What were the factors that led you to write this book?
I was motivated by several big issues. First, it’s disturbing to see what is happening in our culture. We know there is a growing sense of social division that has led to tribalism of all kinds. It is heightened by shrill voices on social media and amplified by cyber tribes, culture wars, and a hostile polarization in public debate. And sadly, we know that divisions within our culture find their echo within the Christian community. The challenge of maintaining unity in many local churches is acute, with congregations losing people, losing energy and losing focus because of a failure to handle differences well. The growth of the church is handicapped, fellow believers are injured, and our mission loses its credibility and effectiveness.
But by contrast, it has been a huge privilege for me to have served for many years with agencies committed to gospel partnership across denominations, cultures and ethnicities – whether in student ministry in IFES, or working with pastors across the world through Langham Preaching, or engaging with the Keswick movement in many countries, with its long-held strap-line, ‘All One in Christ Jesus’. Working with believers across the boundaries of race and Christian tradition has been a deeply formative influence in my life, and has encouraged me to promote true gospel unity more energetically.
And third, I have become specially concerned about a key component of biblical teaching which is often a missing ingredient in churches and Christian agencies: it is Paul’s exhortation to ‘make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace’ (Eph 4:3). That’s the sub-title – and the heartbeat - of the book, and I try to underline its force and urgency through explaining the rock solid foundations for unity, and then encouraging us to make every effort to heal divisions, resolve conflicts, manage our differences, build community and strengthen partnerships. We specially need to feel the urgency of gospel unity in relation to the credibility of our mission in a fractured world.
In writing this book, are you thinking about unity in the UK church, or in the worldwide church?
The book is based on a wide variety of Bible passages which apply specially to local churches, but also to our partnerships across the churches, whether locally, nationally or globally. I hope it will be relevant to any context, since the book is founded on universal scriptural teaching that must be applied to every church irrespective of our culture.
Where would you stand on unity versus truth? Are they mutually exclusive?
It’s clear from scripture that it is essential to hold these together. In Jesus’ moving prayer in John 17 we find unity, truth, holiness and mission tied together inextricably. And in Paul’s description of the one new family of God, he underlines that it is ‘built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets’ (Eph 2:20), namely, their teaching.
Of course, we need to understand what truth is essential for unity and what are the boundaries for cooperation at different levels. I include a chapter on the issue of ‘first things first’: not all doctrines are created equal, and so we need to do some theological triage, understanding what issues are first order, or second or third order. And there’s also a chapter on the challenging issue of how to live together with differences and still enjoy fellowship. I am sure that if churches lived by these convictions, a great deal of heart-breaking division could be avoided.
How do you see Jesus’ prayer in John 17 ‘that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you’ being answered in our day?
One evangelical theologian recently suggested that John 17 is ‘the most spectacularly unanswered prayer in world history’. He bemoans the fact that Christians live in breathtaking disharmony. But as we look across history and also across the Christian family, Jesus’ prayer is being answered the world over!
I have already mentioned many of the agencies which are serving across denominational and cultural boundaries - I would want to add CLC International too! But in addition to such organisations, there are so many examples of local churches which are crossing the barriers of race, ethnicity, social class, age, disability and many other tribalisms, in order to build a true ‘all-one-in-Christ’ community. Despite differences of temperament, culture, or doctrine, many churches display an attractive community life because of the miracle of the gospel, and this magnetic quality is drawing people to faith in Christ.
How can the Family of God be a model for human society?
There’s a vital sequence in Ephesians that is truly motivational for the Christian family. First, there is one purpose. It is God’s intention ‘to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ’ (Eph 1:10). It’s an amazing verse which tells us where everything is heading – all things will be summed up to find their unity and completion in Jesus Christ, and we are part of that story.
Second, there is one people. In Ephesians 2 Paul describes how Christ has destroyed the barrier between Jew and Gentile, the dividing wall of hostility, and has created in himself ‘one new humanity’ (Eph 2:15). This is the new society God has brought into being and to which we belong.
And third, there is one mission. Paul goes on to explain in Ephesians 3 that we are therefore God’s pilot project: the church is to be a compelling witness to God’s plan to reconcile all things. Our churches and mission agencies are to model God’s purpose for the ultimate restoration of all things. So the way in which we live and work together, the way we handle conflicts and divisions, the way we welcome people from diverse backgrounds, the way we build a community that lives and proclaims the reconciling gospel – in all these ways we should be a model of what human society should look like.
That’s our calling, and it is our biggest missional challenge. So we must respond energetically to the call to ‘make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace’. I am praying that the book might make a small contribution to a renewed determination to dismantle walls, build bridges, strengthen community and develop partnerships at every opportunity.
Jonathan Lamb
Jonathan is an author and Bible teacher, and the minister-at-large for Keswick Ministries. He was previously Associate General Secretary of the IFES, Director of Langham Preaching, and Ministry Director of Keswick Ministries, and he is frequently involved in teaching and training events on behalf of these agencies in different parts of the world. He is married to Margaret, and they live in Oxford.