Church Unity…

July 28, 2005 | 6:23 PM

A while back I listed some of my goals and dreams for long and short term. I left an important one out, though. My mom is the president of the Assistance League of Mobile (ALM) . One of the projects they work on each year is the “Tools for Schools” program, in which they gather school supplies for those in need of some assistance. I was driving through Mobile the other day and I saw a sign on Port City Church of Christ’s property that said they were offering school supplies as well. I already know of one organization that fills a school bus. I know most of the Baptist churches in the Mobile Baptist Association (MBA) area do their own individual program, and last year ALM worked with Catholic Social Services. We’ve got about fifty different groups around town doing the same job. Each complains because the system is abused. One family goes from one stop to another filling up on supplies, and because of the abuse, some are left without assistance. There are too many families in need and there is too little organization or cooperation among the many entities offering assistance. Some who “play the system” get more than they need, while others go without.

I have a strong desire to unify. I spent a summer as the community missions intern at First Baptist Tillman’s Corner , so this is something that I dealt with a lot. I recognize that Baptist polity emphasizes local church autonomy. That is, they work as independent churches. This, taken to its extreme, leads to isolation. There is a tendency, in that thinking, to become self-providing and very inward-focused. There is a strong likelihood that it is the root of many of the SBC’s problems, but I do not take issue with Baptist polity. Instead, I offer unity. Local associations like BAGNO or MBA exist to bring Baptist churches together to work in the larger community. I would like to see, instead of encouraging association-wide that churches work individually on giving out school supplies, the entire association bring all the churches that have school supplies programs together. I would like to see an association-wide school supplies distribution event. One central location, one set time (even if that’s over a week’s time), with set workers.

The proposal is this: each church, over the course of the year, gathers school supplies as they normally do for their own distribution. Those who organize and work them in their own churches would work the association event. All the churches who can and will offer supplies to a common pool. Those who work with their church events would volunteer likewise for the association event. So the same people would be working on the same projects, just under the umbrella of the association. This would require no more manpower than before. In fact, it would most likely consolidate costs and time, and help cut down on distribution abuse. Each church or organization generally requires the family that gets assistance to register with them, so they cannot come back a few days later and cheat the system. If all the Baptist churches in the association participated together in one event at one place at one time, then this would severely reduce the instances of abuse.

It grows bigger. That’s just one program. I’d like to see even bigger programs. House building, like BAGNO does through FBCNO. I’d like to see inter-denominational cooperation. Eventually, I would like to start a non-profit organization that organizes such events, bringing together all sorts of Christian services. I recognize that there are doctrinal differences, and some might offer that “we do outreach to evangelize, and they’re not evangelizing, or their doctrinal beliefs are different than ours, so we don’t want to work with them.” But really, how often do you share the gospel with someone while they pick up school supplies? I think there’s more to evangelism than that. Anyway, eventually this is something I’d like to get up and running.

I think there is a time for cooperation and a time for separation. When it’s an effort to evangelize, that’s an individual effort. In terms of worship or doctrine, that’s a church or associational deal. In terms of local service, perhaps it’s best to break down some barriers for the greater good. As far as global issues, perhaps it’s best for us all to come together- Muslims, Christians, Hindus, agnostics, or whatever- as in the One Campaign , to put an end to poverty and help research for global diseases and catastrophes. It’s never right to not do the right thing, just because that group or this group doesn’t agree with you. The Truth is the Truth, and it’s up to us to take it to all nations, but in our services, perhaps we can work together a little more. And I think, really, this is one of my larger goals.

Posted in Christianity, Missions