Church Unity

Last night I went to the Prayer for Bradford Easter Celebration at the Cathedral. It had all the hallmarks of churches together, PA that squealed right in the middle of an intimate worship time, songs that you haven’t sung for ten years, charismatics readjusting to Anglican liturgy. It was great! The messiness of coming together like that is just nothing compared to the joy of the church being one church. Putting aside our own organisation of church and just being one, united by what unites us and ignoring what makes us different, most of which is surface anyway.
I always used to think that the church that I was in was “the best”, whichever church I happened to be in must be the best, it’s a trap many Christians fall into. I’ve realised now, it was simply the best church “for me.” When we try and rank churches, when we try and decide which is the best, I believe we’re falling so far short of where God would want us to be. I used to call big churches great, and small churches crap. I have repented many times of that attitude, how worldly is that? “Big is beautiful, small is rubbish” is not a Kingdom value, it’s the values of corporate America that whilst they can be helpful surely cannot be the measurement we use for the Kingdom, it’s much more empire language than Kingdom language.
I’m glad that God has taught me about this stuff. Especially now I’m a leader of a growing church, that will no doubt get big. For me bigger does not mean better, bigger does not mean more successful. All I want is effectiveness, help people love God more and help people love people more so that the poor are helped and disciples (new and old) are made for God’s glory.
It is not our place to look down on any part of the body of Christ, to talk it down or put it down. Our job is to build up the body and going to a churches together service and enjoying the fun and games of worshipping together is all part of it.