is UNITY not Uniformity!
It saddens me to watch how churches are cloning themselves or worse, how some churches want to "copy" another one because of that church's success in a particular area. To be clear, there is nothing wrong with wanting to learn from another church - absolutely nothing. However, everything (nothing excluded) is wrong with wanting to be a carbon copy of a church when yours has it's own distinct mandate. No one will be rewarded for fulfilling another's mandate.
Unity, not Uniformity, is where God sends his blessings:
How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!
For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.*
Rom 12:4 - 8 - [For just as]Each one of us has a [one] body with many parts, and these parts all have different uses [functions]. In the same way, we are many, but in Christ we are all one body, and each part belongs to all the other parts [members]. We all have different gifts, each of which came because of the grace God gave us. The person who has the gift of prophecy should use that gift in agreement with the faith [or in proportion to their faith]. Anyone who has the gift of serving should serve. Anyone who has the gift of teaching should teach. Whoever has the gift of encouraging [exhorting]others should encourage [exhort]. Whoever has the gift of giving to others should give freely [generously]. Anyone who has the gift of being a leader should try hard when he leads [lead diligently/enthusiastically]. Whoever has the gift of showing mercy to others should do so with joy [cheerfulness].**
1 Cor 12: 4 - 6 - There are different kinds of gifts, but they are all from the same Spirit. There are different ways to serve [ministries] but the same Lord to serve. And there are different ways that God works through people [kinds of action; activities] but the same God works in all of us in everything we do [all things in all people].**
Eph 4: 11 - 12 - And Christ gave gifts to people—he made some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to go and tell the Good News, and some to have the work of caring for and teaching God’s people [he himself gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors /shepherds, and teachers]. Christ gave those gifts to prepare […to equip] God’s holy people for the work of serving, to make the body of Christ stronger.**
If God wanted uniformity, He would have made us all the same - same gender, age, nationality etc. Rather, He chose to mix things up... I believe that God blessed us (the world) with identical twins, triplets etc. so we know that despite the fact that people look (almost) exactly the same, they are not exactly the same. Ask those who have twins, even identical twins are (best) not treated in the same way because they have distinct identities.
When we walk and work in unity - we build a strong Community. The best orchestras are those with more instruments and every musician playing their part in unity just like Eph 4:16 tells us:
The whole body depends on Christ, and […through/by whom] all the parts of the body are joined and held together. Each part [supporting joint/ligament]does its own work [performs its function]to make the whole body grow and be strong with [to build itself up in] love.**
Success in Ministry comes when we complement each other, not when we compete, or worse yet contend, with each other. Effective Ministry is based by UNITY in Christ - not uniformity...
As we wrap up the 1st ½ of this year, I encourage you to identify and celebrate your uniqueness and go forth to show the good (& great) works God has prepared your church for. God bless.
References:
* Psalm 133: 1 & 3b -NIV
** Expanded Bible
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