When Unity and Conviction Conflict

A a Christian, one of the most hardest things to swallow is the proliferation of deonominations as a result of theological schisms within the Church. In the light of Jesus' prayer in John 17:23 that all believers would be "brought into complete unity to let the world know that [the Father] had sent [him]," why do we see so much activity contrary to this plea?

I thought of this as I read about the decision of a number of conservative evangelical Anglicans to create a new Anglican Church of North America. The decision to split I'm sure was one that was not taken lightly, and conservative evangelical Anglicans have battled with the denomination around a number of controversies, including the consecration of an openly homosexual bishop. The new church affirmed the Jerusalem Declaration, which condemns "overt heterodoxy" as well as the lack of discipline against anyone teaching a "false gospel."

I remember having a conversation with a brother a few years ago about authority of the church, and he chafed at what he saw as the lack of respect towards church authority and discipline. The proliferation of churches, he observed, meant that if people didn't happen to agree with the teaching of a church or if they didn't like the accountability or discipline that came with being part of that community, they would simply leave that church and find or create a church which fit their needs or personal value system.

My smart-aleck remark was: "You mean like what Martin Luther did in 1517?"

Naturally, he proceeded to clarify that his point was that to defy the discipline of the church needs to be done with the utmost humility, gravity, and prayer. Of course I agree with that. To leave a denomination, and certainly to create a new one, requires deep soul searching, discernment, and submission to prayer and the Scriptures. It's clear that such an act cannot be done flippantly and should absolutely be done as a last resort should there be a clear conviction that to maintain the status quo would be to participate in a community which worshipped outside of the bounds of the universal Church, and would thus somehow pervert or foil the gospel and the redemptive work of the Church. Clearly Luther felt this way about the church in Rome and it seems that this is the case with the Anglican reformers.

But the preferred course of action would be to speak truth in love and attempt to engender change from within. Again, this was the case for Luther, and I believe this was the case with this group of Anglican reformers.

"In Essentials, Unity; In Non-Essentials, Liberty; In All Things, Charity." This is a quote which is often attributed to Augustine, but speaks to the heart of the issue of when Jesus' clear mandate for unity and the sanctity of the gospel conflict. What are the essentials of our theological understanding which, when violated, are legitimate grounds to pursue reformation and, if necessary, a schism? The simple answer is to make Scripture the only authority, and to bind no conscience beyond those words. The more complex reality is that there are a large number of denominations that are built upon a foundation of sola scriptura which can trace their origins to a split from another sola scriptura denomination. What is "essential" is often very much in the eye of the beholders, or at least those who are looking to leave.

When I was at InterVarsity, we used to since this praise song called "One Voice" ("Father we ask of You this day...") which appealed to God to unite us as, well, one voice. Two observations:

1) I've sung this song much more often in interdenominational fellowships and conferences than at any church I've been part of
2) In the chorus, there's an odd F# chord that goes with the lyrics "...in love and harmony" which is almost never sung in harmony

Pray for purity and unity. Pray for unity and purity.