lost, and depending on the church, we might have broken ties with each other. The problem with this standard is that people rarely fully agree with each other, and in fact we rarely agree with ourselves over time. If I can't agree with Chris from ten years ago, how can I possibly hope to agree with my fellow brothers and sisters?)

As I said, I'm still not sure about what unity should look like in this century. Even if we were to wipe the slate clean and start fresh, I don't know how to proceed.

I don't know what the final result is...but I have an idea how to start.

Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. (1 Peter 3:8 NIV)

Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. (Philippians 2:1-4 NIV) 

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4:1-6 NIV)

I've been preoccupied with the fruit of the Spirit recently—love, joy, peace, patience (long-suffering), kindness (anti-pricklyness), goodness, faithfulness, gentleness (humility), and self-control. And as I read and reread the New Testament, I feel that these qualities, more than a set of church practices, are what define and describe the Christian life.

Another thing I've noticed recently is that in passages that focus on unity, these qualities appear. Especially the qualities of humility and gentleness.

Briefly:

• Humility (ταπεινοφροσύνη) refers to lowering oneself, usually in deference to others. The Biblical depiction of humility is fairly synonymous with our English usage.
• Gentleness (πραΰτης) refers to a way of treating others with an absence of selfishness. When I'm less concerned with myself, I'm able to better attend to others' needs, even when I'm disciplining them.

My shorthand version is: "thinking less of yourself, but also thinking of yourself less." Don't dwell on how lowly you are, but instead dwell on the needs of others around you. That kind of attitude is not only healthier for you (and more Christlike), it's also a path towards unity.

Unity via humility and gentleness.

In a marriage, humility and gentleness are essential. I can't be selfish, or else our partnership won't work. If one spouse gives and the other takes, it's an unequal partnership, and the giver will soon burn out. If both spouses focus primarily on their own needs, it's not really much of a partnership at all.

In a family, humility and gentleness lead to better relationships. When I'm less focused on myself as a parent, and focus more on my child and what's going on with them, I can better address any challenge that comes up. Looking back, I can pretty easily identify that my worse moments of parenting come when I'm self-focused.

In a local church, humility and gentleness lead us to unity. Instead of thinking I have all the answers, I admit that I may not! Instead of you thinking you have all the answers, you admit that you may not! If both of us approach a conflict with this sense of humility, then even as we disagree we will recognize that there may be wisdom and correction found in our "opponent." When we approach a situation with gentleness, we recognize that others may have a different, more worthwhile perspective.

Say the worship leader introduces a new song that I don't like...if I'm filled with gentleness, filled with it's-not-about-me-ness, then I may become aware of how other people do like that new song. Maybe it's fulfilling to them and allows them to worship better. Gentleness gives us new eyes to see and ears to hear.

Say the church leadership makes a "drastic" change. If I'm filled with humility, then my first thought will be "I bet they know more than I do, and this is a wise change." If I'm filled with gentleness, my second thought will be, "this wouldn't be my first choice, but I'm only one person of many." Without humility or gentleness, my first thoughts are "I'm right, they're wrong, and I'm going to do whatever I can to get my way (because it's the right way)."

This approach works even when you are correct and the other person is wrong. Criticism given in humility is incredibly more effective, because the one receiving criticism recognizes that this isn't just somebody upset they're not getting their own way.

So now we come to unity and the universal Church. In the past, churches—particularly ones with shared denominational beliefs—believed they were right and everyone else was wrong. I don't think we need give that up entirely, but I do believe that we need to recognize that we may be wrong in some areas. 

Humbling ourselves, even in our doctrine, doesn't mean we give up our beliefs. It does mean we should consider our beliefs closely, evaluating them, especially when we discover a disagreement among ourselves or our neighbor churches. And even after considering them, if we determine we remain convinced of our own accuracy, we should not then disparage our neighbors. Instead, we humbly state what we believe, acknowledging that there are others—others who are trying their best to follow Christ—who disagree with our conclusions.

Gentleness also helps among local churches. When we are more concerned with the kingdom of God in our community and less concerned with our local attendance numbers, we can start dreaming bigger. If members move from church to church, that's a problem, but it's a small problem, because the kingdom of God hasn't lost anyone. If another church more effectively attracts the unchurched in our community, that's a good thing. Even if my church doesn't grow, the kingdom grows, and that's the overall goal. On the other hand, if my church is growing because we're doing something right, instead of keeping those successful strategies to myself, I should share them with other churches in our community.

Unity of believers and unity of the catholic church means we are on the same team. We're not followers of Apollos, or Paul, or Peter, broken into our schisms, never to reunite. We're all followers of Jesus. And the easiest way for us to recognize that reality...is through humility and gentleness.

I still don't think I'm much closer to knowing what church unity, in its ideal form, looks like. I can't see the destination. But I know how the journey begins.