Why I’m Becoming A Togetherist

Okay. I know. You’ve never heard of a togetherist and it sounds bad.  Please give me a chance to explain myself.

Here’s what I don’t mean:

(1) I don’t mean that we should despise the Bible’s commands to separate ourselves from false teachers and false teaching. Here’s a sample of what God’s Word says about this subject: Romans 16:17,18, I Corinthians 5:9-13, II Corinthians 6:14-18, Galatians 1:6-9, II Thessalonians 3:6-15, Titus 3:9-11, II Peter 2:1-22, II John 7-11, Jude 1-25, Revelation 2:14-16

These commands are not to be taken lightly.  There should be a clear dividing line between those who are proclaiming the Biblical gospel and those who deny it. These commands to separate are grounded both in God’s holiness and in the human need to hear and see a clear, unadulterated message.

Any time I have the opportunity, obligation or temptation to work together in meeting needs or making disciples with a church of a different brand or stripe, the first question I ask myself is, “By working with this group, are we going to send a confusing message to the people for whom Christ died in our community?” “Do we want the public to think that we proclaim the same gospel as such and such a church?”

I don’t want to belabor this, but I wouldn’t deny the charge of being a “separatist” because, in my observation, every Christian leader is a separatist of one sort or another. Do you think that the theologically and politically liberal, lesbian pastor at church “A” wants to conduct joint ventures with the separatistic, avowedly fundamentalist church “B” down the street?  I don’t think so, and that makes her a separatist too.

(2) I don’t mean that we should throw in our lot with the ecumenical movement, the effort that seeks to draw every Christian denomination into one super-denomination. I don’t believe that the New Testament concern for unity (see below) nor the success of the Great commission enterprise requires this. If the one super-denomination substantially agreed with my church: great. But I’m not holding my breath waiting for that to happen.

(3) I don’t mean that our denominational differences don’t matter. Even among denominational tribes that agree on the basic gospel message, there are many differences of opinion on propositions which are not vital to the clear presentation of the gospel. Our varying views on baptism, the Lord’s supper, roles of men and women in the church and church government are just a few examples. We can’t all be right about these issues and God wants us to be as “right” as we can be, completely obedient to Scripture as we understand it, so these differences are worth debating.

(4) Having said that, I need to add that I’m not against Christian denominations. Denominations, networks and associations can be helpful to churches and the advancement of the gospel in a variety of ways (which I can’t go into right now). From what I’ve seen, almost any soundly evangelical denomination is better than no denomination at all. I’m all-in for strengthening their ministries instead of abandoning them on the basis of their deficiencies.

(5) Nor do I mean that we must work together on every project on which we could work together. We all have so many big opinions; have you noticed? More than one preacher has volunteered to write a couple of new books of the Bible called I Opinions and II Opinions. Personally, I have so many pet peeves that I had to buy a hobby farm to make room for them all.

With that said, here’s what I mean when I say that I’m becoming a togetherist.

(1) If we’re going to take the commands to separate from false teachers seriously, we should also take the commands to receive and love our fellow gospel-preaching, Scripture-loving brethren seriously. Where I went to school, I was taught to ignore these commands to love and receive, but they’re in same book as the commands to separate:

John 13:34,35 – We are to love other believers in Christ in the same sacrificial way in which Christ loved his disciples. This kind of love was to be the main distinguishing mark of the followers of Jesus, not the cross, the fish, the flag, conservative politics or a grumpy affect.

John 17:11 and 20-23 – Jesus prays that his followers will be one even as the three persons of the Triune God are one.  (No, I don’t understand this, but I do believe it.) Jesus also prays that our unity – something we humans are not very good at – will serve as an apologetic, an evidence, of the Divine origin and identity of Christ. Our “complete unity” is to let the world know that Jesus Christ came from the Father.

Acts 9:26-30 – Barnabas felt strongly about convincing the Christian leaders in Jerusalem to freely receive their new brother Saul (later Paul) as he had done.

Acts 15 – The “Jerusalem Council” decides definitively that new believers in Christ who sought to profess their faith through baptism should be received as brothers.

Romans 14:1-15:7 – The Apostle Paul insists that believers should receive one another and not let their opinions about questionable ethical issues divide them.

I John – This letter is teeming with the Apostle’s concern that all believers in Christ should love each other in word and in deed.

III John – While II John speaks out against false teachers (cited above), III John highlights the need to “welcome the brothers,” speak well of them and assist the true teachers of the gospel. It is a perfect, balancing complement to the separatism in II John.

(2) As in the John 13 and John 17 passages cited above, the lost world needs to see some evidence of Christian unity. Many lost people know that Christians are supposed to – in some sense – be “one.” They throw it in our faces that their towns are populated with several, or dozens, or hundreds, of Christian churches, all of which talk about love and none of which have anything to do with each other.

As I said under #(5) above, your church doesn’t have to work together with every church – or with one sister church on every  conceivable project – to send a healthy message of Christian love and unity to a watching world.

(3) The pastors of churches need each other. Here’s a scenario I’ve experienced repeatedly: I develop a great relationship with Pastor Jones of First Whatever Church in a small town. I discover that he’s a wonderful brother, a serious scholar and a great lover of God and his people. I also discover that he doesn’t know Pastor Smith of Second Frisbyterian Church on the other side of the tracks, another fine man of God. They’ve both been in their churches for a decade and they’re both lonely.   Tell me how this makes any sense.

And by the way: both of their wives are desperately lonely for somebody who might understand their unique roles.  They haven’t even met each other.

Here’s another scenario: I ask Pastor Jones if he’s involved in a good pastor’s fellowship group – I call them “pastor pow-wows” – and he responds in the negative, for the churches of his denomination are too far away. His town has several other evangelical churches whose pastors would also give me the same answer. Fellowship with these pastors would be good for all of them: stretching, challenging and encouraging.

Pastor: At the risk of having to employ the “E-Word,” I’m willing to bet that your library is pretty ecumenical.  That is, you have great commentaries written by Presbyterians, Methodists, Episcopalians, Baptists and Lutherans right next to each other.  You need to know where the authors are coming from so you know when to ignore them, but you’re grateful for every hour these godly men put into their work.

Bottom line: Here’s what I mean by being a togetherist:

I believe that my default position toward my professing brethren in Christ should be acceptance, not rejection. Having a default position of acceptance doesn’t mean that I compromise the gospel or abandon my concern for interpreting, exegeting and obeying the Bible conscientiously. It does mean that I’m going to give my brothers and sisters and their churches the benefit of the doubt. I’ll appreciate my denomination, but I won’t let it separate me from my brethren across town.  I’ll seek to extend the right hand of fellowship (Galatians 2:9) first and debate the details of the rapture later, over a good cup of coffee.