Finding the "One"

It's been said that the only prayer of Jesus that has been unanswered is that in John 17, that his followers would be "one" in the same way that Jesus and the Father are "one".

It's clear from the splintering of the church around the world that unity is still a distant dream. At times we come close in some places, but somehow it always remains elusive.

The sort of unity that Jesus prays for is not an institutional unity (the so-called "One World Church" that keeps on being prophesied about) where everyone is herded into the one pen.

He prays in John 17 that His followers will be one just as the Father and Son are one. In other words a relational, organic unity rather than an institutional unity. I see this as being basically a strong sense that in anyone place there is just one body, even though the church may meet at several different locations in the locality and have a variety of worship styles and governance structures.

Over the years I have observed several levels of unity and it's made me hunger for more. Here are the levels I have observed:

0. This is total disconnect. Each fellowship is concerned with its own business and hardly notices that other churches exist. Each fellowship is only interested in what it can do. there is competition among the different groups and tends to be hostility amongst the leaders.

1. Distant recognition. The churches recognise one another's right to exist and that they are in some way "on the same side". They might  advertise special events in other churches and while they don't actively preach against one another there is still some suspicion. There is strong loyalty to denominational lines rather than recognising that there is a Body of Christ locally.

2. Pragmatic connection. This is a stage of recognising that there may be advantages in actually working together for particular projects, particularly outreach or community service projects.There is a limited respect of one another and perhaps even a lukewarm regard.

3. Friendly connection. At this stage leaders and parishioners actually enjoy fellowship with one another. They look for social, worship and prayer connections, seeking opportunities to be together. They recognise that there is "one church in this town worshipping in several locations." Pastors put in place procedures to make sure that people don't switch congregations without leaving their first congregation on good terms. Connection between congregations may be stronger in practice than denominational ties.

4. Apostolic unity. The church begins to live in organic unity. Ministry leadership is shared amongst congregations. Resources are offered to be shared. There may even be a common "eldership" which recognises a shared measure of authority. Although there are different fellowships with different styles and emphases, they recognise that they all share more in common than they have that keeps them apart. True love and fellowship amongst all the members and the leaders. Denominations are seen as external resources that can help the whole body.

When I came to Narrabri we were probably at about 0 or 1 on this scale. Over the years we have moved through levels 2 and 3. For several years we had monthly combined services, and weekly pastors prayer meetings. We had an agreement that church switchers could only join a congregation after they had sought the previous congregation's blessing.

At one stage we touched into level 4. One church was seeking a pastor and we were planning a combined picnic after church on the day the candidates were coming, and they were going to bring them along to the picnic. It was almost as if the whole church was going to be able to have input into the call of the pastor of one congregation. It didn't happen that way, but we were that close!

Today, most of the pastors are too busy building their own empire to be bothered with each other. The pastors' prayer meeting is a shadow of what it was. And at the Ministers' Fraternal meeting today, a couple of the guys were thinking aloud that it might be good if we could work together in outreach.

I feel so sad and frustrated. We tasted the real thing, and now we're back to the old ways.

Lord pour your Spirit into your church. Let the unity of love dwell richly among us.