Church Unity

“pastors and Christians differ in their opinions about the term [unity] as well. For pastors, words like ‘harmony’ (70%), ‘reconciliation’ (52%) and ‘sacrifice’ (41%) come to mind, while Christians tend to say ‘alliance’ (39%) or ‘sameness’ (31%).” - Barna

“The day before the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, a small book by Jonathan Leeman and Andy Naselli was released: How Can I Love Church Members with Different Politics? Nobody knew at the time how much we’d need it.” - TGC

“nowhere in the Bible does God promise that the pursuit of unity, even among real, Spirit-filled, earnest Christians, won’t be as hard as it often is — any more than it promises that battling our indwelling sin won’t be as hard as it often is” - Desiring God

“A new study conducted by Nashville-based Lifeway Research surveyed 1,000 Protestant pastors to learn their views on race and racial reconciliation in the church.” - BPNews

“Jesus did not always weep with those who wept…. When the crowds were rejoicing on Palm Sunday, Jesus wept (Luke 20:41), and when the women were mourning for Jesus on his way to the cross, he told them not to weep for him (23:28).” - Kevin DeYoung

“The fractures in old friendships are forcing us to ask some difficult questions. For starters, does our Christian faith truly transcend our political opinions? Should it?” - Chris Davis

“Given these difficulties, my church’s elders decided we wanted to spend time intentionally shepherding our people to think rightly about our identity as a gospel community as well as our responsibility to one another and the world in these divided times.

“…even if it turns out you’re right, can you not sacrifice your ideal for a season, out of love for others who believe the precautions are necessary?

On deciding when to begin meeting again for corporate worship: “I think it is likely that 80 percent of the members in your church understand that there is no clear-cut answer to this question. They know there are good arguments on both sides, and are willing to submit to whatever you and your fellow elders prayerfully decide is best for the church.

“Surrendering our rights and agreeing to disagree is vital to the unity in which Jesus has called his people to live, worship, and serve him together.” - John Ellis