Radical Individualism-Part Six
Unity Among believers
If you have just become a subscriber to Spiritual Nuggets, we suggest you go to the archives to read the previous nuggets on this subject. www.creatingfuutres.net/archive/previousnuggets.html.
In the last nugget, we learned that unity does not mean control, manipulation, conformity, yes men, loss of freedom. It also does not mean that you must look, act, think, or talk, like someone else. Biblical unity has to do with having a common purpose; working together as a team; submitting to each other; being unique, yet like-minded.
There is one common purpose all Christians can be in unity–the sharing of the gospel to a lost world. There are diverse ways of sharing the gospel. Each church may have a different viewpoint of how this can best be accomplished. Individuals may have their own perspective on how to share the gospel. What is important is that we are sharing the love of God to a lost world.
Jesus prayed: “I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, that the world may know that Thou didst send Me, and didst love them, even as Thou didst love Me.” John 17:23
Obviously, Jesus, the Father, and each of us have different qualities. Yet at the same time, we can be in unity (oneness) just as the Father and Son are one. Again the oneness is for the purpose of revealing God’s love.
What is exciting about Biblical unity is that you can have several ministries in one church that are in unity with each other. They each have their own unique way of sharing the gospel, but they are not being divisive and prideful. What really shows the love of God is when several churches unite together to share the gospel in their community.
The problem with Radical Individualists is that they cannot find any ministry within any church that is ‘good enough’ for them. We would encourage you to not be a Radical Individualist who thinks their way is the only right way. Find a church where you can effectively minister with them.
There is also Radical Individualistic Ministries who never find any other ministry that they can unite with for the common purpose of reaching the lost with the gospel. The reason for this is because it has to be their program or none at all. Because ministries will not unite together for a common purpose, they are not as effective in accomplishing the will of God.
In our next nugget we will share our own struggle with Radical Individualism and what we have learned.
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Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations used are from the New American Standard Version (NAS).