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| “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!” |
| —Psalm 133:1 |
Back in the year 1965, as I was completing high school, forces were moving swiftly toward the merger of the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church to form the United Methodist Church.
I had grown up in one of the most conservative conferences of the EUB—Erie Conference, which contained the EUB churches in western New York state and northwestern Pennsylvania. In fact, this conference was strongly Fundamentalist and was still reeling in 1965 from the great Christian Liberal/Fundamentalist conflict of the 1930s.
Not surprisingly, many of the Erie Conference EUB ministers were seriously opposed to merging with the generally much more liberal Methodist Church. Of course, the merger was destined to happen. The power brokers within both denominations, who were, to a person, leaning definitely toward the more liberal side of the conflict, wanted to gain even more power by diluting the Fundamentalist influence within portions of both denominations. That they succeeded has become self-evident over the last 56 years.
I remember one pastor telling me:
“You know, you can tie the tails of two cats together and throw them over a clothesline. You will have union, but you certainly won’t have unity.”
His observation was quite accurate. Immediately following the merger, several congregations within the former Erie Conference of the EUB left the now-created United Methodist Church. An even greater number of pastors sought identification with a diverse group of other Fundamentalist denominations.
Frankly, I wish I had been old enough and in a position to point those power brokers who wanted to diminish the influence of Bible-believing and Bible-obeying Conservative Christians to the text found in Psalm 133:1-3:
How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!
It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down on the collar of his robe.
It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.
I obviously believe that there is not only great value, but a strong imperative, to live in a definitively spiritually Conservative way that honors the Lord Jesus Christ through obedience to God’s written Word. Instead of pretending that sin is something that no longer affects humankind, I believe it is important to acknowledge that we have all inherited the sin-stain of Adam and that we continue to sin every day of our lives. Only through the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary can we receive God’s precious gift of salvation from the penalty of our sins and the promise of eternal life with Him.
At the same time, we need to act with charity toward all of our fellow Christians—even those who despise us for our Conservative viewpoint. In fact, we need to act with charity, kindness, and God-breathed love toward all our fellow humans. But, we especially need to follow the advice of the Psalmist and make certain that we erect no barriers between us and our fellow believers.
Therefore, even when we have justified disagreements, let’s live and act in true unity, forged by the Holy Spirit, bonded in God’s love—not like tail-tied cats thrown over a clothesline.
Based on a blog originally posted on Thursday, June 25, 2015
