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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

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.

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.

 © Viv Grigg and the Encarnação Alliance Training Commission
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Last updated: 05/15/09.

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