Unity and Diversity in the Church

The founders of the Christian Church Disciples of Christ believed in the unity of Christ’s Body on earth, the Church. But from its birth the church has been diverse in its gifts, its traditions, and in its theology.

Paul saw the Corinthian church struggling with its diversity. So, he wrote to them, “I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose” (1 Cor. 1: 10b NRSV). But is it realistic for us to truly be one?

Historically, even Judaism was not as unified as we may think—especially at the time of Jesus and Paul. You know the two main parties—the Pharisees and the Saducees. Paul was a Pharisee. And there are some who argue that Jesus, himself, was a Pharisee. Among other common beliefs of the Pharisees was the belief in personal resurrection.

But there were other parties within Judaism. There were the Essenes who lived in the desert, alone. They believed in a final cosmic struggle between good and evil which God would eventually win, and then God’s reign would be set up on earth forever. Then there were the Zealots. This was a conservative group within Judaism which advocated the overthrow of the Romans. Judas Iscariot may have been a Zealot. Some scholars think that Judas may have become of follower of Jesus because he believed he would lead an uprising against the Romans and restore the Jewish nation. In fact, there are some who argue that Judas handed Jesus over to the Sanhedrin to force Jesus into open rebellion in which he would call down the wrath of God to destroy Roman rule. There were other sects or parties within Judaism, but these were the main divisions.

In Corinthian the church was divided along the lines of who baptized them. Moreover, they argued about who had the greatest most significant gifts from God’s Spirit.

Today, in the 21st century, we have more divisions in the Christian Church than Paul could even imagine. We have Roman Catholics, Lutherans (several synods in fact), Baptists (there are more divisions among Baptists than there are among the Lutherans), Presbyterians, Methodists, and Disciples of Christ, to name only a few. There are Protestant, evangelical, Pentecostal, and Reformed. We have liberal, conservative and fundamentalists. And this is only in Western Christianity not to mention all the divisions among the Orthodox Churches of the East. So, today, it looks more and more like the Body of Christ is divided.

Was unity in the church a misguided dream of the restoration movement—a good idea but a little naïve? In what sense can the church be unified today?

We can celebrate the diversity of gifts among believers. The variety of our traditions adds “salt” to the church. And the varied ways we perceive the reality of God are a tribute to the gifts of the Holy Spirit. But as different as we are there are at least two things that unite the churches: baptism and communion.

We are all baptized according to different traditions into One Christ. And we each share the meal Jesus ordained among his followers even if we celebrate it in diversity of form. So, you see, the Body of Christ on earth is indeed one. We are one in Christ.