Imitators of God's Other Churches

And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God which you heard from others, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe. For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of God’s other churches around you ...

Source: 1 Thess 2:13-14

Europe's House Divided

As a result, “The division signalled so long ago at Marburg . . . hardened,” with sometimes dire practical consequences: “German and Scandinavian Lutherans behaved inhospitably in the 1550s to Protestant refugees from Roman Catholic persecution (for instance, people fleeing from Mary Tudor’s England to Lutheran Denmark) whom they regarded as belonging to the party of the Consensus.” By the mid-1550s, “the hopes of the early 1540s for a real reunion were dashed. It was not merely that Catholics and Protestants now turned from bringing together the house divided: Protestants too were increasingly accepting that their divisions were not going to be healed.”

Source: Diarmaid MacCulloch - "Europe's House Divided", as quoted by Peter Leithart, "Ecumenism in the Sixteenth Century", First Things, 6 Feb 2017, https://www.firstthings.com/blogs/leithart/2017/02/ecumenism-in-the-sixteenth-century

Paul in Corinth

Saint Paul did not always have an easy relationship with the community at Corinth, as his letters show. There was also a painful visit to this community, with heated words exchanged in writing. But this passage shows Paul overcoming past differences. By living his ministry in the light of mercy received, he does not give up in the face of divisions, but devotes himself to reconciliation. When we, the community of baptized Christians, find ourselves confronted with disagreements and turn towards the merciful face of Christ to overcome it, it is reassuring to know that we are doing as Saint Paul did in one of the very first Christian communities.

Source: Pope Francis - Address to the Anglican Parish of All Saints in Rome, as reported by Vatican Radio, 26 Feb 2017, http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/02/26/pope_catholics_and_anglicans,_brothers_and_sisters_in_chris/1295193

"Their hostility had to be bridged."

I had all the sympathy one could hope for from that collection of Pentecostals, but they had very little sympathy for one another. The clash occurred at the outset, the organizers against the non-organizers, the Americans against the Swedes, and so on.

As for me, I was mellowed, a new man, so full of love from my new-found experience with forgiveness that I refused to be drawn into a quarrel. Things were so tense and so filled with fears of loss of individuality, of conformity to man rather than conformity to the Lord, that some factions couldn't even eat together. Their hostility had to be bridged.

I met privately with several of the brothers who trusted one another and still had some trust in me, posing a step towards reconciliation. "Could some of you who are respected and influential suggest that the arguments stop, even for just a few hours, and that a committee be appointed for just one evening to seek solutions for these problems and bring forth a report?"

In desperation, these leaders agreed and the idea was posed to all factions. ... Finally it was agreed ... We secluded ourselves in one of the smaller meeting rooms of the conference center, slightly uneasy about our purpose as well as about one another ... I jumped right into the heart of the matter, turning first to the one who had been described as the Swedish champion fighter, Joseph Mattson-Boze. "How far, Joe, would you go at working out a plan for us to meet in fellowship and to discuss our common problems, to try to help one another, without calling it an organization? How much could you do without violating your conscience?"

There was a long silence. Then he began, slowly at first, but warming to his vision for mutual assistance and fellowship without sacrificing autonomy.

When he finished, I turned to the Englishman, Fred Squire, who was the leading champion for organization. He said quite simply and openly, "If that's what Joe feels will satisfy the Scandinavians - and I think he's made a fine proposal - then I'm sure that will satisfy me, and I'm confident it will satisfy the British and Americans."

And just that quickly, it was settled. The two champion fighters were reconciled, finding that they were not nearly as far apart as their loud public words had made them seem.

Source: David du Plessis - From "A Man Called Mr. Pentecost", as told to Bob Slosser, Ch. 18, pp. 168-170

2017's Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

When the German national planning committee met in the autumn of 2014, it quickly became clear that the materials for this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity would need to have two accents: on the one hand, there should be a celebration of God’s love and grace, the “justification of humanity through grace alone”, reflecting the main concern of the churches marked by Martin Luther’s Reformation. On the other hand, the materials should also recognize the pain of the subsequent deep divisions which afflicted the Church, openly name the guilt, and offer an opportunity to take steps toward reconciliation.

Ultimately it was Pope Francis’ 2013 Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (“The Joy of the Gospel”) which provided the theme for this year, when it used the quote: “The Love of Christ Compels Us” (Paragraph 9). With this scripture verse (2 Cor 5:14), taken in the context of the entire fifth chapter of the second letter to the Corinthians, the German committee formulated the theme for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2017.

Source: Vatican - "Resources for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2017", Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/weeks-prayer-doc/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_20160531_week-prayer-2017_en.html

Richard Foster's Vision of the Large Multitude

I see it happening, this great new gathering of the people of God. I see an obedient, disciplined, freely gathered people who know in our day the life and powers of the kingdom of God.

I see a people of cross and crown, of courageous action and sacrificial love.

I see a people who are combining evangelism with social action, the transcendent Lordship of Jesus with the suffering servant Messiah.

I see a people who are buoyed up by the vision of Christ's everlasting rule, not only imminent on the horizon, but already bursting forth in our midst.

I see a people ... I see a people ... even though it feels as if I am peering through a glass darkly.

Source: Richard Foster - Streams of Living Water, p. 274

John's Vision of the Large Multitude

After these things I looked and saw before me a large multitude that no one could count from every nation, tribe, people, and language standing before God’s throne and the Lamb. They wore white robes and held palm branches in their right hands. And they shouted with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb!”

Source: John the Beloved - Revelation 7:9-10 (IEB)

At-one-ment

The name of the new community was inspired by a passage in the Saint Paul's letter to the Romans (Romans 5:11), which, in speaks of the atonement Christians have received through Jesus. Fr. Paul interpreted the word "atonement" in the literal sense of "at-one-ment," out of his vision that his new community should have the aim of leading all Christians to unity (oneness) with one another.

Source: Franciscan Friars of the Atonement - "They Started As Episcopalians in an Abandoned Church, and Ended Up Becoming Catholic Franciscans", https://www.atonementfriars.org/started-as-episcopalians

Peter Kreeft

I remember asking my father, who was a very good man, a wise man, an elder in the church, and sort of theologically self-educated, "Dad, if there's only a quarter of a million of us, and we've got the right theology, and nobody else has, how can God let that happen? I mean, all these other Christians are seeking the truth, and seeking orthodoxy, and they believe they've got it, but they're all wrong, and we're the only ones who are right. There seems to be something wrong with that." And he gave a very logical answer; he says, "Well, you don't find truth by counting noses, and sometimes just because there are more people in one camp doesn't mean they are right." And I said, "Yeah, that's true, but there still feels something wrong with it." It didn't bother me much, but it was a doubt planted in my mind.

Source: Peter Kreeft - Conversion to Catholicism, Catholic Education Resource Center, http://www.catholiceducation.org/en/religion-and-philosophy/apologetics/dr-peter-kreeft-s-conversion-to-catholicism-part-1.html

Lutheran Bishop Bedford-Strohm

At the press conference, Annette Kurschus of the evangelical leadership highlighted the importance of “reconciled diversity” and emphasized that the ecumenical visit to Rome—“the global city of Catholicism”—on the 500th anniversary of the Reformation also has “significance” for the Protestant world on the journey to unity.

The Evangelical Church in Germany is a federation of Lutheran, Reformed (Calvinist) and United Protestant regional churches and denominations in Germany, with some 24 million members. The federation’s Bishop Bedford-Strohm, in greeting Pope Francis said, “Our churches feel a special responsibility to develop ecumenism further, since the divisions started with us in Germany.”

Source: Gerard O'Connell - "German Evangelical Church issues historic invite to Pope Francis", America : The Jesuit Review, 6 Feb 2017, http://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2017/02/06/german-evangelical-church-issues-historic-invite-pope-francis

Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury

The archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, is expected to issue a statement this week apologizing for the violence that followed the Protestant Reformation 500 years ago.

The statement, according to news accounts, will express remorse that the (Protestant) Church of England carried out so many acts of violence - including burning Roman Catholics at the stake.

It will also urge believers to ask for forgiveness for atrocities that happened on both sides during the Reformation and for greater unity between Catholic and Protestant churches today.

Source: Crux - "Archbishop of Canterbury to express remorse over Reformation violence", Crux Religion News Service, 17 January 2017, https://cruxnow.com/rns/2017/01/17/archbishop-canterbury-express-remorse-reformation-violence/

Tom Demaree

But the real battle we're fighting isn't political; it's the spiritual battle of division in the Church, the root-cause of the most visceral polarization our nation has ever experienced.

The simple truth is that our nation is only divided because we, the Church, are divided.

An overflow of brotherly love.

Along with a few stalwart pastor-friends, I'm heading to Philadelphia tomorrow (Monday) to partner with some local/regional pastors as we prayerwalk throughout the city and its environs, believing for a breakthrough according to its holy namesake...that "brotherly love" would overtake this spiritual epicenter, that ripples of revival-unity would flow out from Philadelphia to the ends of the earth, acording to Christ's High Priestly Prayer:

I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be ONE, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be ONE in us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. (John 17:20-21, emphasis added)

No matter who we elect, unless we repent and come together as friends, our nation will never be ultimately healed. Jesus says so: Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. (Matt. 12:25)

Source: Tom Demaree - Pentecost Walk e-Newsletter, 6 Nov 2016, http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?m=1101890603611&ca=06af368b-6e1c-4580-9e3b-690d5b14c240

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Quoting Steven McDonald, a NYPD officer shot by a teenager and paralyzed:

When I was a very young kid, Dr. King came to my town in New York. My mother went to hear him speak, and she was very impressed by what she heard. I hope you can be inspired by his words too. Dr. King said that there's some good in the worst of us, and some evil in the best of us, and that when we learn this, we'll be more loving and forgiving. He also said, "Forgiveness is not an occasional act, it's a permanent attitude." In other words, it is something you have to work for. Just like you have to work to keep your body fit and your mind alert, you've got to work on your heart too. Forgiving is not just a one-time decision. You've got to live forgiveness, every day.

Source: Johann Christoph Arnold - Why Forgive?, pp.181

Why Does The Leader Of YWAM Work For Unity?

My dad’s last admonition to me before he died was to focus on the restored unity of the Church, so in spite of my huge responsibilities in Youth With A Mission, The International Reconciliation Coalition and its repentance prayer initiatives remain a significant priority when expending our limited time and energy.

Source: John Dawson - Personal intercessory email, 13 Dec 2017

Traci Blackmon

Echoing Carter’s concerns was Traci Blackmon, acting executive minister of justice and witness for the United Church of Christ. A well-known speaker on race and religion, Blackmon offered a pastoral presence in Ferguson, Mo., following the fatal police shooting of black teenager Michael Brown in 2014.

“It often seems like justice can take forever. But we cannot give up. We cannot quit,” she said.

Prayer is an essential component in the struggle but is most effective when we “pray with our feet,” Blackmon said, quoting the 19th-century social reformer and abolitionist Frederick Douglass: “I prayed for freedom for 20 years, but received no answer until I prayed with my legs.”

“God so desires our obedience and cooperation that God is unwilling to carry out God’s purposes until men and women have energized and honored their participatory role in their own prayers,” she said.

“I am not suggesting that work and prayer are the same thing. Work is not a substitute for prayer. They are not to be equated but neither are they to be separated. Prayer must include the obedience of one’s conviction and a willingness to seek that which is good and just. Dormant prayer must not be a substitute for action.”

Blackmon said those advocating for racial justice could take hope in a parable found in the Gospel of Luke describing an unjust judge who neither feared God nor respected people, but who nevertheless granted justice to a widow who persisted until she received it. Though the text explicitly says the judge never “changed his heart or mind,” the widow’s dogged persistence effected a change in his behavior.

Source: Traci Blackmon - As quoted by Robert Dilday, "Racial reconciliation tough but essential, say leaders at New Baptist Covenant summit", Baptist News Global, 19 September 2016, https://baptistnews.com/article/racial-reconciliation-tough-but-essential-say-leaders-at-new-baptist-covenant-summit/#.V-VcYZMrI0q

TJCII Europe - Is Your Heart Weeping?

We are almost at the end of octave of The Week of Prayers for Christian Unity🙏🙏🙏 which is dedicated to the meetings and prayers of Christians from different denominations💒⛪️💒 for the unity of those whose Jesus is the Lord.

Prayer for unity is also in the heart of TJCII however we see strongly the key role of Israel🇮🇱 and repentance😥 in the work of healing and reconciliation of the Body of Christ. These are elements which are sometimes overlooked in the ecumenical initiatives.

What we discover in the TJCI journey🛤🛣 is that the beginning of all reconciliation and unity work lies in humility, repentance and deep sorrow over the division💔😥.

❓Ask yourself: Is your heart weeping because the Body of Messiah is broken❓

Source: TJCII Europe - Posted on Facebook, 24 Jan 2020

Joined Together Constantly In Prayer

On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” ... They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

Source: Bible - Acts 1:4, 14

Peter's Justification For Baptizing (gasp!) Gentiles

15) As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on these non-Jews just as he came upon us Jews on the day of Pentecost. (16) Then I remembered what the Lord told us, ‘John baptized in water, but you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit.’ (17) So if God gave non-Jews the same gift of the Holy Spirit that he gave to us Jews who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could resist the ways of God?” (18) When the Jews heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “God has also given repentance to non-Jews that leads to eternal life.”

Source: Peter - As quoted by Luke in Acts 12:15-18 (IEB)

Pope Francis --> Youth @ Riga

The Pope hopes that these days that bring you together in Riga will help you not to be afraid of your limits but to grow in trust in Jesus, the Christ and Lord, who believes and hopes in you. May you, in the simplicity to which Brother Roger bore witness, build bridges of friendship and make visible the love with which God loves us.

From the depths of his heart, the Holy Father gives you his blessing, to you young people participating in this meeting, to the Brothers of Taizé, and to all the people who welcome you in Riga and the surrounding region.

Source: Pope Francis - As quoted in "Pope sends message to Taizé youth gathering" by Vatican Radio, 27 Dec 2016, http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2016/12/27/pope_sends_message_to_taize_youth_gathering/1281913