Opinion Column

A plea for unity in God’s church

Andy Bryant argues that Christians should be working together to spread the good news of Christ, rather than publicly arguing over our theological differences.

Writing about the early Church, Tertullian noted that even those who persecuted the Church could not help but be impressed by the way Christians loved one another.  Today, however, take just a few moments on social media and you will soon wonder whether the opposite is true.  What comes across is how good Christians are at hating one another.  And this is before we see how these disagreements hit local and national mainstream media and those seeding longer term division in the Church.
 
This is profoundly damaging to the Christian mission in the world.  How is it that followers of the God who, out of love for the world, gave his own son to die on the cross, show so little love for each other?  How is it that when we are aware of our own sin and our own profound and deep need for forgiveness, we are so quick to judge and condemn others?  In Christ we are brothers and sisters, members of one family under heaven, so when did it become acceptable or appropriate to publicly vilify one another?
 
How have we got any good news to share with the world when all we do is reflect the divisions and bitterness of the world and show no better ability to handle our differences than any other group of people?  Does being a Christian make any difference towards those with whom we disagree?  Surely it is exactly at those moments, when all is not going well within the Church family, that our faith should make the greatest difference.
 
None of this is to say that within our churches there are not significant and important theological differences.  Nor is it to say that the Church has not let people down badly and that there have been terrible failings of the most vulnerable.  There is so much we have got wrong.
 
We have also proved poor at genuinely listening to one another and making it safe for people to say difficult and challenging things to each other.  The governance of the Church needs to less ape the worst tendencies of an adversarial parliament, and its associated lobbying, and more a true synod offering a place of listening, learning, reflection and discernment, where an openness to the guiding of the spirit is valued over clever oratory, and where there is a recognition that may be the lone voice offers what we need to hear, rather than the false assumption that the majority opinion equals God’s will. 
 
As long as we are spending time handling poor PR, reacting to unpleasant (and often worse) social media posts, and ganging up on those with whom we disagree, all we foster is a spirit of fear within and show to those without that we are bankrupt of hope. We need the courage to sit with the differences, the uncomfortable challenges and the voices of the hurting, giving ourselves time to pause, reflect and discern, rather than keeping to an artificial timetable.
 
If we can open ourselves to deeper, quieter ways of listening, if we can learn anew that God alone is the holder of the Truth for which we search, and have the humility to own that we are sinners who have fallen far short of all that God requires of us, and that we are saved by grace alone, then maybe, just maybe we can show the world a different way to handle difference and disagreement, and maybe, just maybe we can at last create a Church where all is safe and power is not abused.
 
The Church is my family, and families fall out but, in the end, we are sisters and brothers together, members of the Body of Christ.  We were made for each other, and we need each other, and the life blood that sustains us is love, not hate.  Our division and bitterness will draw no one to the Kingdom.  The world amidst all its struggles and divisions needs us to show that there is another way.
 
And I know that all this has to begin with me.  I have to be less prone to react, slower to judge and more open to learning from those who see it differently.  I have to have the humility to listen, wait, learn and be open to being changed.  I have to have the humility to own my own sin, failings and short comings, and accept that sometimes the Kingdom of God can only advance if I get out of the way.
 
Image by Rayna Bauman from Pixabay.

Revd Andrew Bryant is the Canon for Mission and Pastoral Care at Norwich Cathedral. He was previously Team Rector of Portishead, Bristol, in the Diocese of Bath and Wells, and has served in parishes in the Guildford and Lichfield Dioceses, as well as working for twelve years with Kaleidoscope Theatre, a charity promoting integration through theatre for young adults with Down’s Syndrome.
 
You can read Andrew's latest blog entry here and can follow him via his Twitter account @AndyBry3.

The views carried here are those of the author, not of Network Norwich and Norfolk, and are intended to stimulate good-natured and constructive debate between website users. 

We welcome your thoughts and comments, posted below, upon the ideas expressed here. 

Click here to read our forum and comment posting guidelines