We walk through life, daily choosing with whom to gather based primarily on the purpose of the gathering.  Beyond the need to choose a good purpose, the method or practice of how we gather deserves our attention as well.  While gathering to coordinate evil deserves to be judged as inherently wrong regardless of how well organized it may be, on the other hand a gathering with a good purpose deserves praise only when successful in the method or practice of carrying out the gathering.  Although we might hope that gathering to harm would be carried out poorly, we would clearly hope that gathering for a good purpose is implemented as well as possible. However, examples of good gathering done poorly abound. Gathering that is not considerate of another’s needs may be hurtful.  Gathering that is more focused on one individual within the gathering may be hurtful.  Gathering of immature individuals acting immaturely can produce significant strife. In order to practice good gathering, we should strive for a Biblically based unity in diversity that is grounded in Biblical principles of how to treat one another within that practice of gathering.

               In part one of this two part essay we consider the goal of living out unity in diversity  and how that practice undergirds gathering for a good purpose.  After establishing this practice as foundational to gathering according to God’s design, in part two we work through what this looks like in some of the most common gatherings in which we will participate.  This includes family, community, church, and other gatherings.  We therefore start with the broadest principles and work down into how they are applied in various settings.

               Society needs a new vision for how to practice gathering as the resistance against productive gathering has grown stronger in relation to the forces of attraction holding groups together.  Today, groups from the size of 2 or 3 to thousands come together regularly for some common purpose.  Even a nation of millions stands as a gathering of sorts for a common purpose of upholding shared values though they will not ever all gather physically in one location.  Given mankind’s fallen nature, these gatherings can be done well or can be done poorly.  Growing out of that fallen nature, the degradation of good interpersonal communication, as it contributes to the splintering of society into smaller and smaller groups, means that our society and its groups are less likely to produce good without the fruit of good gathering.  Beyond the simple fallen nature, the ongoing polarization of conflicting views further drives people into smaller and smaller groups emphasizing disunity.  In such a milieu, groups gather and soon dissolve or splinter as some conflict drives some away regularly. The diversity of opinion, preference, and personality overcomes the drive for unity in purpose unless a greater force counters the prevailing cultural momentum.  God’s instructions for pursuing unity in diversity can provide such a counter force.

               I thus begin a proposal for an ideal gathering, a gathering aimed at a good purpose carried out by practicing unity in diversity according to God’s instructions for treating one another.  Such a pattern of unity in diversity does not require a perfectly homogenous coalition where no conflict and no differences exist.  There are no expectations of a utopia where all place the other’s well-being above their own 100% of the time nor where all agree 100%.  Neither would the majority want to force compliance to a given group’s external standard, but instead hope to permit a voluntary gathering for a good purpose to form, bringing together the beauty of diversity within a mutually edifying unity.  Any potentially disruptive disagreements would be worked out by a conscious commitment of both sides to overcome such conflict.  If such an ideal is to be met, the actualization of this ideal must be carried out in light of the design given to society by our Designer which depends on unity in diversity.

BIBLICAL CASE
               Such a proposal for unity in diversity does not arise solely from human reasoning nor naturally from the evolution of society, but from a Biblical case that our Creator determined that we should live in such a manner.  Living in accordance with God’s design comes when Christians live as one body made of diverse members within the bounds of God’s truth.  We know this to be the case by examining God’s Word to see that he has given us multiple instructions in both the Old and New Testaments.  These instructions can be divided into different groups:  first, clear commands in how we are to behave towards one another; second, descriptions of the rewards of living in unity; third, commands against different forms of disunity; and fourth, the limits of seeking unity with others.  The ultimate goal for unity in diversity can be seen in the final eschatological vision of “every tribe, nation, and tongue” united before God’s throne which illustrates the type of kingdom that God is building here and now (Isa 49:6; Phil 2; Rev 5:9; 7:9, 14:6).

               First, God provides clear commands which point us towards a responsibility to live in unity despite the diversity we find in society.  We can read that God ends distinctions even Jews and Gentiles in Galatians 3:23 and Colossians 3:11.  The difference between being God’s people, the Jews, and not God’s people, the Gentiles prior to Christ, was abolished in that both groups were united in Christ without further distinctions as one people belonging to God.  The fourth chapter of Ephesians again repeats the theme of unity in the Spirit as Christians live under “one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” (ESV v.5).  In verse 16, our maturing into Christ likeness includes the image of living as part of a whole body made of different parts functioning seamlessly together.  The image of one body made of many members is combined with idea of “Jews and Greeks, slaves or free” being unified in one Spirit as we read I Corinthians 12:12-13. 

               Both the Old and the New Testaments further drive home how unity will look for a body made of different people, some stronger and some weaker.  The Old Testament instructed the Hebrew nation how to treat minorities among them, those who would not have had power to protect themselves (Exodus 12:48-49, Exodus 23:1-9, Leviticus 19:33-34, and Leviticus 24:22).  In these verses, there was to be one law for Hebrew citizen and sojourners among them and justice was to be maintained regardless of status.  Such a command to bear with the weaker broth is repeated in Romans 14 and 15 in the New Testament.  Together these commands to pursue unity would be enough to hold us accountable to seek unity in diversity but God’s Word gives us more.

               Second, we are also given promises of the rewards to those who seek unity in diversity.  Psalm 133 provides a vivid picture of the bounty of oil being poured over our head in the blessings of God as occurred when oil anointed Aaron as high priest.  The immensity of the blessing was described as dew settling on Mount Zion in that God would bestow His blessing, life everlasting.  In Romans 12:3-9, we read of the variety of gifts divided between different individuals within the church body.  Clearly, when we join those gifts together by the possessors living in unity, we receive greater blessings than we live ununified and absent one or more of those gifts in the church body.  This image of God bestowing a multiple of spiritual gifts upon His church is repeated in Ephesians 4:7-12 and the benefits of such unity in diversity are emphasized in verses 13-16.  On one hand, by utilizing the given diversity of gifts in one body, we will no longer be tossed too and fro by doctrinal winds or human cunning.  On the other hand, this unity enables the body of believers to grow and build itself up.  Clearly, the rewards described for unity in the body of Christ should encourage us to seek such unity in diversity yet God’s Words provides even further reasons.

               Third, God commands us against disunity in a number of scriptures.  James 2:1-3 clearly instructs Christians to avoid showing partiality based on one’s status in society.  Treating the wealthy visitor different from the poor visitor clearly violates God’s will.  In I Corinthians 6:1-11, God, through Paul, warns against Christians bringing lawsuits against other Christians.  Not only does this cast a bad image upon the Church, but it shows that they are not obeying commands to reconcile rather than remain in disunity.   Divisions within the church are also to be avoided as we read in I Corinthians 1:10-17.  There Paul urges that those who are choosing different church leaders to follow are bringing disunity into the church which should not be there.

               Fourth, with such commands to pursue unity and avoid disunity, God also sets limits to unity.  In Luke 12:49-53, Jesus Himself clearly states that he will be division to the Earth.  We know that this is based on how different people respond to Him in faith or not.  I John 2:19 tells us that some left the fellowship of the Apostles due to the very fact that they were not really unified in the first place.  Even among the Apostles, Paul had to confront Peter for the error of erroneously separating from the Gentiles (Galatians 2:11-14).  To preserve the unity of the early church Paul had to separate himself clearly from Peter’s error.  Similarly, the Corinthians were instructed to separate from the Christian brother who was acting in willful sexual sin (I Corinthians 5:15).  While the ultimate goal was to restore unity in truth, it requires a disunity for a time.  For this reason in 2 Corinthians 16:14-18, the Corinthians and thus us as well are told to not be equally yoked to unbelievers.  The disunity highlighted by Christ’s words in Luke 12:49-53 meant that we cannot be bound to unbelievers as we can be with believers.

               With these five points regarding God’s instructions for His children’s unity in mind, we return to the ultimate goal: the final eschatological vision of “every tribe, nation, and tongue” united before God’s throne being worked out in the here and now.  We pursue this ultimate goal by seeking unity in diversity within the limits He has set.

               Within this unity in diversity, we see wholeness despite heterogeneity in the practice of gathering.  Consider the parts of a car which are vastly different one from another, yet unified in the functioning form of a car or consider the parts of our bodies in their variety, yet unified in the functioning form of a being made in the image of God.  In these cases, the designed diversity actually contributes to the excellence of the unity.  In either case, the individual parts could not function properly without the diversity unified into the whole.  In gathering properly, we must bring together diversity for the sake of a greater whole than what a collection of homogenous individuals might do.

               If we are to gather to do something greater than we can do alone or than what we can do with others exactly like us we must approach the practice of unity in diversity with awareness and intent aiming at Godly principles.  We must be aware that we will at times disagree on the lesser issues even if we agree on the higher purpose.  We must be okay with this reality.  We must be aware that sometimes that other person is right and we are wrong but this does not change our worth or our role in the unity of the gathering.  We must remember that even if we are the one in the right, how we work to unify requires a respect for the other as a person for they are made in God’s image (James 3:9-10).  We are beholden to treat them according to the love of neighbor (Leviticus 19:18, Mark 12:31 and others) as we both stand under a Creator to whom we are accountable (Romans 14:12).  We must remember that the primary purpose is not our own success in a disagreement, but instead we should strive towards the higher purpose for which we have gathered.

               Before considering several setting of life in which this unity in diversity must be applied, we can see that not only does striving for unity in diversity make logical sense, but cannot be denied as the Biblical standard commanded by God.  As a good, loving, and wise Designer he designed the gathering of man to function most successfully when it functions according to the commandments He gave for society.  The principle of unity in diversity enables the diversity of individuals to join efforts and resources for the fruit of greater good than the individual can accomplish alone.  We will see how this should be applied in various settings in the next essay.

Next in the series, Part 2 of True Gathering: Gathering Well in Specific Settings