What Makes Small Churches Great Churches: Part 3: Unity

This is the fourth article in the series on the importance of small churches. The previous articles are:
The Introduction (an overview and rationale for the series)
Part 1: Truth (an overview and rationale for the series)
Part 2: Mature Love (the imperative of having a loving fellowship)

During the Revolutionary War John Dickerson popularized the saying “United we stand, divided we fall” in The Liberty Song. In refuting the religious leaders’ claim that Jesus cast out demons by the power of Beelzebub, He articulated unity in this way, “A house divided against itself cannot stand (Matt 12:25).” If you have been part of a local Baptist church built squarely on the foundation of congregational polity, then you know the challenge unity poses. Something as insignificant as wall colors or a yellow pages advertisement can spark a sharp discord within a church. When discussing how a church can remain united when members disagree, a lady in our church responded, “The same way you remain united in a marriage when you disagree. Your love for one another unites you stronger than the disagreement divides you.”

For a church comprised of members who have placed themselves under the authority of God’s Word and have committed to a mature love for each other that never fades, the challenge of unity becomes achievable. Small churches are great churches when their members unite in the essentials of the faith, in seeking the best for each other, and in reaching the world for Christ. Paul’s call for unity in the Ephesian church (ch. 4) stems from three chapters of heavy doctrine. Paul wanted the Ephesian church, comprised of converted Jews and Gentiles, to experience all the possible blessings and power associated with their faith in Christ. To do so, Paul goes outside of this world with its limitations of time and space and provides God’s perspective on the Christians gathered in Ephesus. God has chosen both the Jewish and Gentile believers in Christ (1:4), having “destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility (2:14)” through Jesus’ death. The unifying act of Jesus’ death leads Paul to pray that the church experiences “how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ (3:18).” Read more