One in Christ starts with one

This past weekend I was guest speaker at a church camp and very much enjoyed mixing with a different group of people, some of whom I knew a little and most not at all. Their theme for the weekend was ‘One in Christ’ and so I was able to exercise my mind as to what that particular focus might mean.

A film that really struck me a few years back was called ‘The Notebook.’ Without giving away too much of the story – because it is well worth watching – the plot revolves around a husbands struggle with his wife’s fall into Alzheimer’s Disease. At one point in the story the family are visiting at the nursing home and the struggle and frustration becomes too much for the children and grand children. They say to the father ‘Come on dad, let’s go home.’ The husband (played by James Garner) looks at his lifelong love and then turns to his family saying – ‘Allie is my home.’

When you are asked to talk to a large group of people on a specific subject, the temptation is to just use the shot gun technique and spray out a whole bunch of good corporate thoughts in the hope that some of it might strike home. I figure that’s okay if you’re selling Life Insurance or confectionery (no offence!); but strangely I do expect more from a Christian perspective.

How do you move a Christian cliché such as ‘One in Christ’ from a good idea to a real possibility? My first thrust was to suggest that for a congregation to seek a corporate reality it needs in the first instance a personal challenge and commitment. For US to be one in Christ requires each INDIVIDUAL to be one in Christ first. When my faith in Christ first came alive 24 years ago, the key point was the certainty of being one in Christ. It wasn’t just a good theological idea; but a personal reality. The resurrected Christ was not some doctrinal statement but a sure and certain hope.

I am dotty about my lovely wife so I know full well what it means for ‘Veronica to be my home;’ but I also am aware at a spiritual level that God is my home. It makes a great deal of difference to your life when this is true.

A great strength of our growing church here in the Rouse Hill / Kellyville district is the value placed on belonging deeply; firstly to each other and then prayerfully and hopefully to God. As best as I know how I have been building this value into all that we do. It is part of our DNA. ANZAC Day, Melbourne Cup, Trivia Night, Playgroup, Christmas Eve and our newest venture our own church camp this coming weekend all have this as a part of their makeup. The key feature of all of these events is the openness and sense of welcome that draws and holds people. When we talk about building communities of care and hope, the vision can only come into view as we increasingly risk being transparent and vulnerable to one another.

The down side to this is that in growing such a group of people the value of belonging can become a barrier to others. Many may prefer belonging to a church that you can choose to nibble at occasionally when the time allows or the need arises and hopefully we can cater to that; but a church committed to deep belonging can be hard to link into because a level of commitment grows that some may not be comfortable with. It has the potential and power to change the world but in making that change it has usually rattled a whole lot of cages along the way!