One of the biggest hurdles in the 20th century mindset of churches and those who attend church is the idea of unity.
What is unity? Does it mean that everyone is the same?
I think many times we confuse unity with uniformity. We sometimes think that unless everyone does exactly like we do and believes exactly like we believe we aren’t unified. I was challenged by Bobby Gruenwald the Innovations Leader at LifeChurch.tv this weekend to think about the difference between uniformity and unity. About the pros and cons of allowing unity in the church to not mean uniformity.
I’d like to create some conversation about this topic. So fell free to comment and leave your thoughts.
Should we be unified or uniform in the Church? What are the pros and cons of both? Is true unity also unification?
2 Responses to “Unity vs. Uniformity: Does everyone have to be the same?”
JohnnyRoberts.tv
What a great question and challenging thought. Often times I feel like I have to be uniformed rather than unified in the church. You know that whole feeling of wearing the right clothes and having the correct hair cut so that I fit in with everyone else. I often feel this the most from the church leaders themselves. I think that is where it starts. It has to come from the top down. If you are apart of a church that says we are going to be unified, not by the way we look or our class, but because we are unified by the grace of the Jesus, that is why we are going to be unified. You can spot which church you are apart of pretty quickly. A church unified by race and belief or a church unified by the grace of the cross.