Unity in the Faith: What Keeps It from Happening?

By Bradford Mark Rosenquist Ph.D.

Churches all over the world work to spread the gospel of Christ, but this work is done in many different ways by many different denominations. Jesus and Paul were quite clear that the church of God was to be in total unityespecially with regard to the teachings of the gospel. So how do we bring the many denominations into a unity that will enhance a genuine team effort to present the true gospel to the world?

In Unity in the Faith, author Bradford Mark Rosenquist shows why church unity across all denominations is an absolutely necessary work that must be accomplished for gospel success. First outlining what church unity is and what has been a historical obstacle to this unity, Rosenquist goes on to show how integral unity is to the gospel message of Christ. In the end, Unity in the Faith provides both an analysis of unity as well as a roadmap that Christians and church leaders can use to promote true unity in their congregations.

It takes a cooperative effort to reach the world with the truth about Jesus and the kingdom of God. The universal body of Christ must therefore overcome the current disunity so that as one we can live up to Christs admonition to go into all the world and preach the gospel.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jul 31, 2018
• ISBN: 9781973634218

Bradford Mark Rosenquist Ph.D.

Bradford Mark Rosenquist, Ph.D., has authored four previous books, including The Ultimate Press Conference. He has recently retired after forty-two years in public education, and he currently serves as a church Sunday school teacher. He currently lives in Gallatin, Tennessee.

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Unity in the Faith

What Keeps It from Happening?

Bradford Mark Rosenquist, Ph.D.

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Copyright © 2018 Bradford Mark Rosenquist, Ph.D.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Scripture quotations marked RSV are taken from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, 1971 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission.

ISBN: 978-1-9736-3420-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-3419-5 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-3421-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018908244

WestBow Press rev. date: 7/27/2018

CONTENTS

Preface

Introduction

Chapter One

Unity Defined within Christianity

Taking a Closer Look at the Individual in the Discussion of Unity

Definitions of Unity within the Christian Faith

Chapter Two

The Historical and Immediate Obstacles to Unity

Chapter Three

A Review of Christian Literature as to Issues of Unity in Recent Times

Typical Problems in the Church Universal

Not so Typical Problems and Impact on the Church Universal

Attempts to Rectify those Problems that Undermine Unity

Chapter Four

Issues of Disunity within Humanity in General

Cultural Issues

Racial Issues

Governmental Issues

Financial Issues

Generic Issues that May Not be Obvious

Chapter Five

The Example of Christ in the New Testament

The Teachings of the Disciples (Apostles)

The Teachings to the General Disciple Crowd

The Teachings to the Jewish Leadership

Chapter Six

Paul the Apostle and Other Writers’ Teaching

Paul the Apostle’s Teaching

Teachings from Other New Testament Writers of Books and Letters

Chapter Seven

Gleaning the Deficits that Undermine Unity

Denominational Rise: Main Reasons for Separation

Conflict with the Bible by Today’s Christianity

Conclusion

The Strategies and Means to Church Unity

Bibliography

References and Cited Notations

Appendix A

Statements from Local Pastors in the Nashville, Tennessee Area

Appendix B

Keys to Unity on a Personal Level

ABSTRACT

Unity in the Faith: What Keeps It from Happening?

The whole idea of there being one church … one Body of Christ is undeniable when one reads the words of Jesus, and the letters of Paul the Apostle. Yet today we see a Church Universal scattered across the globe with an incredible variety of names for their group of believers, often intentionally separating them from other groups of Christian believers. There are efforts across the nations to bring the churches today together with conferences, seminaries and conventions, if not, intentionally separating to establish non-denominational groups with the apparent intent to get away from the implications of the denominational environment of being cloistered into a group with a special set of additional traditions and secondary beliefs and protocols that make them feel that they are on target with the Bible and Jesus.

We have at least 1600 incorporated groups (denominations, associations and other organizations) across the United States alone, much more when all nations are included. Each of these groups has a history. Each of these groups has developed over time, often based on the work of a single individual, such as the first pope (Roman Catholic), Martin Luther (the current groups with the title Lutheran in the church name), and Billy Graham (the Billy Graham Association), and other evangelical groups and pentecostal groups. Certainly the groups of Christian believers are affected by geographical locations, such as the Anglican church (Great Britain, England), and large associations (such as the National Association of Evangelicals in the United States for the most part). Each group continues practices that establish the continuance of their group … traditions, understandings of biblical beliefs, and protocols that have historically proven to be a means of retaining and keeping the congregation together. In western nations, like the USA, it is also a matter of living in a constantly changing culture that impacts and influences each successive generation. So, the leaders of the Christian groups are constantly reassessing the ways in which the church conducts its services and teaches the biblical principles for Christian growth on a personal level as well as on the organizational level. Issues of finances, paying mortgages for the facilities in which they meet and responding to the dictates of the huge number of governmental departments (from the Internal Revenue Service and the state tax demands, as well as, being able to conduct the business of the church in reference to contracts with builders, electrical maintenance and such business as advertizing in local radio and TV companies.

Too often the time devoted to promoting unity within the congregation is more attentive to self-promoting Issues, and not the overall call of Jesus to do that which unifies the church universal. Getting to that end, requires a complete overhaul of what it taught in the local services and bible studies. The leadership must look to Jesus and the writers of the New Testament for guidance toward allowing the Holy Spirit of God to empower the individual born-again believer in his or her quest to be in union with God and all other Christian believers, regardless of culture, race, language and international or even community locations. God sees all believers in Jesus as one, so the church groups have got to focus on seeing their role as promoters of unity in the Body of Christ, as taught each week in the local congregation. Every believer is critically important to their part in the Body of Christ … all are essential to the work of the Gospel.

PREFACE

One would think that being together on the same page, so to speak, is a critical strategy for any group or organization. In the automobile manufacturing business, whether in the United States, Germany or Japan, there are commonalities that are unavoidable. There are obvious issues of competitiveness, but that is openly expected and dealt with by making our automobile a little better than the next one: less expensive, finer appearing, better gas mileage, etc. But there is an established set of unifying factors that bring them together in the long haul. The fact that they all use petroleum products to function and that they need to ride on tires creates a state of unity that is rather foundational to the entire global producers of human transportation.

For some the description just presented, on a practical level, based on common practices in the essential automotive industry, may be too indirect in defining unity. So, it may be necessary to go to a more direct example in our United States economy today that involves most everyone in some entertaining environments. The whole industry of professional baseball or football uses unifying practices throughout. Deviation from these protocols will end up creating such issues as suspension and even expulsion. As much as the competition is extreme in so many descriptive ways in the course of the actual actions, activities and execution of the game, the protocol for how it is played is what makes it the sport that it is. It is recognized as baseball and football by all who have the slightest familiarity with each of these sports.

The conflicts in Christian denominations, one with the other, as to the need to remain separate and not do what they do in a cooperative effort to reach the world with the truth about Jesus and the Kingdom of God, are not like the sport situation described above. No, these denominational differences if compared to, say the sport, baseball, would be a case of using a football to pitch to the batter, and the catcher would kick the baseball back to the pitcher. Such differences in sport would be so obvious that the spectators would stop watching and the players would no longer participate. Yet, in the overall picture of Christian churches, one can easily see wholly different ways in which the teachings are presented, to the point that one named belief does not register as comparable in the next Christian group. With over 1600 separate Christian groups, denominations, associations and fellowships, it is hard to grasp just how much of a contrasting difference exists from one end of the groups to the other.

The question then arises, "Why are there so many differences … why must they be organized separately … why must they establish a boundary between themselves and all other Christian groups. Taking it all to the height of confusion, one will be absolutely flabbergasted to find that one group will declare that another group really isn’t Christian. It is believed that unless a certain set of beliefs are not adhered to, then the particular Group either missing a particular belief or has a belief distorted [that is how it would be Described if not just like their version], then they cannot be truly Christian.

It is sincerely hoped that by the conclusion of this book, it will be established as to what the real problems are that undermine unity across all Christian groups, and what must be instituted to begin to bring Christian groups together as a united front presenting the Gospel (Good News of Jesus Christ, the Savior of Mankind) to the people of this world who do not know it.

INTRODUCTION

Recently, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association presented a nation-wide program to promote a major effort to reach people with the message of salvation. Dr. Graham was determined to take final efforts to inspire the people who are Christian believers within all the congregations and associations/denominations that advocate Christian belief to make a greater effort to get the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ more of an effort than is currently believed to be executed. The appeal was to those within the Christian ministry to reach out to their congregations and associations and even military groups to promote a much greater evangelistic effort, both on an individual level and as congregations and associations/denominations, representing Christ’s standard message. One could certainly recognize the legitimacy of the BGEA effort as a genuine reflection of both Dr. Graham and his son Franklin Graham. The reports from US news media were quite minimal. Just what the results were from the reports back to the participants within the congregations and denominations across the United States and elsewhere has yet to be presented. Based on the typical distractions, disagreements and separate protocols that are extant from one denomination to the next, it is likely that the participation and efforts of cooperation were not what one would expect from people who all claim to be of the same origin in belief and action … the Word of God … the Bible. The Bible is, in almost all cases representing the beliefs of a particular church congregation and/or local congregation, the defining declaration of what constitutes being the truth about Christian belief. Of course, the exceptions are those that are labeled as cult or extreme, such as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and Jehovah Witnesses. Other such groups would include Christian Scientists and Snake Handlers who often locate in areas of eastern Tennessee, Kentucky or West Virginia.

According to the Pew Forum on Religion in Public Life, there are now in the United States alone over 1,200 denominations/Christian groups. The latest surge seems to be in the category of non-denominational or cross-denominational. For the purposes of Internal Revenue Service recognition (taxation exemptions, etc.) each of these fairly new corporations of Christian believers designate their statement of beliefs and establish their relative status to other mainline denominations, such as United Methodists and Southern Baptists. As each new cross-denominational group is formed, another separation from basic idea of a unified Christian church is established. The question is simply this: Does this undermine Christian unity as declared by Christ in John 17, or is there another way to describe the continuing separation of Christians into more self-determined Groups?

The Book Proposal

It will be the intent of this book to determine whether there is an actual need for Unity in the Christian Church (universal), as described by Jesus in his prayer to His Father God in John 17. If, in fact, it is determined that such unity is required by Jesus and the admonitions of the other writers of the New Testament/Covenant texts, then what is it that must be done to facilitate and execute that commandment/directive from Jesus? It will be the intent of this book to describe the current status of unity within both the Body of Christ (the Church universal), and what is the status of unity within any particular congregation of Christians, either as independent groups or a part of a larger association.

The Background for this Proposal

Along with the determination of what constitutes unity within the Church Universal, it will be the intent of this book to describe representative examples of efforts to unify the Church of God, the Body of Christ, over the past twenty centuries, as demonstrated in history. A careful review of the New Testament texts will set the stage for the initial issues of unity or disunity that began at the outset of the newly established Christian church, or the Way as described in Acts of the Apostles.

On the other end of an historical review, will be an effort to declare the more current indications of unity and disunity in our modern times, due to the much more sophisticated and complicated technologies and inter-relationship of nations and cultures and other influences, such as media and entertainment as a part of a larger world culture. That culture of today … the twenty-first century … 2,000 years after the return of Christ Jesus to His Father in heaven … is not the same scale of impact as was in place during the time