Comedian Emo Philips explains how easy it is to divide God’s people:

In conversation with a person I had recently met, I asked, “Are you a Protestant or Catholic?” My new acquaintance replied, “Protestant.”

I said, “Me, too! What franchise?” He answered, “Baptist.”

“Me, too!” I said. “Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?”

“Northern Baptist,” replied. “Me Too! I shouted.”

We continued back and forth. Finally I asked, “Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist, Great Lakes Region Council of 1879, or Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist, Great Lakes Region Council of 1912?”

He replied, “Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist, Great Lakes Region Council of 1912.”

I said, “Die, heretic!”

Lutheran reformer Philip Melancthon proclaimed, “In the essentials, unity; in the non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity [love].”

It seems that some believers keep picking until we find something to disagree on. Perhaps it would be more godly to look for things we agree on rather than hunt until we find what we disagree on. Be a bridge builder this weekend.

Tags: denomination, division, unity

In his book The Pursuit of God, A. W. Tozer wrote, “Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are aut0matically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned not to each other but to another standard to which each one must individually bow.

So, one hundred worshipers [meeting] together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be were they to become unity-conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship.”

If all Christians of every denomination were focused upon being like Jesus, I think we would soon lose the denominational differences. Let’s use Jesus as our standard and our petty differences will seem like nothing.

Tags: music, unity

A man called his neighbor to help him move a couch that had become stuck in the doorway. They pushed and pulled until they were exhausted, but the couch wouldn’t budge. “Forget it,” the man finally said. “We’ll never get this in.”

The neighbor looked at him quizzically and said, “In?”

Could it be that we can’t work with someone because they don’t know what we’re thinking? My wife and I have this problem often. I’m talking about one thing and she’s talking about another. We finally come to the place where it dawns on one of us that we’re misunderstanding something. I’m pushing one way and she’s pulling another.

That problem that you have with the other person just might be a miscommunication on your part. Sometimes we just need to start over and spell out our vision. Which way are we trying to go, anyway?

Tags: division, humor, unity, vision

Mike Barker told of the obstacle course in Air Force basic training that changed his life. On his first attempt he completed the course far ahead of everyone else, but he was immediately confronted by his drill sergeant, who demanded, “Where are all your buddies?” “Back there, Sir,” Mike replied. “I won!”

The seargeant barked, “The obstacle course isn’t about coming in first! It’s about finishing! Everybody finishes or nobody wins. Go back and run it again, and this time help the guys who are struggling along the way!”

That began Mike’s transformation from a lone competitor obsessed with winning into an encourager whose goal was to build teamwork.

Let’s go back and help our buddies finish.

Tags: encouragement, teamwork, unity

Five days before Christmas, the newspaper headline proclaimed: GOOD WILL? PEACE? NOT IN THIS CHURCH.

A 133-year old congregation was being torn apart. The pastor was being heckled during his sermons. Competing factions were passing around their own collection plates. The police even had to be called in when the arguing got out of hand during a service.

I remember speaking at a Michigan church as a guest of the pastor. When we arived, an older gentleman was passing out papers to people arriving at the front door. When I sat down and read the paper, it was 15 reasons why we need to get rid of the pastor. Why do Christians not see the damage they are doing to the Lord’s church with such actions? Who is interested in the god of a church like that?

In Jesus’ longest recorded prayer, He prayed: “I pray that they all may be one…that the world may believe that You sent Me” (John 17:21). Let’s join Jesus in this prayer of unity.

Tags: church, spiritual warfare, unity

In a horse-pulling contest at a county fair the first-place horse moved a sled weighing 4,500 pounds. The runner up pulled 4,000 pounds. The owners of the two horses wondered how much the animals could pull if they worked together. So they hitched them up and loaded the sled. To everyone’s surprise, the horses were able to pull 12,000 pounds.

Now that’s the power of synergy. Power wasn’t added, it was multiplied. I believe the same principle works when God’s people decide to get on the same page and work together toward a goal. There are no limits on teamwork and unity.

That’s what happened with Moses when the Israelites came to him to settle their disputes. At first he worked alone. His judgments were effective, but his method was inefficient. His father-in-law, who saw that he would soon wear down, advised him to handle only the difficult cases and let other wise leaders take the easier ones (Exodus 18:18). Moses heeded his advice and increased his efficiency. Much more was accomplished and he helped others leaders grow in the process.

Tags: synergy, teamwork, unity