"Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few." - Jesus
"United we stand, divided we fall" - Brotherhood of Man
"Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." - Apostle Paul
"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brothers to dwell together in unity!" - King David
Most
evangelical denominations conduct annual meetings where topics of
discussion range from church growth to social issues concerning our
country. While some of the social issues discussed do border the political realm, thankfully,
it is a rare occasion where you will see a denomination get overtly
involved in a discussion regarding the policy statements of our
government. However, the policy statements of that particular
denomination can be quite the topic of discussion at said meetings.
Time and again, the highest attended annual meetings are those where
controversial subject matter will be at the forefront of consideration.
Media coverage of these meetings tend to focus on those controversies
rather than the world wide impact that denomination has had over the
course of the previous year.
"Bad
press" of the modern day church is sometimes well deserved. The
question "Why can't we just get along?" has been asked in the church
since Peter and Paul where the leaders. (Sorry, Mary wouldn't come
along until the 60's...different Peter and Paul). Time and again
believers live up to that bad press by behaving in an opposite manner to
what Jesus commanded and it appears to a world that is waiting for the
Gospel, that the church is divided....perhaps we should pick up the
mantra of a 1970's singing group that is still active in touring today.
With 16 studio albums and record sales topping 15 million, here's
Brotherhood of Man with "United We Stand":
Brotherhood
of Man is not the most well known 70's band. As with many pop groups,
the lineup of the band has changed since its original incarnation. They
won the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest (The precursor to
"X-Factor/Idol/Someone's Got Talent" show) with the song "Save Your
Kisses For Me". This win would be set up by the recording in early 1970
of "United We Stand", a song that would go as high as #13 on the United
States charts and as high as #9 on the charts in the UK. "United We
Stand" would go on to be recorded by over 100 different artists and can
be heard in television shows and commercials from the 70's. It would be
re-embraced by Americans after 9/11 as an anthem of patriotism and
hope.
If
you look at the history of the church, you find times that are fraught
with debate and criticism. Even the early church fathers had
difficulties. That is the very nature of our humanity. This, however,
does not justify criticisms between denominations. Jesus did not call
us to be Southern Baptists, Missionary Baptists, Methodists,
Presbyterians, Catholics, Lutherans, or any one of the hosts of other
denominations. He called us to be His disciples. dictionary.com has religious implications for its first 3 definitions of the word disciple. The 4th definition is "a person who is a pupil or an adherent of the doctrines of another".
The "another" in this instance would be Jesus. Not Wesley, Luther, or
whoever may be the current president of the Southern Baptist
Convention.
You
see, once we place our focus on any person other than Jesus, we no
longer become His disciple. We become the disciple of the one in which
we look to for direction. Our eyes begin to look inward. This is the
seed of selfishness and where we get discussions about the carpet color
that wind up splitting churches.
In
the opening quotes of today's blog, we listed the scripture where Jesus
is speaking about the harvest. Notice He says the workers are few.
Perhaps there has even been a time where you heard a sermon delivered
with this passage as the focus point. It is usually given in the
context of evangelizing preChristians. In short, we need more bodies to
bring in the harvest. Without being sacrilegious, I would contend that
we have the bodies....just not the workers. You have probably heard or
experienced the old cliche' "10% of people doing 90% of the work".
This applies in most organizations in which I have been a part. Just
imagine, if the bodies of those claiming belief would join hands and
unite to bring in the harvest, how quickly it would be gathered. Then
when trouble times come, if those claiming belief would again join
hands, or better yet, never release their grip on one another, the
trouble would have to flee. The world would see the picture of the
church for which Jesus died. They would see the light that Jesus spoke
of in Matthew 5:16 - "Let
your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good
works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." If our hands are
tightly bound together it is much more difficult for our hearts to be
hard and selfish. It is much more difficult for our mouths to be mean
and hateful. (Even when we are "just joking") It is much more difficult for the enemy to build
strongholds inside the church. And it becomes much easier for us to see
a world that is ripe for harvest and have the intense desire to work.
Author Francis Chan puts it this way: Francis Chan - "Rethinking The Church"
Will
you join hands with disciples of Jesus.....beginning with those in your own
church......and then begin singing....."United we stand, divided we
fall and if our backs should ever be against the wall, we'll be
together....together you and I....." then be prepared to work....for the harvest is plentiful
'Til Tuesday
Serving HIM by serving you,Randy
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