More Diverse II

The answer is to raise up more and more leaders, empowering them to shepherd the Church by giving them permission and trusting them to walk in the Spirit and be themselves. We don’t need to spend all our energy on getting people in one place. I heard a pastor once say at a building dedication service, “Isn’t it great to see everybody together under one roof.” I know how that’s good for the you and your church staff, but remind me how it benefits the guy in the chair? Unity in the Church of the Future is not likely going to exist if we continue with methods that call for sameness. Meeting at the SAME time, in the SAME place, listening to the SAME preaching, trying to get everyone to believe the SAME thing by signing the SAME document. At what point does this implode? This attempt for so-called unity is too small. Unity requires a bigger vision. The call for gathered unity is often justified by the use of the passage in Revelation 7. It is the picture of every tribe, nation and tongue surround the throne of God. Too many leaders try and reproduce this on earth by organizing it around singing the same songs and listening to the same talks. The reason it works in the text is because we will all be gathered around the one SAME thing that holds power over all of us, the transcendent God in all His glory, not a pulpit, speaker and worship band. I don’t know anymore how important getting everyone together for a night of worship in the name of unity. Maybe instead of getting people on the same page of the song, we get them on the same page regarding faith, hope and love.