WHERE DIFFERENCES DO NOT DIVIDE By Frank Rees

It is one of the fallacies of modernity that to be united we all need to be the same. Unity is not uniformity.

Before this is a human or social truth, it is a theological truth. If we want to see how we can be a Baptist community that

maintains unity, we need first of all to begin with the nature of God and God’s will for all creation. Why do we differ? We differ because God has made us

different. From the beginning of all time, God made many different creatures and, along with them, made human beings different as well. “So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Gen. 1. 27). This fundamental insight draws attention to our likeness to God, and that’s crucial to our understanding of diversity. Difference is not alien to God; on the contrary, this verse tells

us that our diversity is part of what it means for us (together) to be in God’s image. Difference is part of who we are because difference is part of who God is. The biblical, Christian doctrine of God includes the idea of God as a community (a Tri-unity), in which there is difference without division. Father, Son and Spirit live in loving unity, belonging to one another in a mystical relationship—and this life of God as community is given to all creation as the example and inspiration of how we might live. That promise and possibility, though, is

BAPTISTS TOGETHER continued

The fellowship in the gospel cannot be restricted to Christians worshipping together in one locality. No individual Christian can afford to be a loner, neither can any local church afford to go it alone. If a local church goes its own way regardless of other churches, then by its very individualism it is denying the fullness of the gospel.5

At times I have perceived a lack of focus on unity and, sadly, a willingness by some to move ahead without due consideration of the body as a whole. Some of the reasons for a lack of focus on unity are: l Our differing theological positions and church government models lead some to form “safer” and more “insular” networks. l We are born out of a reaction against coercive structures

of ecclesiastical authority and this heritage is not always held in tension with the biblical call (and our tradition) to join in associational life. If this tension is not held the focus then moves to autonomy of the local church, region or agency at the cost of ministry together. l We find our networks outside of Baptist associations and even become apologetic for Baptist connections in a so-called post-denominational age. l We are drawn to a micro unification with like-minded churches and agencies in our region where ecclesiology appears “to work” against the macro regional BWA or APBF model, which involves a deeper consideration of others. Let me encourage you to reflect on the “Affirmations: Mission

and Vision Statements” of the BWA. We can miss the significance of these simple, basic statements.

8 BAPTIST WORLD MAGAZINE

“One of the joys of my ministry . . . is to witness how Baptists come

together beyond a local level.” — Ross Clifford

Mission

Networking the Baptist family to impact the world for Christ

Vision

The Baptist World Alliance is a global movement of Baptists sharing a common confession of faith in Jesus Christ bonded together by God’s love to support, encourage and strengthen one another

while proclaiming and living the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit before a lost and hurting world

Our world is a global village and the affirmations remind us

of God’s purposes in our heavenly calling together as Baptists. Ross Clifford is principal, Morling Theological College near

Sydney, Australia, and president, Asia Pacific Baptist Federation. 1.

the church, Baptist Union of GB, 1992, 73. 2.

Paul Beasley-Murray, Radical Believers: The Baptist way of being

Rev Ken R. Manley, Baptists: Their Heritage and Faith, Centenary Committee of Baptist Union of NSW, 1974, 57. 3. Stephen R. Holmes, Baptist Theology, T & T Clark International,

2012, 104. 4. Steven R. Harmon, Towards Baptist Catholicity: Essays on

Tradition and the Baptist Vision, Paternoster, 2006, 219. 5.

the church, Baptist Union of GB, 1992, 73. Paul Beasley-Murray, Radical Believers: The Baptist way of being

only possible through God: it is the gift of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, as we come together as humans, Christians, Baptists, we bring all that diversity that God has created and celebrates. Some are black and others of us are pinkies. We are male and female, old and young; some love to sing and dance in praise to the Lord, and others of us sit tight in our seats and hope no one will ask us to clap our hands. We are all sorts, but all of us read the New Testament affirmation that we are all one in Christ Jesus (Gal. 3. 28). That verse says, however, that in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, and therein lies an interesting puzzle. Does this mean that our Christian identity does away with our differences, and thus with our identity? I think not. It is not as if God wills to “flatten out” our differences so that we all end up “coffee coloured” as that song from the 1970s suggested.

God does not want to negate who we are, but rather wants to unite who we are in a community of rich diversity, with differences that do not divide. The clear indication of this is found in a proper reading of the story of Pentecost. On that day, there is a reversal of the story of Babel, when different languages meant that people could no longer understand each other. At Pentecost, the great crowd of witnesses all hear in their own languages. It is not that the Spirit negates their distinctive identities, but