In this day of churches competing for membership, and
churches trying to find the best way to reach those who don’t regularly attend
church, debates often rise among clergy as to what the most effective outreach
method is. When such debates
arise, an outsider would be hard pressed to realize that Bible Believing
Churches worship the same God, made known through Jesus Christ who brought
salvation to all who believe, and the Holy Spirit who convicts us to come to
faith and remain faithful. It
seems our differences overpower our unity.
It is also said that 11 AM on Sunday morning is the most
segregated hour of the week.
Racial groups are separated during the worship of the God of all of us
who created all of us in the Image of God. At one point in our American History this was due to overt
racism where the blacks were not welcome to worship with whites. Obviously, this was unbiblical,
unethical, and sinful. In modern
day, because of this initial segregation, various races have developed
different worship traditions.
While it would be wrong to say that racism does not exist, we have come
a long way. We still have a long
way to go. But when it comes to
worshiping the same God, we stand unified more often than we are divided though
our traditions of worship remain different. Add to that mix the various other
traditions that have come to the United states over the years including the
Latino population, and other populations including (but not limited to) Korean
Christians, African Christians, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Roman Catholics
and so on. Each group worships the
same God but does so in their own unique way.
Tonight, June 30, 2013, something special happened in a
small town in North Carolina.
Liberty, NC is a very small town. But a miracle happened here. The
Spirit of God descended upon the churches of Liberty and led us to realize that
though we worship in different buildings, we serve the same God. Though we worship in different
traditions, our goals are the same. Though we are of different races and ages,
God has called all of us to a deeper relationship and to serve God with our
lives.
Tonight, June 30, 2013, the various churches of Liberty
gathered at the Church of God of Prophecy to worship in music together and
celebrate our unity in an event called “One Church Singing” sponsored by the
Liberty Association of Churches.
For about 2 hours, there were no traditions. There were no races. There
was just one church and Jesus, our Savior!
As a parent, I was humbled as my 6-year-old son played
“Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee” on his violin to praise God to open the
service. As a pastor, I don’t get to use my prior training as a musician very
often, but my wife (a musician as well) and I played some songs. We then sat back and sang along as
other churches shared music praising God.
The music was joyful, the music praised God, but the miracle was that
everyone in that room (I would estimate there were at least 100 people if not
more), realized we were ONE Church worshipping ONE God!
As a group, we laughed, we clapped, we sang, we shed some
tears, but most importantly, we worshipped. Those things that divide us – denominations, race, gender,
age – became unimportant. We were
truly One Church!
As the music continued, my daughter who just turned four was
caught up in the joy and danced.
Maybe now she doesn’t realize what caused her to dance, but I’m
convinced the Holy Spirit had a hand in her dancing! Yes, she is an active
child, and she does at times dance to music, but this was unlike anything I’ve
seen before. The Holy Spirit was
at work!
My prayer for any town or city is that all churches realize
that we are all ONE church! We worship differently, but we serve the same God.
Tonight, Liberty realized that, and I pray this is just the beginning of our growth
into God’s plan.
The pastors and people in the pews may change, but God will
always remain the same!