I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. | Ephesians 4:1–3
This Sunday, I had the privilege of preaching at Journey Church in Everett; the text that I used was Ephesians 4:1-16. This section of Scripture is about the church and how it functions, but it is especially focused on the idea of unity. I have preached from this text before, but it was refreshing to return to it after the last few years where the church, at-large, has not seemed to be: eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
As I was preparing for the sermon, I made a list of some of the ways that we, as the church, can be investing in unity. While the unity that we have has been given to us – we have the Spirit in us making us one – it takes some effort for this unity to work itself out in the life of the church. Here are 10 things that every person in the church can do to promote unity in the body:
1. Gather together
When we dehumanize people it allows us to justify all sorts of negativity toward them. One of the best tools for humanization is physical presence. It is no coincidence that over the last few years, as gathering has been a challenge, we have seen more and more polarization in our culture (and the church). When we are apart, we can treat others as an ideology rather than an image-bearer. Being together, especially worshiping God together, helps form us for unity (and protects us from dehumanization).
2. Pray for others
Billy Graham is famous for saying: you cannot pray for someone and hate them at the same time. When you pray for someone, you are appealing to God on their behalf. As you ask God to bless them, they are united to you as their welfare and your prayers are one.
3. Pray with others
To sit down and pray WITH someone deepens the understanding that you not only share the same God, but rely on the same God for existence. If the same God gives us our daily bread and forgives our trespasses, then we can forgive one another and thank God for His provision together.
4. Read your Bible
The Bible has a way of refocusing our priorities. Every time my anger and frustrations towards others takes over, all I have to do is open the Bible to be reminded of how Jesus has called us to live. It is easy for me to justify being mad at someone, but when I read about Jesus washing the feet of the one who He knew would betray Him, it puts things into perspective.
5. Invite others in
In the same way that gathering unifies us, going a step beyond and initiating deeper relationship grows the connection. Even the people you struggle the most to get along with have gifts to be acknowledged. The more you can get to know someone, the more they go from a hypothetical part of the body to a functioning, beneficial part of God’s community.
6. Talk about the Grace of God
One of the ways to identify the overlap and connect yourself to another is to share what God is doing in your life. While our personalities may differ and our likes/dislikes diverge, we can draw ourselves back together through our connection to the giver of all good gifts.
7. Talk about weaknesses
As we talk about the blessings, it is also unifying to talk about weaknesses. This reminds us that we are mortal and limited. It is also builds compassion. When we see the weaknesses of other people, we are able to understand their challenges and pain. There is unity in recognizing that others are struggling against the affects of sin, just like I am.
8. Stop watching the news
I am not really encouraging you to shut out the world, but we too often allow the media to dictate our priorities. The differences in politics, cultural issues, and even entertainment seem more important than they are. Our conversations become a litany of the world’s concerns, in this, God gets squeezed out. We don’t need to avoid the news, but we need to do a better job filtering it through a Biblical lens…together.
9. Serve one another
1 Peter 4:10 says:
As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace. Not only is serving one another a command given over 50 times in the New Testament (it is something we should DO), but it is also the path to unity. The more we serve others, the more we appreciate how we are being served, both by God and others.
10. Serve with others
There is a reason that people who have been in war together are bonded for life. It is not only because they faced death together, but also because they took on a task in which they had to rely on one another. When we decide to step out of our comfort zone and sacrifice for other people, we bond with those who join us in it. Some of the deepest relationships that I have are those whom I have done ministry with.
There are many other aspects to building unity, but if you practice these ten, you will find yourself more deeply connected to those whom God has placed in your church family. It is important to build up the strength of this bond because there are always things, inside of the church and outside, that are fighting against the unity that we have been given. Don’t wait for the challenge to come, start working on unity now.