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Christian Unity & Diversity Public Speech, MCC, Spring 2002 | Persuasive Speech Disclaimer: this was written
before I had outgrown my evangelical fundamentalism
Specific Purpose: To persuade my audience to promote unity in a diversified Christian Church. Central Idea: My desire is to compel you to promote diversity in the Christian faith by seeking unity with your brethren of all-denominational backgrounds and creeds. Introduction: I. “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, then walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.” II. There’s a lot of truth in this famous quote from Brennan Manning, but I’m convinced that the lack of unity among Christian believers is a more serious problem. III. I have spent the past 10 years studying the history, activities, and teachings of Christians throughout a wide spectrum of backgrounds. A. I have found that there is much more that unites us than that which divides us. 1. In fact, most Christians share the same beliefs but express them in different expressions of worship and languages. IV. Over 90% of this class profess the name of Christ and represent at least five different denominational backgrounds. A. My desire is to compel you to promote diversity in the Christian faith by seeking unity with your brethren of all-denominational backgrounds and creeds. Body: V. Since the Medieval crusades, the body of Christ has been divided and self-mutilated. A. It started during the dark ages when the Church fell into various degrees of corruption. 1. During this time, few people were educated. a. Bibles were scarcely available prior to the printing press. b. Even where bibles were available, many of the priests were illiterate. c. This lead to a lack of overall scriptural knowledge. 2. Various political forces took advantage of the spiritual illiteracy by using the Church to sale ‘indulgences’ for the forgiveness of sins. a. These indulgences meant that people were totally reliant upon the Institutional Church for their salvation. B. This gave birth to the Protestant reformation. 1. A Catholic priest, named Martin Luther, discovered that salvation was based obtained by faith and not the sale of indulgences. a. Initially, Luther sought to reform the Church from the inside. b. Ultimately, he concluded that reformation would have to take place outside of the Roman Catholic hierarchy. 2. The Anabaptists, John Calvin, and other succeeding Protestant reformer’s took an even more drastic call to reformation. a. They not only sought to reform the Christian faith, but also advocated total separation and rejection of the Roman Catholic Church. b. These Christians began to believe that they alone had all biblical truth. c. This mindset resulted in the denominational chaos that we see today as like-minded Christians began to separate and divide according to creeds. d. Over 20,000 denominations later, many Christians are finally starting to reverse the trend by seeking unity with one another. C. The Roman Catholic Church also went through an internal reformation. 1. At the Council of Trent, the Church denounced the Protestant’s authority to reform the Christian faith. a. Protestants were excommunicated outside of the visible body of Christ. b. The Catholic Church brought reform primarily by reeducating the priests and correcting various abuses in the priesthood. 2. During the 1960’s, the Catholic Church made a number of additional pastoral corrections at the 2nd Vatican Council. a. The Church began to educate the public laity. b. She also sought reconciliation with her separated Christian brethren by encouraging inter-faith dialogue. c. This dialogue has clarified many of the myths and misunderstandings that Christians have had towards one another over the years. d. It has also been the driving force behind the current ecumenical movement. 3. Pope John Paul II has also helped bring healing to the body of Christ. a. He has apologized, on behalf of the Catholic Church, for many of the wrongful deeds done in the name of Christ throughout Church history. b. He has met with and recognized many Christian leaders outside the Catholic faith. c. His humility and love for Christ has served as an inspiration to millions of Christians throughout the world. D. In spite of the ecumenical movement, the spiritual climate has remained quite hostile towards Christian unity. 1. Most ecumenical Christians are seeking unity based on creeds. 2. I believe that this has been a tragic mistake. a. True unity will never be achieved by regulating doctrinal beliefs. b. Instead, I would like to present three practical steps in building unity through diversity. VI. These three steps include: visiting different Churches, viewing other Christian believers through the eyes of the Lord, and learning to respect each other’s convictions. A. In Meridian alone, there are over 120 different churches that represent as many as 70 different denominations. 1. Take some time to visit some of these different churches. a. The early Christians met in different house groups throughout the city. b. Yet, the Apostles addressed these groups corporately in their writings. c. Today, this can be understood to mean that all churches throughout the city make up the body of Christ in Meridian. d. Shouldn’t we get to know the rest of our family right here in Meridian? 2. You can get to know your family in Christ by participating in local ecumenical events such as The Way of the Cross, Christian concerts, bible studies, etc. a. This is also an excellent way of displaying a visible witness of Jesus to the outside world. B. When you visit these different churches, look at the believers from the Lord’s eyes. 1. Christ is not worried about how ‘different’ they are from you, nor is He worried about how wrong their beliefs may be. a. He’s much more interested in their sincere worship and devotion to him. 2. Also, open your heart to the possibility that Christ may want to bless you through the ministry of those that you dislike the most. a. Psalm 33 tells us that there is a commanded blessing poured out when brethren dwell together in unity. C. As you see these churches from the eyes of Christ, learn to respect their beliefs. 1. It’s been said that one man’s heresy is another man’s orthodoxy. a. Don’t confine yourself to a limited number of explanations and methods of interpreting the Bible. b. The God of the universe is more than capable of saying more than one thing through the same set of Scriptures. 2. Most doctrinal divisions can be avoided when you realize that the Lord has given us all bits and pieces of the truth. a. Don’t view doctrinal truth as black or white, but rather as a rainbow. b. My yellow and your blue comes together to produce another’s green. c. Like a jig saw puzzle, we must unite our different pieces of truth if we are ever going to find a true picture of biblical orthodoxy. VII. Imagine with me what it would be like if Christians truly loved one another. A. All Christians would come together, in one diversified faith, to worship Christ as one corporate body of believers in a given city, state, region, and nation. B. Christians would encourage and uplift one another in the love of Christ. C. They would not gossip, slander, lie, and misrepresent one another. D. At last, an unbelieving world would finally have a compelling reason to believe that Christ truly is alive, risen, and exalted. Conclusion: VIII. In closing, Unity is not an option for the follower of Jesus Christ. A. Jesus has personally commanded that we love each other. B. The world will never understand the gospel of Jesus Christ so long as Christians continue to beat each other over the head with bibles. 1. We must live out the love of Christ, with one another, before we can preach it to the unbelieving world. C. On the night of His betrayal, Jesus prayed that His Church would be unified just as He and the Father are one. 1. How many here today would raise their hands in support of seeing the Church unified together just as Christ prayed? Bibliography
Hamon,
Bill
The Eternal Joyner,
Rick
Shadow of Things to Come Synan,
Vinson
The Century of the Holy Spirit McGatlin,
Ron
Overcoming Life on a Small Planet
Mount Airy, NC: Basileia Publishing, 1998 Wagner,
Peter,
C.
Churchquake!
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