Focusing on Jesus: Finding Unity in Diversity
“...teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you."Matthew”… 28:20a
Unfortunately, even those of us who are deeply committed to being a disciple of Jesus fail miserably with this commandment. We divide on points of doctrine, genres of music, preaching styles, size of church, ethnicity etc.
Pastoring international churches was a great help to me in learning to love those who look different than me, have different Christian traditions than me, express their faith different than me, and hold different doctrinal views than me, etc.
Worldwide, people are moving from place to place to find work. Among these nomads are professionals and skilled workers who take jobs in medium to larger cities throughout the world. Many of these urban centers are in countries where Christianity has not been the dominant religion. Consequently, the Jesus followers, among the migrant work force, seek places to worship. There are usually few options for corporate worship. In these cities the most conservative disciples and the most charismatic disciples find themselves in the same church.
As a pastor in an international church, I left my credentials hidden in a drawer lest someone put me in a theological box they did not prefer. I also discovered there is a theme that can be preached everywhere that resonates with believers regardless of their background. That theme is Jesus. Who He is, what He did, and what He yet plans to do.
Amazingly, once we divert our attention from the things that divide us and focus on "the author and finisher of our faith" it becomes so much easier to love those who are different than us because we have a common love for Jesus.
I was attracted to leading F4L because I saw the effectiveness of the material in international settings where I pastored. By sticking to the main message and doing so in simple ways avoids the denominational, doctrinal, and practical pitfalls that otherwise can take place. The focus on making disciples who make more disciples means the F4L material fits into every setting where people desire to become better equipped to love one another as Jesus first loved us and to help others find their place in God's great story.
K R Paton
President