Unity News

August, 2004

DRIFTING AWAY

By Marcus Norris

NOTICE

“Special business meeting next week for the purpose of destroying long time friendships, splitting our church in anger, and disillusioning our youth. Please prepare for this meeting by spending each day this week presuming the worst about people seated across from you, gossiping about the staff, and recommitting to your personal agenda for our church while criticizing others’ ideas. At the meeting, feel free to say what you really think and in harsh words, to really make your point clear. Anonymous phone calls to the newspaper should assure community- wide attention for this event”.

I’ll bet that you have never seen a Notice like that in any church newsletter! Even the most strife-filled congregation does not consciously choose a date for self-destruction by intentionally practicing the behavior described in that Notice. Yet, every conflicted congregation shares at least some of the pathological traits in that Notice. If self-destruction is not intentional or planned, then how does any church ever come to such a moment? And if we figure that out, doesn’t it happen too quickly for anyone to stop it? I would suggest that the answer to both of those questions is stated in Hebrews 2:1 (NIV):

                “We must pay more careful attention, therefore,

               to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.”

There it is. No congregation self-destructs at once; it is a gradual process….just drifting away from God’s Word. Satan knows better than to launch a frontal attack on a church by penning a Notice like the one above. Instead, he is content to wait for Believers to do it to themselves by drifting away from (or even ignoring) Biblical teaching about how we ought to relate to one another. When we stop feasting on God’s Word and allowing it to control us then, in the words of one author, we become “anorexic believers”.  That is, churches eventually self-destruct when individual members spiritually starve themselves by drifting from the Word.

If a church is to avoid drifting away and becoming a self-destructing anorexic, then it must have a regular and systematic approach for studying the Scriptures, especially the teachings about how we relate to one another in a spirit of Unity. There are three reasons why a church must make a deliberate effort in this area.

First, new believers must be taught. It is likely that new believers have never heard nor been taught the Biblical doctrine of Unity, so they don’t know how to think and act toward other Believers, especially when an issue arises. They must be taught how to trust and implement Biblical models for conflict resolution, rather than the pop psychology of the world with which they initially enter the Body. They must be led to understand that God’s Word has the answer to every question dealing with how we relate to one another in the Body of Christ.   They must be helped to appreciate the amazing wisdom of the Bible as it relates to the relationships in our lives.   Drift away? These church members may have never been anchored in the first place.

Second, long term believers must be reminded. Look carefully at Hebs. 2:1 again. It presumes the reader has already “heard” (learned) Scriptural teaching, yet by neglect drifts away. It may be that, though he/she has read God’s Word on the subject of relationships, he’/she has not yet figured out how to apply it.   Sometimes, the application is the most difficult part.   Moreover, those who have already been exposed to the Biblical principles of Unity will drift away when they become complacent, forgetful, or even proud about their knowledge of relationships. These members must be re-anchored!

Third, it is mandated. Note the emphatic command ( must pay ), and the comparative adjective ( closer ), and the action verb ( attention ). This verse does not merely suggest that we might take a casual glance back at God’s Word, if we have time . It is demanded that as bona fide disciples we must carefully consider what we have learned so that we avoid a dire fate: drifting away .

So where would I start if I wanted to introduce a new believer to, or review with a long term believer, the Biblical teachings about Unity? Christian Unity Ministires has identified from the Scriptures five principles of Unity, which offer an excellent foundation in this doctrine:

Due to space, I have not listed associated Scripture references on which each principle is based, but this study draws on teachings and examples from both the Old and New Testament, demonstrating that Unity is part of the eternal Truth and Purpose of God for His children.

We would be stronger Believers and would have more peaceful congregations if we would accept the warning in Hebrews 2:1, by paying closer attention to these things we have heard from God’s Word about Unity, lest we drift away from Christ’s influence, and into the enemy’s painful influence.   And being stronger believers, steeped in His Word and applying it to every relationship in our life, maybe “Biblical unity” would become more than just an ideal—maybe it would become reality in our church!

(Marcus Norris is the City Attorney for Amarillo, Texas and serves on the Board of Directors for Christian Unity Ministries.  He has facilitated a number of small groups on "Five Principles of Unity" and serves as a Deacon and Bible teacher at First Baptist CHurch, Amarillo.)

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