In this video, Dr. H.B. Charles Jr. describes foundational principles for encouraging unity in the church.
How can pastors and church leaders encourage unity among the saints when there are cultural, generational, or even doctrinal distinctions? I would offer several practical suggestions that might help in that area. First, I would encourage gospel centrality. That is, keep the main thing the main thing. What makes the church the church is that we are bound together as brothers and sisters in Christ and there is no other legitimate or logical explanation for that bond except Jesus Christ. Why would a young adult who could be hanging out with his friends choose to babysit for a young couple so that they could have a date night? Jesus. What would make a retired couple who’ve already raised their children, get involved in children’s ministry and helping young families as they seek to raise their children in the fear and admonition of the Lord Jesus? There should be realities that bind us together around the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ that cannot be explained any other way.
Secondly, which I think is often neglected in the general life of the church and especially when there are challenges, there’s a very simple strategy that the Lord has given us and it is corporate prayer. When a church prays together praying with one another and for one another, I am convinced it happens after prayer. There are some things that you can fix, help, and change after you pray, but there are things you can’t fix, help, and change until you pray. When we work, we work; but when we pray, God works.
The other thing I would mention, which might sound a little strange, is that unity is encouraged by the practice of church discipline: Think Matthew 18:15– 20. However, don’t think about the end of it where the final step of that process is to treat them like a tax collector and a sinner or excommunication. Think about the beginning of that process where Jesus says, “If someone offends you, don’t go tell your crew about it and raise division, but go to that person privately and tell him the fault between you and him; and if he hears you, you have won your brother.” I don’t have statistics on this, but I really do believe that most local congregations would be at least fifty percent healthier if they would just practice that first step of church discipline, where interpersonally we treat each other in a way where we are ready to forgive and eager for reconciliation.