i AGREE about the diversity issue.
Have pondered it a long time. Unity can be a screamingly important issue for a child of divorce at age 2—back before divorce became a National sport.
And, I’ve often, out of that internal press, worked energetically to bridge gaps within groups I was a part of. It’s been a very mixed record. Egos get so hooked.
It seems evident in the NT that God used the diversity to spread His Word far and wide. Certainly that has been the case since.
I’ve often noticed that even within Pentecostalism . . . some churches fit some personalities better than others.
It’s certainly clear that UNITY IN CHRIST’S BLOOD AND SPIRIT WILL NOT OCCUR UNTIL
HE
ARRANGES IT, EFFECTS IT.
One of the more touching things in China—was the capacity to worship in love regardless of Christian perspective. Majoring in majors and minoring in minors tends to be easier when prioritites are stripped to the bone.
It was a Christian tribe in Africa which softened my heart to those who worship differently than I. I happened across their service on the TV somewhere.
I could not understand a single word being said, and one could tell these folks were of the poorest sort- Their church was a big roof without walls... unfinished pole construction bound with rope... But as the narration explained the high cost of pure white linen, I noticed that every single one of them, from the swaddling of the babes to the eldest man, everyone was dressed exactly the same, in brilliantly white robes.
And the praise of that service! Everyone jumping up and down in unison singing in extraordinary harmonies... The sheer love of God upon their faces...
Even while unable to understand a single word they were saying, I felt the Spirit come down upon me, and joy filled my crusty old heart.
That service would cause many a blue haired old lady to turn up her nose with a sniff... so different, so unorthodox... Where were the Psalter Hymnals? Where where the brooding strains of reverent music? Where were the walls, for pity's sake?
But in my heart, I know that those were some of the richest folks I have ever seen.