Christians, and particularly evangelicals, have always seemed to struggle working out who to be unified and work together with. The Gospel vs non-Gospel distinction is one ‘formula’ that has often been helpful in working out these kinds of issues. Essentially, this formula makes you think about what’s important (The Gospel), and proceed on that basis.
The problem is that, over time, more and more issues seem to move into the Gospel category. The result can be that we define ourselves more on our differences than our similarities, even to the extent of (in practice) relegating the death and resurrection of Jesus to a secondary place in working out what a ‘Gospel issue’ is.
Because God has wired and gifted people differently, and because we are each operating in different environments, we will inevitably have (or atleast, appear to) some distinctives and see things differently. This diversity means that the kingdom can be built in different ways in different places at the same time. Indeed, this diversity can be cause for celebration.
It is important to make sure that our foundation in Jesus death and resurrection is what really matters. One expression of this is the way in which we work together, and I was challenged recently to hear someone make the observation that (in their experience) non-Anglican churches seemed more willing to work together for the cause of Jesus than Anglican churches.
Maybe this was unique to their experience, or location. Maybe we have failed to see any cash value in expressing our unity, or working together. Maybe we have got to the point of allowing our differences to define us more than our similarities. At the very least there is some food for thought.
I am not suggesting that distinctives are of no importance. But I am questioning the circumstances where we allow minor and secondary matters (in Biblical terms) to take over.
In this matter, I must confess that I have more questions than answers. Where do you think the lines should be drawn, and why?
Banner Photo Credit: ericskiff
