Right or Wrong? Division vs. Unity

“With the divisions our country is facing, how can Christians contribute to unity?”

The age-old descriptor “a house divided” often applies, unfortunately, to the full gamut of our lives as Americans—personal, social, political and, yes, even religious. Functioning as a public demonstration of our larger dilemma of division, the 2012 presidential election accurately showed just how dichotomized the nation is: There are red states, and there are blue states. There are liberals, and there are conservatives. There is an “us,” and there is a “them.” And never the twain shall meet.

The American church—and specifically Baptist churches and denominations—is anything but immune to division. We all know the jokes about Baptists and the propensity for fighting. I maintain, however, that in a culture of dichotomies so entrenched they threaten progress at every turn (Think—the debate over the “fiscal cliff.”), division within the church is not a joke. It’s a cancer.

Diverse answers

Is division and bifurcation inherent in the DNA of Christians—and in our context, Baptists—in America? In his class at the McAfee School of Theology, “The Church and the Civil Rights Movement,” Emmanuel McCall asked his students: “With the obvious divisions that our country is facing, how can Christians contribute to unity?” The answers, suggestions and observations were as diverse as the students.

Context, while not everything, is something. It, therefore, bears mentioning at this point that McAfee carries the simultaneous gift and responsibility of a profoundly diverse student body. I know of no other seminary in the country where there is a near-equal proportion of both black and white students and traditional and nontraditional students.

Due to the diversity inherent in our seminary community, the necessity of Christian unity in the face of past division is far greater, and at times more difficult, than in the broader American Christian landscape. While on Sunday morning we may attend and serve “black churches” and “white churches,” “conservative churches” and “progressive churches,” from Monday to Friday, we prepare for ministry together. It is in circumstances like ours that the cancer of division is both most possible and most fatal.

Hot-button issues

A common theme arose in our discussion in class that night—the idea that the church has some work to do. We haven’t arrived—and may not within our short lifetimes—at the point of perfect Christian unity. Hot-button issues tear congregations apart. Racism, classism and sexism haven’t by any means been eradicated from churches. Theological debates rip whole denominations in half.

Our class, however, also expressed a profound sense of hope. Students—black and white, young and old—contributed to the conversation, many suggesting we should model unity to a divided world. That night, it became evident to me that intentionally or unintentionally, and at times imperfectly, we already were modeling unity: A racially, denominationally and demographically diverse classroom of students united by their commitment to preparation for ministry.

Yeah, I think that’s a step in the right direction.

Isaac Sharp, graduating student

McAfee School of Theology

Atlanta

Right or Wrong? is co-sponsored by the Texas Baptist theological education office and Christian Life Commission. Send your questions about how to apply your faith to [email protected].