Editorial

At the Mennonite World Conference Assembly 15 July 14-19 in Asunción, Paraguay, there was much talk of unity. And the worship there by more than 5,000 Mennonites from across the globe inspired feelings of togetherness. But we left with the question facing all Christians: How do we live that realistically?

[Make] every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.—Ephesians 4:3

At the Mennonite World Conference (MWC) Assembly 15 July 14-19 in Asunción, Paraguay, there was much talk of unity. And the worship there by more than 5,000 Mennonites from across the globe inspired feelings of togetherness. But we left with the question facing all Christians: How do we live that realistically?

In his Saturday morning (July 18) Bible study, Chris Marshall, an Anabaptist theologian from New Zealand, delivered a stirring analysis of Ephesians 4:1-6 . He pointed out that leading “a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called” (v. 1) means above all “being committed to reconciliation and peacemaking, especially within the family of the church.”

But how, he asked, do we “make every effort” to maintain this unity? He mentioned three things. First, we must know our calling, which is “to participate in God’s great work of healing the universe through Jesus Christ.”

Second, Marshall said, “we must cultivate those qualities of Christian character that give expression to our calling”: humility, gentleness, patience and forbearance. When these are present, “it is possible to overcome every conflict and to heal any hurt that may arise among us.”

The third requirement for sustaining Christian unity and peace, Marshall said, is “to be clear on what the church is.” Paul does not tell his readers to create this unity. “The unity of the church is not something we manufacture by being unusually nice to one another,” he said. It already exists, brought into being by the Spirit of God.

What the Bible says about the church’s unity is similar to what it says about peace. It is not some nice add-on but an essential to our faith because it reflects the character of God. Unity is not some romantic notion or good feeling but a reality we are called to live out.

At the beginning of the assembly, outgoing MWC president Nancy Heisey made similar points from a different text, Philippians 2:1-11. Living out our unity in Christ requires having the mind of Christ, she said, and that involves “giving up what could be ours,” just as Jesus did.

Heisey was more forthcoming about the hindrances to unity that we face. Mennonites like to look back at our history or listen to others compliment us on our commitment to biblical mission. But we need “to put our history in question,” she said, and be aware of our flaws as well.

When we come together, as we did in Paraguay, we are delighted by our diversity. But experiencing people who are different can be hard, Heisey said. “It feels threatening when a sister church has a different way of welcoming members,” she said.

In a workshop on Mennonite-Catholic dialogue, Fernando Enns said that if you want true dialogue you must speak with someone who believes strongly in the opposing view. In other words, for unity to become real it must come through a true encounter, not a surface niceness.

The MWC assembly included wonderful expressions of our unity in Christ, particularly in our singing. In Paraguay I witnessed the diverse beauty of that unity but also heard about comments of racial prejudice.

Such assemblies expose those attending to the differences among us. We do not experience our life in Christ the same way, and we don’t have to. But we are called—clearly from the Bible—to work at maintaining the unity God has created.

There is nothing romantic about this work. It requires great sacrifice—mostly to our selfish pride. Jesus’ own self-emptying (Philippians 2:7) led to his crucifixion. The church is called to the same kind of selflessness.

Worshiping together is certainly a sign of unity and gives us strength and encouragement to live out that unity in our own locales. But to show the world that unity in Christ means hard work. It means we must make “every effort to maintain the Spirit in the bond of peace.”