April 26
Bible Reading: John 17:19-26
John 17:22-23, “The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.”
In June 1990, I was called to serve as pastor of Lewis and Clark Bible Church in Astoria, a church that had previously experienced more than its share of troubles. A decade earlier, a 50-50 church split had worked to divide the congregation in a terribly divisive way. Many left to attend other churches. A spirit of disunity remained and prevented the church from making any kind of progress. In the aftermath of the church split, four pastors came and left, until finally there was talk of closing the doors. But two men decided instead to pray, and God graciously worked to turn things around. I was there for the next 27 and ½ years. But it wasn’t easy, in those early years of ministry, to overcome the damage that had been done. The church had earned a terrible reputation in the community, and there weren’t many in attendance. I regularly came across folks who had previously been a part of our church, but then had left because of all the troubles. It was not a simple task to regain what had been lost.
God had blessed me with the wonderful examples of godly men leading healthy churches. My Uncle, Pastor Frank, had offered this simple counsel to me soon after I was called: “preach the Word and love the people.” An older lady in the church, who had been there through all the troubles, wrote a wonderful letter to the congregation, exhorting them to stop fighting with each other, and to love and care for their pastor and his family (see below). The two men who had prayed for God’s intervention joined with me in prayer, week-after-week, for God to move and work and rebuild and establish. As a pastor, I was ever mindful of the need to be diligent “to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3, NASB), by looking to the One who had worked unite us. And over the course of time, God blessed, such that we experienced a beautiful spirit of unity in a loving church family, the kind of unity Jesus Himself prayed for! That kind of perfect kinship is only possible via a right relationship with God and as we walk together in the Spirit paying close attention to the Word (Galatians 5:25-26).
If we are to experience unity in the horizontal sphere (in relationship to each other), it is first necessary that we are united in the vertical (in our relationship with God). I love this quote from A. W. Tozer: “Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshipers met together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be, were they to become ‘unity’ conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship.”
A. W. Tozer
The devil is ever working to divide and destroy marriages, families, churches, and communities. But God has a better plan! Jesus prayed that we might experience the perfect harmony that exists in the Triune God. We are doing our part to the extent that we walk in close fellowship with Him!
REMINDER FOR OUR CHURCH (Ethel Gustafson’s letter)
Ethel Gustafson was a wonderful woman of God who dearly loved our church. Though wheelchair-bound for years, she found lots of ways to serve Jesus. Dismayed by in-fighting that had caused so much trouble in the previous decade, she wrote a letter that she shared with the congregation at my installation service in August 1990. Her letter was later published as an article in the November/December issue of the VOICE Magazine. Here’s what she wrote:
- We have a challenge to overcome how we are regarded by those in the area:
- Bad attitudes.
- We’re a church that gobbles up pastors.
- We can change if we:
- Examine our own hearts.
- Resolve differences as soon as possible.
- Do not quibble over trivial matters.
- Work together as a team with pastor, deacons, trustees, and others.
- Remember our pastor is human (he’ll make mistakes, get tired, and be overworked).
- Remember no good pastor is good at everything.
- Remember he has physical needs, financial problems, family needs just like we do.
- Remember he needs a living wage.
- Remember he needs time to be left alone for devotions and Bible study and prayer.
- Remember his children are no better or worse than ours.
- Remember his wife has as many needs as any wife and can’t be expected to be at every meeting much less be in charge of all of them.
- Remember he is a special target of Satan and needs our daily prayers.
- Remember each of us needs to be available to do something and make it known we are.
- Remember to get things into perspective and ask ourselves, “Why do we exist?”
- To improve our own spiritual lives.
- To worship together.
- To be a corporate witness of Lewis and Clark Bible Church to the area (one bad apple will spoil the whole box).
- We are a support group each for all and all for each.
“Believers are never told to become one; we already are one and are expected to act like it.” – Joni Eareckson Tada
OUR GOD HAS MADE US ONE
Our God has made us one
In Him our hearts unite
When we His children share His love
Our joy is His delight
Our God has made us one
His glory is displayed
For as we build each other up
Our love becomes His praise
Our God has made us one
In sorrow and in joy
We share the cross of Christ our Lord
In Him we now rejoice
Our God has made us one
One church to bear His name
One body and one Bride of Christ
And with Him we shall reign
