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A Shared Theology Of Brokenness
Relationships are the key to a city. If there is not
unity, the first step is the bringing together of pastors in prayer, or in
renewal and teaching until there are reconciliations and a spirit of
brokenness between each other. As they do, confession occurs between them,
and many times the Holy Spirit visits them with a wave of refreshing.
As a pattern of brokenness and confessions of sins
emerges, there will be some very practical results.
At the beginning of the Calcutta process, the younger
Bengali pastors that God had been raising up, covenanted together not to
back bite.
In one New Zealand city, after an episode of unethical
behavior by one pastor against another, the pastors met together and
developed code of conduct for relationships between each other (see below).
Doctrine divides. Church structure divides. Culture
produces doctrines and structures in churches. Doctrine is mostly a product
of culture. But these need not divide. We must see beyond the doctrines
defined by cultural experiences to the unity of the Spirit. We need to
affirm the gift of each others doctrinal and structural contributions to the
body as a whole.
In the slums people like noise, authoritarian pastors and
there is a high level of demonic confrontation. Though a church may have
been planted by a Baptist denomination it would be very Pentecostal in
style. The doctrine and structure is produced by the culture of poverty not
by any doctrinal position.
Calvin developed a theology of the Kingdom affecting city
leaderships. He virtually ruled Geneva. His theology grew out of this. Many
theologies of structural transformation trace their roots to him.
Barriers to Unity
Unity is a fragile thing. It requires careful attention
to sustain it. A number of times city leaders have sat with me and told of
the years they had worked to bring about unity, only to have it stolen from
them by the new boy in town or by an incident of dishonesty, sin or conflict
that blew the fragility apart.
In one consultation, Indian pastors from eight cities
cited the following as causes of disunity:
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Denominational spirit
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Fear of sheep stealing / shepherd
stealing
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Personal piques
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Forgive but not forget
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Remembering past
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Too busy in one's own ministry
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Over attention to doctrinal purity
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Jealousy and protectiveness of one's
flock
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Size differential between partnering
churches
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Imposition of another's agenda
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In one consultation a question was raised. How do you
rebuke leaders opposed to truth and doing unethical things and yet remain in
unity across the city?
The answer is that there are limits to unity. There must
be a measure of truth, usually based on a commitment to the scriptures as
minimum, and some degree of obedience to the scriptures as optimal (though
who among us has fully followed the Lord our God as Caleb did). For this
reason, a goal of total unity in a city is unrealistic. As Paul says, there
must be divisions among you to show which of you have God's approval (1
Corinthians 11:19).
Potential solutions were also proposed:
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Don't put down but bless
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Address the issues that divide -
develop a policy between you.
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Agree to disagree, accept the
differences, celebrate the differences
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Develop a positive theology of
diversity of ministry. 1Cor.12:4, 5 tells us there are a variety of giftings
and varieties of ministries (churches, interlinking structures) but the same
Lord.
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In a good number of cities incoming evangelists have at
times been the dividers. Their presumption is that their program is the
program needed by the city. It has been tested. They have the anointing of
God. They have the program and finances to move the city forward - so they
say. In Calcutta, one created a riot after promising healing that did not
occur. In some Australian cities, one evangelist had the solution,
and called himself a general in God's army. He built off existing structures
but anybody else coming into the city was not necessarily part of his single
solution. The result was division. City leaders need to pastorally and
graciously confront such attitudes when inviting and dealing with outsiders
coming in.
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