Institute for Christian Unity

Good definition of vision: A picture of the future that produces passion in you. Here’s a picture of the future that’s currently producing a lot of passion in a group of Boston Christians.

What do U2’s Bono and Fuller Seminary’s David Taylor have to do with Christian unity? They tell of the end we all share in Christ which is no end at all.

A few years back, in 1647, a group of Presbyterians composed a little instruction booklet which they called, “The Shorter Catechism.” This booklet was composed for the purpose of instructing Christian youth, as well as newer Christians of any age, in the basics of the Christian faith.

Essentially what this Presbyterian working group did was to explain the Christian faith using the construct of 107 component parts–a series of 107 questions and answers bringing clarity and definition (so they hoped) to the faith. We may agree or disagree with the whole of the Christian faith being organized in such a fashion and at such a number, but it worked for them. (And, by the way, it continues to work for Presbyterians today as this catechism remains a part of the principal teaching documents of the Presbyterian Church, enshrined still in their ‘Book of Confessions.’)

What should catch one’s attention about this particular presentation of the Christian faith is what this Presbyterian working group of 1647 chose as the preeminent component part of the faith (#1 of 107 questions & answers); it is the following: “Q: What is the chief end of being human? A: The chief end of being human is to glorify God, and to enjoy God forever.”* In other words, the meaning of life–of our human lives–pertains to glorifying and enjoying God.

Glory as a word and concept is somewhat abstract and can often strike us as being a bit ‘up in the clouds,’ but here the takeaway is straightforward: giving glory to God is a really big deal. The ‘New Dictionary of Theology’ defines the glory of God in this way: “Excellence and praiseworthiness set forth in display.” Now, follow me to John 17 where Jesus prays for his disciples and all who would follow him. In John 17:1b, Jesus begins his prayer to the Father, saying, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you.” Jesus is speaking of the Cross. Thus, we can make the following and certain translation: ‘Father, make me excellent and praiseworthy in my humiliation, so that I may make you excellent and praiseworthy.’ Or: ‘Father, make me excellent and praiseworthy in my abandonment (remember, Jesus cites the psalmist, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?), so that I may make you excellent and praiseworthy.’

Our Christian faith stands on this point, on this paradox, on this upside-down truth, like a chorus of angels on the head of a pin. The power of the Gospel is concentrated here in this single point, not unlike the power of the universe being concentrated in a single point of immense and immeasurable density and heat some 13 1/2 billion years ago that proceeded to explode into Creation.

And all of this brings us to the work of Christian unity; John 17 is the biblical text of biblical texts for practically all practicing ecumenists. We shouldn’t miss that Jesus’ prayer in John 17 for his disciples, and for the unity of his disciples, is founded upon glory–the excellence and praiseworthiness of Jesus Christ actualized in his suffering and then in his overcoming; the glory of God in the torment, death and resurrection of Jesus being the foundation of all true Christian unity.

The glory of God was preeminent for those 1647 Presbyterians and a pretty good starting place for us as well.

Matt Crane

Institute for Christian Unity

*I have taken the liberty here to update the text a bit, making it more gender inclusive.

About six months ago or so I attended a presentation by a well known Christian author and speaker. In the course of his presentation he shared a story about how one of his neighbors had approached him to ask his counsel about what to do about Christian radio. The neighbor had been listening to some Christian radio programs and had become distressed at the amount of bigotry and ignorance exhibited by the programs’ hosts and callers.

The speaker’s reply to his neighbor was to say that he, himself, chose not to listen to Christian radio for just those reasons and that he encouraged others to do the same–to not listen to it, to turn off Christian radio. As I sat there in the audience that day listening to the speaker’s story, I thought to myself, ‘Wow.’ The speaker’s counsel to his neighbor was certainly understandable, but it was also certainly representative of where we are today both in the Church and in society at large.

Rather than doing the more difficult and often emotionally disagreeable work of separating the good from the bad in the world of Christian thought and practice, we simply ‘turn off’ that perspective to which we are disinclined. (It goes without saying that we see this same dynamic at work–at jet engine levels–in our present political situation.)

Scott Peck, in his celebrated book, ‘The Road Less Traveled,’ said the opposite of love is not hate but laziness. In large part, this is where we are today; absent the love to keep the radio on and get in there with our scalpels and separate out the worthy from the unworthy, the mercy-filled from the unmerciful.

With respect to the content of Christian radio these days, the well known Christian author and speaker was right to acknowledge the bigotry and ignorance (and general foolishness) often found there. However, he left unacknowledged the goodness and grace that is often found there as well–on those same Christian airwaves; people who genuinely love God, who offer genuine encouragement and hope to many who are in need of just such a word and who inspire listeners every day to live a more compassionate, Christ-like life.

So, what is our work here? Our work is to do what not too many seem to be doing at the moment…take the time to really understand what the other is saying and why they’re saying it. To affirm what we can affirm and critique what we believe should be critiqued. And this can only happen if we keep the radio on.

Matt Crane
Institute for Christian Unity

The Institute for Christian Unity exists for the purpose of bringing Catholic, Orthodox, Evangelical/Pentecostal and Mainline Protestant Christians into closer proximity with each other–toward a truer, more recognizable oneness in our common faith in the God revealed in Jesus Christ. By the grace of God, good things have happened as we’ve been about our work. Here are a few of those good things that have come to pass in 2016:

+A regional Catholic-Evangelical Gathering hosted and facilitated by Scott Brill, one of our co-Directors, October 24-25, 2016.
+Bi-monthly forums (the WEE Forum) that bring Christians of all traditions together regularly and locally to engage subjects that stir thought & action.
+Conversation re. expanding the WEE Forum to Newport, RI. One United (a RI non-profit) would like to present the forum in Newport.
+The Institute’s participation in the National Workshop for Christian Unity held in April 2016 in Louisville, KY.
+Christian unity ‘101 classes’ beginning December 2016 in local congregations here in the Boston area led by our co-Directors.

On behalf of our co-Directors, Dr. Vito Nicastro & Scott Brill, I thank you for your friendship and prayers on behalf of our efforts in the direction of one Church witnessing to our one Lord!

Wishing you peace & a joyful Advent!

Matt Crane

Christian unity–the unity of the Church–comes in more than one stripe. Most often, when Christian unity is discussed, the conversation regards the unity, or desired unity, of the great church communities, traditions, denominations.

But there is another Christian unity–another unity of the Church–equal to or greater than the unity of church communities, and that is the Christian unity of colors, races and ethnicities.

Last summer, in New York City, an evangelistic outreach was held, and, as part of the outreach, there was a concert in Times Square. Matt Redman and his band performed (see below) and you’ll be hard-pressed to find a color, race or ethnicity not represented in this moving and inspiring moment on behalf of the living Christ.

Enjoy!

Hard to argue with the forthright logic of Chiara Lubich, founder of Focolare, a unity movement of the Roman Catholic Church. Sometimes we just need to be reminded!