Unlikely Brotherhood

5 Indians walk into a bar…

Ok, it wasn’t a bar, it was actually a videoconference meeting. And this also isn’t the setup for a joke, it actually happened.

Early on a Saturday morning in May, the 5 of us, from varying denominations, woke up before the crack of dawn to discuss a pressing issue that stands before us. Now, most of us had never spoken to each other before. In many ways, this was a meeting of firsts.

So what prompted this gathering?

Well, it probably began with Charles Samuel’s (Christ AG Church, NY) article “The Indian Church Must Die,” which caused quite a stir to say the least. For days, we watched folks from every side of the argument chime in – including the four others who participated in May’s videoconference: Linson Daniel – Intervarsity/Metro COG (Dallas, TX); Brice Johnson – Austin Stone Church (Austin, TX); Sujith Jacob – Frontline Church (Oklahoma City, OK); and Binu Abraham – Seven Mile Road Church (Philadelphia, PA).

The topic at hand was this: must local churches always be mutli-ethnic or is there room for ethnic-specific congregations?

This was an important issue for all of us because everyone mentioned above either belongs to or belonged to an ethnic-specific church. And yet, interestingly, we have all landed at different opinions concerning the matter over the years.

But my point in this article isn’t to parse out the arguments for any one position. Instead, it’s to highlight the nature of our conversation. Here are 5 observations that I took away that morning:

Unity Without Uniformity. The five of us probably disagree on a bunch of secondary things – everything from theology to practice. But we’re brothers. Why? Because our unity is found in our commitment to and belief in the person and work of Jesus Christ. And so we treated each other like brothers. We didn’t look at the other as “second-class” or as “not-really-one-of-us.” We were brothers. Truly.

Quick to Listen, Slow to Speak. These are bright men. Well read. Great writers. Really insightful. But none of them were dying to drop their knowledge on the other. Instead, I watched as each one asked great questions and genuinely wanted to learn more than they sought to teach. There wasn’t an ounce of defensiveness that was felt during the dialogue, and I believe it stemmed greatly from the humble posture of these men.

Full of Grace and Truth. There were moments of disagreement. We knew there would be going in. But what was a delight to watch was the grace-filled way in which each one presented truth. I was reminded that morning of the great beauty that we see in Christ himself –who spoke absolute truth with absolute grace, never wavering from either.

Tribes Set Aside. Growing up as a Marthomite, I know how seemingly impossible it would be for folks from my church and the Pentecostal church to meet together for anything. We had written each other off before even getting to the table. After this conversation, I was reminded of the harm of such alienation. Sure, our theological differences need to be evaluated and addressed as we talk, but they should never keep us from conversing. I’m grateful that it didn’t that morning.

Christ as Preeminent. At the end of the day, one thing was clear: we’re not representing our own churches. We’re not trying to make a case for why our brand of church is superior. Instead, we all agree that Christ is preeminent. This is His Church. He will build it. Our desire is to faithfully submit to what He is doing among and through us. That leaves no room for egos or personal agendas. This is by Christ and for Christ.
And so we’re hoping for many more conversations. In fact, we hope to continue this specific conversation with many of you at The Advance Initiative Conference in October.

There will be a lot more learning. Times of disagreement. And an abundance of grace. All for the glory and honor of Christ, who has made us brothers.