“Unity is the irresistible witness of the church.” – Ken Sande of RelationalWisdom360
OK … I’m trying to give myself a little grace even though I’ve been quite a FAILURE at blogging “live” from this Peacemaking/Unity Conference …
But I have learned a thing or two:
1. It’s hard to blog a conference when you’re SPEAKING during every single workshop slot; and
2. It’s really hard to blog when you’re ASLEEP.
🙂 !!
That said … I did want you all to know that I am here and, even though I have received three extremely harsh criticisms amidst a SEA of gospel-infused love, encouragement, and care, all is well! God is helping me to learn from even the graceless criticism and to not fixate on the unkindness, judgment, and rejection that even professing “mature” Christians seem oh-so-comfortable pouring out on me.
Anyhoo!
The bulk of my teaching time is over (I have only one more workshop to do on Saturday)–so I’m hoping to POSSIBLY catch you up with lots of details before too long.
But let me tease you with just a few insights from Ken Sande’s wonderful opening plenary session Thursday night. With his typical humor, insight, and Christ-centered love, Ken reminded us:
– There is something remarkably different about the unity we have as Christians (the unity the Jesus talked about in John 17:20-23) because our unity it built around a PERSON, not a cause.
– That as Believers, we join together from every political party, class, ethnicity, race … men and women, little children … we all join together in a way that no other man in the world could unite us because we join together to WORSHIP CHRIST. This makes our unity unique when compared to people joining around a cause or political party or for any other reason.
– Unity can be defined as being “one in spirit and purpose by loving Jesus Christ and making Him known to others … while at the same time delighting in God-given diversity because we’re all moving in the same direction toward the same goal: to love Jesus Christ and make Him known.”
Ken then went on to remind us of five basic commitments to demonstrate unity (Ephesians 4:1-16):
1. A commitment to love Jesus Christ above all things and to sacrifice all of our mini-agendas for His sake (Eph. 4:1, 6). Love is the driving force; the gospel is the driving power-—the motivation and the model for peacemaking.
2. A commitment to develop Christ-like character, especially humility and submission. Eph 4:2-3, Phil 2:3-4. (No church that unilaterally “excommunicates / kicks out” a family or splits through a series of votes and lawsuits is known by humility and submission.)
3. A commitment to sound doctrine, which never sacrifices the truth, but always prioritizes it in a spirit of grace (Eph 4:4-6, 15; John 1:14). We have a tendency to move toward one side or the other (truth/harsh/inflexible; grace/truth doesn’t matter/let’s just get along). But we need both.
4. A commitment to respect and pursue God-given diversity and accept one another just as Christ accepted us (Eph 4:11-12, Rom. 12:3-8, 15:7).
5. A commitment to strive earnestly and prayerfully to pursue genuine peace and reconciliation, despite personal differences. Eph 4:3, 1 Cor. 10:10.
Ken reminded us that loving Jesus and making Him known is what is most important! And that love for Jesus unites us across denominational lines, gender lines, racial lines.
** Unity is the irresistible witness of the church. **
(And the flipside is true, too: Nothing damages the witness of a church like graceless judgment, self-protective threats, and abandoning of people at their greatest point of need.)
One closing example and then I must run …
Ken read a letter from a man in prison in Uganda who was three weeks away from being released. The man had just completed a peacemaking course in that prison and was hoping and planning to go to seminary upon his release. In his letter, he explained that he had recently had a conflict with his friend. These are his words …
“Instead of fighting, I went and asked him to forgive me. Again and again and again. Then I went to him with my elders. And finally—now we are reconciled. These are the ingredients and fruits of this course.
When I was arrested, I was frustrated and asked why me; why my family? I had planned to teach my accuser a lesson … to set his house ablaze and sit with a gun so no one could run out and survive–not even a rat. I praise God for this sentence so I could take this course.
God has cleansed my heart with His blood shed on the Cross 2000 years ago. By His grace, I have forgiven my accuser; I no longer hold my accuser in my prison. He will be amazed when he sees me kneeling before him next month when I am free—I will ask HIS forgiveness.”
Do you find those words convicting? Are you holding someone in the prison of your unforgiveness?
Do you find those words delightful because you know the joy and deep, abiding peace of what it feels like to be forgiven–really forgiven!–in this way?
Dear God–may I look at the 10,000 * 10,000 prison doors behind me–where You have released me from the prison I deserve for my lifetime of debts over and over and over again …
And in response, may I never hold anyone in prison again by unforgiveness, bitterness, gracelessness, judgment, rejection, abandonment, self-protection, lack of love.
Even the people who hurt me the most. Especially the Christians who hurt me the most.
May I never treat them the way they have treated me. Please, God, guard me from the bondage of the prison of unforgiveness and help me to treat even my enemies the way You treat me: with compassion, grace, slow to anger, abiding in love and faithfulness; maintaining love to thousands and forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin (see Exodus 34:6-7).
God’s blessings to you! Please be sure to explore the WEALTH of wisdom on Ken Sande’s new ministry website: RelationalWisdom360!
In Christ our Hope,
Tara B.
[A re-post from 2007 with Ken Sande’s new ministry links added]