Unite or Die

Matt Larkin recently published a thrilling article Unitas Christiana (Christian Unity). Its thesis isn’t surprising but also shocking “I am not 100% sure where we find unity as a network.” Matt explores the areas of doctrinal, missional, and relational unity as areas that are lacking among our people, observations I’ve long recognized and written about here, here, and here. Executive Editor Tom Loghry has written about it here. 

As a church network, we might not have a consensus regarding what should be done, but there seems to be a near consensus that we, broadly speaking, aren’t united on much of anything. However, I believe there is hope because we do have pockets of unity. These strongholds of unity can be found in three areas, which Larkin focuses on and, in my estimation, provides hope for the future. Though broadly we will likely remain in disunity, these bands of brothers and sisters of firm conviction will continue to carry the mantle of Gospel proclamation.

Doctrinal Unity

I have found unity with many Pastors and denominational leaders on core matters of doctrine. I ascribe to the ecumenical creeds (Christian Orthodoxy), the inerrancy of Scripture, Conditional Immortality, and the Reformed Confessions (with some exceptions), the Blessed Hope Catechism, and the Advent Christian Statement of Faith 2017. Many within our denomination share these convictions even if a formal partnership doesn’t codify them.

That doctrinal unity has opened up excellent dialogue with Advent Christians from across America, leading to a productive conversation regarding missions and practical matters such as training leaders and planting churches. As Larkin points out regarding doctrine: 

“You may not see that as an important question to answer. But, tied up within that question are serious and practical questions related to who God is and by what means we receive salvation. There are real world implications for doctrinal questions and their answers effect much more than we often choose to acknowledge. The answers to these questions even relate to our understanding of the Christ whom we claim to find our unity within.”

Without doctrinal unity, we are unable to unify missionally. Why? Because we won’t be able to agree on what our mission is. Assuming you’d agree that the Christian mission is found in the Great Commission, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you.”

To work together in the mission, we must agree on the nature of baptism, God, and what Jesus teaches. Otherwise, we would be working together to make disciples of a God we don’t clearly define and teach commands we don’t understand. Worse is that some might think that our fallibility means we can’t ever truly understand God’s commands. Therefore, there’s no point in trying. This approach would betray, however, the call Jesus has on us to make disciples of Him.

Missional Unity

Consensus isn’t equal to unanimity. There are countless personal examples in church leadership meetings we have disagreements on an important matter. I’m sure this happens in all levels of leadership, including conferences, regions, and ACGC. However, the consensus is found when the majority agrees, and the minority can live with the group’s decision without significant angst.

Consensus can be had when leadership decides that pastoral training is needed and disagreement on the methodology. However, the majority agree, and the minority can live in harmony with the others. Though initially, the minority had misgivings, they agree that the method can be helpful and isn’t inherently wrong.

I have found that we have pockets of missional unity within our denomination, which leads to people working together for the common cause. We can look to Advent Christian Voices, Ministry Training Institute, Berkshire Christian, and Berkshire Institute of Christian Studies, where Advent Christians come together for a joint mission.

Relational Unity

Larkin observes, “The relationships many of our pastors and leaders have go back decades and run very deep. Many of these relationships find their origins on the campuses of Berkshire Christian College and Aurora College.”

The relational unity inculcated in these colleges continues to be a strong bond among many older Advent Christians. And Matt poignantly states, “As pastors of those generations move toward retirement, however, the type of relational unity that has existed for these many decades as a result of those college relationships will soon disappear.”

Where is relational unity found among those post-Berkshire’s closing? One example is located in the Restoration Network. I’ve personally found strong relationships as I’ve gathered together with over a dozen pastors and leaders in our denomination through this network. It’s created a bond with a few groups of brothers and sisters with whom I communicate regularly.

The Problem

In many of the examples I’ve given, people like me believe our lack of broad doctrinal and missional unity makes working together challenging, if not impossible. Therefore, the situation begs the question, “How are we united?” and “If we aren’t united, then are we destined for death?” By my estimation, we are united in name only, which isn’t enough to carry out the Great Commission. There is hope that if we choose to unite through charitable conversation truly, we can gain consensus in areas of doctrine and mission. If we decide to remain as we are, then our cooperation among churches will continue to decline into nothing.

Hope

There is hope in Christ who unites all Christian by His saving grace. His Apostles call us to be of one mind and have unity of faith. This is happening among many in our denomination, whether it’s plain to see or not. The Advent Christians of the 21st century will be very different than those of the 19th and 20th. We continue to have strong opponents to doctrinal unity, which breeds missional and relational disunity. However, I hope you’ll be encouraged that a bastion of unity is being built, which will carry on the mantle of life only in Christ. A Christ who is revealed by the Scriptures, expressed in the ecumenical creeds.