How good and pleasant it is
when brothers live together in unity!
It is like precious oil poured on the head,
running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron's beard,
down upon the collar of his robes.
It is as if the dew of Hermon
were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the LORD bestows his blessing,
even life forevermore.
when brothers live together in unity!
It is like precious oil poured on the head,
running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron's beard,
down upon the collar of his robes.
It is as if the dew of Hermon
were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the LORD bestows his blessing,
even life forevermore.
Tell us what you think about this text. Here are some questions to guide your thoughts, but feel free to say whatever you think.
Why is unity a good and pleasant thing?
Do you think our church is united? Why or why not?
[For a little of the background on the oil illustration, see Exodus 30:22-33.]
18 comments:
first not following your order, isn't it sad thay you have to even ask the question about our church? think about it. as christians, shouldn't it be a given that unity exist? the reality is that the vfw probably has more unity that a lot of churches!
as far as our church family i believe we are very unified and probably the most of any congregation i have been a part of. things like the food pantry, back to school night, and wem, shows that.
by definition unity is; one accord, complete harmony of elements, mathmatically; unity is one. so in the church, this is what we are after the greater whole as a sum of the parts!
Good points, and I like the way you made them.
Unity should be a given in churches, but it is not always present. Why?
And why do people sometimes feel more comfortable in a bar than they do at church? What can we do about that?
I think our church is very united, and I think the things you mention are very important. If you read Ephesians 4:11-16, it seems to teach that working is a way to unity. Interesting!
Some of you other observers jump in and tell us what you think.
I think our church is united; as for your question about the bar; I believe it deals with a common thread that holds people together. Such as the example of the VFW; this is a common thread of men experiancing war in another land. This is a terriable thing to experance and this builds a bond among those who come togather that lived through it. I believe that part of why some congergations are not so united is that you have segments that have experienced alot of life traumes and with the help and grace of God have came through them and then you have those that seem to have always been living per say on the mountain top all their lifes. Thus neither side seems to come togather. With our church I feel we have both sides of the coin yet both sides communicate; interact and learn from each other; thus making a total church.
I must say at first I was ready to say that I didn't think our church was very united but as I thought about it a while I realized that while there are many separtate groups of people, all of those groups unite together to form our chruch. So I do feel we are very united in that we are one body yet providing a place for the "foot" to be and a place for the "eye."
I think people need to find a place to fit in. That's why some people feel more comfortable at a bar than at church, they feel like the fit in there. I think our goal is to help people feel comfortable and show them their opportunities for getting involved and finding a place to fit in. the new 20 somthings group at church is a great thing for those 20 somethings that were at one time without a place to fit in... Now that they have a place to fit in I we are going to start to see that age group grow and mature and maybe one day step up into leadership roles within the church.
Couple of good posts today! Thanks.
We are intentionally trying to creat "community" in several smaller groups, such as our classes and flocks.
I think the key to "bar fellowship" is the sense that a person will not be judged there. Last night in my class, several pointed out that our church, for the most part, has created an environment of acceptance. I think that is true.
What can we do to create a great sense of community among all members and attenders? How can we create and then maintain greater unity?
What is your definition of unity?
What percentagae of the church take part in WEM, classes, Back To School Night, etc.
Is it the "many" of the "few".
What do you think? [Others feel free to jump in here.]
Is unity simply a lack of division? If that is the definition, then we are in pretty good shape.
How is unity more than a lack of division? And do the things mentioned--Wed. p.m. meals, classes, Back to school nights, etc.--become indicators of unity. How? Why?
I wonder if we're really unified, or if things are peaceful because nothing controversial has come up lately. I think that would be the real test.
D.Thomas
I think that if we were NOT unified that more "drama" would be happening in the church. Two major building additions and the church is still going strong. Alot, of times when you start budgeting for such things people get angry or don't agree upon details and it ends up hurting the church rather than helping the church. I have seen this happen many of times even in the small town on Mitchell. Therefore, I think there has been controversial issues that were handled in the right manner. Also, I think there are controversial issues that are currently going on in our church or have in the past and I think we accept these people as Jesus would and that takes something more than just unification! What saddens me is we have our own happy church but as a whole community of Christians/churches we are NOT unified! J. Mathews
PS MIke says that the reason people feel comfortable in a bar is because of BEER!
In reference to the definition of Unity
Unity implies that the church is "One"
"One" in Spirit (belief)
"One" in Mind (agreement)
"One" in Body (action)
Does a lack of participation indicate a lack of unity, old fashion apathy, or?
Great discussions.
By the way I was the first anonymous but forgot to add my name.
Some really good points.
I think the unity is there in our congregation and it also has brought about a sense of comfort. However, we probably need to be careful that this level of comfort does not become a problem and we become complacent (sp?)
I don't know who made the comment about several divisions together but that is a good point. It actually shows unity at a small level and on a larger scale as well. By that I mean that the body as a whole is acceptable with the smaller parts and do not seem them as a threat. For example the group of guys that we get together for Saturday breakfast ( plug there we need to start again) and do other things has a lot of unity. We can really be honest with each other and are not judgemental etc. At the same time you have a group such as the elders that really would not "fit" so much with us nor probably understand or agree with all we do or say, however, from a unity standpoint, they are not threatened by our existance nor judgemental or dogmatic toward us. To me that says a lot about unity, because when it all comes together we are one for the common cause.
I think Donna is the one who said something about no major issues and that is why we are have unity. Let's ask that another way. Is the reason we have not had any issues is because we have unity?
Good discussions all.
Ryan
Wow! I appreciate all all have said. Don't stop! I am learning some things that are helpful, and hopefully everyone is.
Thanks!
I didn't say we the unity was because we have no major issues, but that it's difficult to tell if we're unified because we haven't had a lot of controversial issues going on. I think "unity" is a group of people actively working toward a common goal, putting personal differences aside. I actually started thinking about this more after my first post, and I wonder if unity is really everybody being of one mind, or is it more about how a group treats their dissenters? Do minority voices get a respectful hearing? Maybe too much is made of everyone thinking the same way, and the emphasis should be on the commonality of a goal.
Donna
How does 1 Corinthians (especially chapters 1 and 12) fit in this conversation?
Here is a note I received from Marian Stephens (I miss her so much!):
Unity is a good thing, unity brings peace and harmony.
Harmony brings accomplishing goals to spread the Gospel. Our church is very united: consider the great things we did with Back to School night and what we do with the BOL food pantry look at what our youth group does. Mitchell Church of Christ is a beacon in tbe Lighthouse.
Love and prayers......................Marian
One more question before the discussion of unity is over.
Who is responsible for achieving unity.
Is it the individual who feels like an "ousider" or the members of the church who should seek out their brothers and sisters and make them feel like "insiders"?
I believe unity is the work of the Spirit. See Ephesians 4:1-6. Certainly we must cooperate and follow his lead, but ultimately it is a "God thing." See I Corinthians 12 -- God arranges the parts of the body.
I think both the outsider and the insider have a part to play, but probably the greater responsibility is with the insiders. We should always be aware of what is going on around us. Who visits our assemblies? What can each of us do to make people feel welcome? What do we do after people have visited a few times? Then what? Anthony's ministry group is doing a good job of intentionally seeking to improve this process, but we all have a part to play in it. The goal is to move a visitor to an attender to active member of the community.
The above is the opinion of a preacher who is tired this evening. (We had a great day with Lester in Indy. North Central Church of Christ is a great church.)
What do others think about the unity thing? Who is responsible?
All, some great comments here. Interesting that the question came up about who is responsible for unity. Last night I was thinking about Anthony's analogy of the bricks in a pile and then being in a wall unified and the more strength. The thing that jumped out at me in that analogy though was that it wasn't just the bricks being in the wall or in an organized fashion that gave them strength. It was the bond that gave them strength. The material we call mortar that was different than the bricks that held them together and gave the strength. Look at it this way. If you took the bricks from the pile an neatly placed them in a wall with no mortor it would have more strenght than the pile. However, it would just be bricks stacked, each just like the other. Add the mortor,( the different item) and the stacked bricks become a strong wall. Isn't this true in our church family. If everyone is vanilla and just a like we appear strong and have strength, yet we could be easily tumbled. With the mortor or the "different" holding us all together we are strong.
On the topic of the visitor or oursider, it has to be a two way street. Those that are part of the "outside" group have to want to become part of the unified body and those within have to want to include those outside as well.
Ryan
I think the people of God should always be gracious and hospitable. But, I also think our primary task is to bring people the gospel, bring them into fellowship with Christ. If they choose to remain with us or worship with a different congregation is irrelevant. Our goal isn't (and shouldn't be, and I don't think ever has been) primarily numerical growth. I think Allen's right when he talks about a big part of the work belonging to the Holy Spirit. Someone may only attend a few times, yet take away a kernal of truth that yields fruit somewhere else down the road.
Donna
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