The Secret of Church Unity

I learned something powerful about unity while conducting an evangelistic series a number of years ago in a town on the border of Myanmar and India. The Adventist church there was small, but the leaders had a great burden for mission. As it was a border town, most of our members were involved in trades and various businesses. We worked hard to reach the town for Christ. For a few months leading up to the event, together as a church we visited homes, ran free medical clinics, and invited friends and others to come listen to our messages.

As the event arrived, members greeted guests night after night, prepared refreshments, and continued intentionally investing in people’s lives. The venue we rented for the meetings was simple, but the atmosphere was filled with excitement and prayerful dedication. We knew we were not simply running a series of presentations, but trying to win hearts for Christ.

In the middle of this effort I discovered that two members had a disagreement related to their business dealings. This issue could have caused a break in relationships between them and their families. But fortunately, one of them said something I will never forget: “We need to reconcile and move on. People are watching us. If we’re fighting internally, we cannot reflect Christ, and people won’t want to join our church.”

That moment stayed with me. Unity was preserved not because they suddenly agreed on every detail of their disagreement. Rather, it was because they chose to forgive each other and put their personal grievances aside for the sake of the mission. That experience taught me that when mission matters more than personal differences, it’s easier to let go of our grievances. When Christ becomes the center of everything that we do as members of the church and when mission becomes our focus, unity is a natural result.

Conflict Is Not New

Let us be honest. Conflict in the church is not a modern invention. After all, we live in the context of a cosmic conflict that began in the family of God in heaven long before we entered the scene. Conflict existed among God’s people in the Old Testament as well as in the New Testament churches. It exists today, and it will likely continue to exist until Christ returns.

In the parable of the wheat and the tares, Jesus taught that the wheat (the children of God’s kingdom) and the tares (children of the wicked one) will grow together in His field until the end (Matt. 13:30, 38, 39). It means that until the harvesttime, the church will continue to be mixed with true and false followers of Christ. Given this reality, conflict is inevitable in the church as we engage in mission work for Christ. As Ellen White wrote: “Are we hoping to see the whole church revived? That time will never come. There are persons in the church who are not converted, and who will not unite in earnest, prevailing prayer. We must enter upon the work individually.”[1]

Additionally, we must not ignore what Scripture presents regarding the reality of our spiritual enemy in the unseen realm. Jesus spoke of Satan as one who seeks to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). Church history has shown that when Satan cannot destroy the church through persecution from the outside, he weakens it through conflicts and compromise from within. Destroying the church’s unity for mission is one of his most effective tools. Through church conflicts, Satan often damages the witness of the church and discourages new and seasoned believers.

When tensions rise among us, we often see one another as the problem, forgetting that there is a greater enemy who delights in stirring up pride, suspicion, and division.

I remember reading an illustration about red ants and black ants being placed together in a glass jar. If you put 100 red ants and 100 black ants inside and leave them alone, nothing happens. They move about, coexist, and carry on without conflict. But if someone comes along and shakes the jar, the ants suddenly begin to fight. Each ant assumes the other is the enemy, without realizing that the true cause of the chaos is the hand that shook their world. In much the same way, when tensions rise among us we often see one another as the problem, forgetting that there is a greater enemy who delights in stirring up pride, suspicion, and division. Remembering who really “shook the jar” can help us view our conflicts more accurately.

When we recognize that our struggle is not merely “against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12), we begin to see conflicts and disagreements in the church differently. Understanding this larger spiritual reality can help us pause before conflicts escalate, and respond with wisdom instead of hostility.

Paul’s Counsel: The Mind of Christ

In 1 Corinthians 1:10 Paul appeals to believers that “there be no divisions” among them, and that they be “perfectly joined together in the same mind.” It is not practical to expect everyone in the church to be of the same mind in the sense of agreeing on every single point. How then does Paul appeal to believers to have the same mind? The answer is found in Philippians 2:5, where Paul writes, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” True unity, then, does not come from pressure to all have the same personalities or the same viewpoints on everything, but rather from personal surrender to Christ.

Ellen White penned this beautiful counsel about how the mind of Christ can transform our hearts. She wrote that when we behold “Christ in His self-denial, His lowliness of heart,” “the independence and self-supremacy in which we glory are seen in their true vileness as tokens of servitude to Satan.”[2] She continued:

“Human nature is ever struggling for expression, ready for contest; but he who learns of Christ is emptied of self, of pride, of love of supremacy, and there is silence in the soul. Self is yielded to the disposal of the Holy Spirit. Then we are not anxious to have the highest place. We have no ambition to crowd and elbow ourselves into notice; but we feel that our highest place is at the feet of our Saviour.”[3]

Imagine a church family in which each member feels that the highest place is at the feet of Jesus. How differently would we resolve our differences and disagreements? Only when each member individually has the mind of Christ can the church collectively reflect Christ. When Christ becomes our Lord, our pride weakens. When Christ becomes our example, our desire to win arguments decreases. When Christ becomes our focus, our need to protect our personal ambitions or ego fades. The more closely we walk with Christ, the closer we move toward one another.

Mission Creates a Bigger Picture

There is another powerful force that strengthens unity: mission. When a church becomes inwardly focused, small differences can easily grow large—personal preferences become major issues, and minor misunderstandings turn into lasting wounds. But when a church becomes mission-focused, perspective changes. Mission lifts our eyes beyond ourselves.

During that evangelistic series near the border town, members did not have time to nurture resentment. They were too busy praying for visitors, too engaged in Bible studies, and too concerned about souls. They understood that the gospel commission is bigger than our disagreements.

When we participate in the mission of God to reach the unreached, we join a transcendent cause. That does not mean conflict disappears. In fact, the enemy may intensify his attacks when the church is active in outreach. But mission gives us motivation to reconcile quickly. As we become part of something larger than our personal ambitions, we begin to see people, not as obstacles or enemies, but as coworkers in Christ’s harvest field. In mission work, as we remember that our unity affects our witness, we become slower to take offense and quicker to forgive.

In a divided world filled with tribalism, political polarization, and cultural fragmentation, the church has the opportunity to demonstrate a different reality: a unity rooted in Christ and His mission. When we lift our eyes to the cross, our personal grievances lose their power. And when we step into mission, our internal conflicts shrink in significance. A church centered on Christ and engaged in mission possesses a shared reason to stay united that is stronger than division.

[1] Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, book 1 (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1958, 1980), p. 122.

[2] Ellen G. White, Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1956), p. 15.

[3] Ibid.