“Such Perfect Unity”
October Newsletter
Bill Mesaeh / www.billmesaeh.com
Our brotherhood of churches is currently celebrating a very important milestone. Two hundred years ago, in October 1809, Thomas Campbell wrote the Declaration and Address. This was the founding document for what came to be known as the Restoration Movement; today we simply call ourselves independent (or non-denominational) Christian churches. This desire to avoid “denominationalism” comes from one of Jesus’ most heartfelt prayers for his church:
John 17:21-23
21I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. 22“I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. 23I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.
Campbell’s intent with the Declaration was not to start another Christian denomination; it was the exact opposite. He saw “bitter jarrings” and a “[political] party spirit” as the cause of so many different divisions in the church Jesus died to establish. Worst of all was the nature of the issues causing division. In Campbell’s words, “Our differences, at most, are about the things in which the kingdom of God does not consist, that is, about matters of private opinion or human intervention.”
It was in this spirit that Campbell launched a Movement to Restore the Church to its simple, most primitive New Testament principles. The driving desire: let us never break fellowship or allow division within our Christian family over issues of no theological importance. Over time, an important phrase rose up to describe this way of thinking:
“In essentials, Unity. In non-essentials, Freedom. In all things, Love.”
As we celebrate our bicentennial, let us restore in our hearts this simple yet powerful creed. We would do well to notice Jesus himself saw unity among believers as the single greatest force attracting nonbelievers to the church! Thank you all for your love of Jesus and desire to bring others to Him.
That the World May Know,
-bill
To read the Declaration & Address, go to www.billmesaeh.com
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