One Lord. One Faith. One Baptism.

By Tyler Tankersley

Five years ago, I had the opportunity to travel to Romania. I was there to teach a class to pastors and we were attending worship at the Providence Baptist Church in the heart of Bucharest. It was a lovely congregation full of energy and vitality. At the front of the sanctuary were these words: "Un Domn, O Credinta, Un Botez." Those words are Romanian for: "One Lord. One Faith. One Baptism." When you are sitting in that sanctuary, you are always reminded of the unity that is supposed to exist in Christianity.

However, the story of Christianity is not exactly sunshine and rainbows when it comes to unity. My own theological tribe known as Baptists are about as divided as starving cats in an alley fighting over a scrap of food. Other Christian denominations are just as divided over issues such as church governance, women in ministry, same-sex relationships, worship music preference, and a whole slew of other items.

Disunity amongst Christians has evidently been an issue since the earliest days of the Church. Sometimes we preachers talk about the Early Church in idyllic tones in an effort to prop up an example for our congregations, but the truth is that the Early Christians struggled with issues of divisiveness just as much as modern-day churches. In his letter to the church at Ephesus, the Apostle Paul needs to remind them that their calling is to "make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Ephesians 4:3).

One of my favorite television shows was Lost. The show revolves around a group of people who mysteriously crash on an island. In their early days, they being to squabble and fight amongst themselves as they vie for power and leadership. At one point, Dr. Jack Shepherd addresses everybody and calls them to their senses as he says, "Last week most of us were strangers, but we're all here now. And God knows how long we're gonna be here. But if we can't live together, we're gonna die alone."

Church leaders today are lamenting the various statistics about the increasing decline in church attendance. Perhaps it is naïve of me to think so, but I have to wonder if at least part of the downward spiral church involvement is because people tend to notice that churches are often sources of disunity rather than seeking to bring people together. When a church siloes themselves from the rest of the community, they are sending the message that their Christian sisters and brothers are not worth their time.

I am so thankful for my Christian sisters and brothers who are different than me. Because despite our differences politically, stylistically, and even theologically, we are united under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. To seek that level of unity will require of us to have "humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love" (Ephesians 4:2).

Regardless of our differences, we worship the One Lord, we share the One Faith, and we have One Baptism into the family of God. I hope we can remember that, but if we do not learn to live together, we will die alone.