Sermon Text: Acts 2:1-22
Sermon Excerpt
Wherever the Life-Giving Wind blows, the church is about unity not uniformity . . . Journey with me into the story. . .
Step back and ask yourself, “If I had all the power in the world and wanted to enable a huge crowd of people from different parts of the world to speak to one another, wouldn’t I just give them a common language?” And, if I foreknew that the occasion was to go down in history as the birth of a religion, wouldn’t I choose a brand new language with a catchy name that would make the jobs of marketing and public relations easier?
While such an idea makes sense to me pragmatically, it frightens me theologically. A shared language from day one would mean our faith is about uniformity. It would mean we are all to be alike – something like mass produced Christians. This “cookie cutter Christianity” isn’t attractive to me at all; it is a poor substitute for authentic Christianity.
Instead of uniformity, our shared story begins with unity. People came together and their lives changed forever, yet they didn’t lose their language or cultural distinctions. Miraculously each person gained something instead – the ability to hear everyone else speaking in his or her own language.
While unity not uniformity is the story of the Way of Jesus generally, it is especially the story of our denomination. Just think of our name: the UNITED Church of Christ. Just think of our birth story – a story of four rather different traditions merging to form a new denomination. Or, just think of our motto: that they may all be one (John 17:21). And remember that we are committed to being a united and uniting church.
Today, I am encouraged by a trend in the American church toward increased collaboration. The days of doing ministry and partnering for mission based on church “brands” is dying. The Life-Giving Wind is bringing together churches from denominations and traditions that historically wanted nothing to do with one another. Together these groups are . . . (read manuscript or watch video)
So What?
As a post-denominational follower of the Way of Jesus, I am disturbed by the number of people who are more concerned about furthering the cause of denomination than advancing the realm/reign/kindom/empire of God. Such an instituational emphasis is not unique to one group of Christians nor is it the exclusive domain of the Christian Right or Christian Left. We need not agree on every theological matter in order to accept that we are called to be one body.
- Does your local congregation tend to emphasize unity over uniformity or uniformity over unity? How clearly and how frequently is such a preference communicated?
- How has your understanding of the Holy Spirit shaped your Christian experience?
Note: The picture displayed within this post is of the Fort Myers Congregational UCC sign in May 2015. The misspelling of uniformity suggests just how far this community of faith is from being able to embrace such an understanding of Christianity.