Jeff Hwang
As our church anniversary approached, I found myself reflecting on our church against the backdrop of the pretty divided world that we live in. One word kept coming to mind and weighing heavily on my heart: Unity.
We regularly pray for unity. It shapes how we do ministry and is deeply embedded in our church’s culture. We often say that unity is not uniformity, but there is unity in diversity. But this reflection also made me wonder, “Do I really know what unity is?”
There’s a psychological phenomenon called “semantic satiation”. It’s when a word is repeated so often that it temporarily loses its meaning and starts to sound strange. This happens because our brains become desensitized to the word through repetition. Am I doing that now? Unity. Unity. Unity. All in all, that’s 8 times I’ve said this word already. It feels a little strange. But I would also ask, “Could this happen to us as a church?” Could our talk of unity become so familiar that, for a moment, we forget what it truly means and how it should be lived out?
We are a diverse church even if that diversity may not always be so obvious to others. We are multilingual, multi-congregational, multicultural, and multi-generational. But what does it mean for us to have unity in our diversity? What holds us together in a way that reflects the unity that God calls us to as His church? As we celebrate and exercise our freedom in our diversity, what actually unites us?
The title of this article is You Can’t Spell Unity Without U n’ I. You and I. We’re going to unpack what that means. And we’re going to see three things in our passage. The starting point for unity. The substance of unity. And the steps to unity.
The starting point for unity is our shared experience of the gospel (v. 1)
There’s a central command at the heart of this passage. “Complete my joy,” which is explained as being of the same mind. Being united. But that is preceded by verse 1, “…if there is any [of these things].” But Paul writes presupposing these things are already true.
A more functional translation would be “Since there is encouragement in Christ, since there is comfort from love from God, since there is participation in the Spirit, since there is affection and sympathy for me as I have for you, complete my joy.”
And so before Paul instructs the church in Philippi to be united, he begins with their shared experience of these things. The starting point for unity is our shared experience of the gospel. He appeals to their common experience of the gospel. Encouragement in Christ. Comfort from love, presumably from God the Father. And participation in the Spirit. Together we have the triune God. In the gospel, you have all experienced these things from Him. And He adds a fourth thing that they have experienced. Affection and sympathy, presumably towards Him and Him towards them.
And so the message is this: Be to each other what God has been to each of you. Our shared experience of the gospel is the best starting point for unity because it equalizes us, it connects us together, and it encourages us to be to each other what God in Christ has been to each of us.
I like what J. Alec Motyer says,
[U]nity…belongs to the very essence of Christian life, for it is the way in which Christians display outwardly what the gospel is and means to them. Unity is the gospel’s hallmark; it says to all who examine it, ‘This life is worthy of the gospel.’ (The Message of Philippians, 102)
The starting point for unity is our shared experience of the gospel. But what exactly is unity?
The substance of unity is our shared mindset in Christ (v. 2)
Unity is being of the same mind. Mindset is maybe a better word. Unity is not having the same opinions about everything. That would be uniformity. Unity is not about always agreeing without exception and complete agreement. That would be unanimity. But unity is about having the same mindset – one that is shaped by the gospel, grounded in love, and focused on the same mission. It’s about being aligned in purpose, even when we differ in perspective, allowing our shared faith and commitment to Christ to guide us forward together. And in verse 5, Paul qualifies this mindset as being a mindset in the Lord. So what is unity not then?
Unity is not having a common history.
Unity is not sharing a building.
Unity is not having a joint service that 2 out of 3 congregations attend.
Unity is not having the same ethnic heritage.
Unity is not speaking the same language.
All of these things are good and they help build up our church, but I don’t believe this is what Paul is talking about when he calls us to have the same mindset in the Lord. He’s not focused on these kinds of commonalities.
Because let me tell you, even in my own home, we don’t have “unity” in the words we use every day. I’m Taiwanese American, and my wife is Fuzhounese. She speaks Mandarin and I “speak” Mandarin. But, when we raise our kids together, is it going to be gōngkè or zuòyè for the word “homework”? Is it lèsè or lājī for the word “trash”? Fānqié or xīhóngshì for “tomato”? She’s also lived in New York. I’m from Boston. Is it the T or is the subway? I say “wicked.” She doesn’t.
Even in the context of our family, we don’t always use the same words. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t united. There’s a deeper unity that comes from having the same mindset about what really matters. There is unity in our mindset that we hope for our sons to know Mandarin and to connect with their heritage specifically through language. It’s this same mindset, shared conviction, and common priority that allows us to continue forward together even as we might use different terms. I have to learn to be okay with my son saying lājī instead of lèsè. He’s still young, so there’s still hope for gōngkè.
So, unity as a mindset in the Lord is about identifying the shared convictions that are most primary to the gospel and then allowing those convictions to help us navigate our competing values. Shared convictions. Competing values. Let me explain.
In our church, some prefer traditional hymns, while others prefer contemporary praise. These are competing values that show up when it comes to decisions about how we worship together. But if we share the same mindset in the Lord, the same conviction that worship is ultimately about glorifying God, we can appreciate different approaches, even if they aren’t our personal preference, because we all believe it is about the heart of worship, not the style.
When I was serving at my former church, there was a disagreement among our leaders over whether to cover the retreat cost for the spouse of a youth counselor. So not the actual volunteer, but their spouse. One side said, “We should cover the spouse. We’re taking away the youth counselor from their family for that weekend. They just got married. The least we can do is bring the spouse along.” The other side said, “No. If we’re paying, they’re serving.” Now, fortunately, it wasn’t a big disagreement. We resolved it within a few minutes and no one left the church. But, it reflected a difference in values, right? One side valued pastoral care and appreciation more, wanting to support the counselor and show that the church cares about the family needs of its volunteers through this specific way. Another side valued service and ministry responsibility more.
Here’s the most important thing. Don’t miss this. Both sides valued all these things. They just ranked them differently, which led to this disagreement. But both sides also shared the same conviction and mindset of being good stewards of God’s resources and they believed that for each other. They did not say “Our way is good stewardship of money and your way isn’t.” They believed “We’re both being good stewards of money. We just have a different approach because of our competing values.” But that allowed them to navigate their differences, come to a resolution, and move forward in unity, even though they had differing perspectives.
But you might be thinking, “Pastor Jeff, competing values still compete. We still need to make a decision. What happens when there is no middle ground? How do we actually move forward in unity when we have to choose one option over the other? How does having the same mindset actually help us when our option isn’t chosen?” Paul unpacks what this mindset means in verses 3-4 and verses 5-11.
The steps to unity are our shared concerns for one another (vv. 3-4)
Paul continues on.
3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Unity is natural to the gospel, but it does not come naturally to us. You know what does come naturally? Selfish ambition. Conceit. Looking at our own interests, rather than the interests of others. The opposite of the mind of Christ.
Paul instead highlights humility. Humility creates unity. There is the saying, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.” When Paul says to count others more significant than yourselves, he’s not saying to think, “They’re so much better than me,” but he’s saying to look to their concerns, their needs, their interests, and their values.
When we grumble and dispute, we hinder our ability to advance the gospel. Fast forward to 2:14-15.
14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,
When Paul talks about grumbling and disputing, who in the Bible does that remind you of? The Israelites! Grumbling and disputing in the wilderness. Paul says, “complete my joy by being of the same mind and furthering the gospel, but to do that you need to get your act together, stop the grumbling and disputing, and come to a common mindset about life together in Christ and show that same love for one another.” Because the truth is that we can be together and still be divided.
Let me show you what I mean. I brought with me a piece of a car windshield. And this windshield has some spider cracks in the glass. They’re small, but maybe you can still see them. The cracks compromise the integrity of the whole windshield even though it’s all still together. And sometimes there is more disunity and more disagreement (represented by this hammer) that causes these cracks to grow and spread. To the point where you can’t see clearly through the windshield anymore.
In the same way, the more divided the church becomes, the harder it is for people to see Jesus clearly through us. And also, in the same way, it’s a sobering reality when, like a spider crack, we can be together and still be divided. And eventually that will give way. It will be easier to demolish in days what took decades to build.
So what do we need? A mindset that is ours in Christ Jesus, who perfectly models what it means to look to the interests of others.
5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
In a world where it is all about my right – my right to independence, my right to my body, my right to comfort, my right to privacy, my right to retaliate, my right to my need—Jesus shows us a mindset and a way where he gives up his right to serve us, putting our needs above His own. And he calls us to have that same mindset for each other. To live that same way.
The steps to unity are our shared concerns for each other. There is the saying, “Love begins when someone else’s needs are more important than my own.” Jesus perfectly demonstrates this for us and he calls us to be united by having the same mindset. We do this easily for our children, putting their needs above our own. But God is calling us to do it not for our children, but for those whom we call brother and sister in Christ.
What does it mean for a multilingual, multi-congregational, multicultural, and multi-generational church like ours? Could we be united in a shared mindset in Christ that seeks the interests of other congregations and generations?
Do you know that City Light sometimes get overlooked because they meet in Boston and not in Lexington? Do you know that CM is a fairly large congregation? And because of its size, it can be challenging to meet the many diverse needs that smaller congregations might not face as intensely. Do you know that Cross Bridge doesn’t benefit from the same economies of scale and struggles with having enough human resources to meet its own needs while also supporting other larger churchwide ministries? Do you know that the youth are still meeting in the same closets that I met in when I was a youth 20 years ago? And they still keep getting kicked around to make room for the rest of us. And now I’m part of the problem. Do you know that children’s ministry coworkers go months without worshipping upstairs? And some of them would love for the program to have a one month break in July for their coworkers.
The steps to unity are our shared concerns for one another. What if we looked not only to our own interests, but also to the interests of others? How powerful would it be if CB and CM said “We might need our space, but we will give up our right to that space so the youth can have it.” How amazing would it be if CB and CM said “We’re going to give Mustard Seed coworkers a break for one month. And we’re going to invite those young kids into our worship services and for just four Sundays, our parents will figure out how to worship with their kids.” We may not always find an easy solution, but being aligned in mindset and purpose and fighting for each other is far better than fighting with each other.
Earlier this year, I went over this with the leaders in Cross Bridge. I call it the ABCs of Leadership in a Chinese Heritage Church (see What is a Chinese Heritage Church?).
Actually, we might even call it the ABCs of Leadership for ABCs (American-born Chinese) in a Chinese Heritage Church, since I was speaking to CB leaders. But, I believe, in light of Philippians 2:1-4, that this might be helpful not just for CB leaders, but also for all of us as we demonstrate our shared concerns for one another.
A stands for Advocate. Speaking up and advocating for each other’s needs, whether that is a particular congregation, generation, demographic, person, etc. B stands for Bridge. Connecting with others across generational and cultural gaps and figuring out how to bridge those gaps. Part of it is identifying both the shared convictions and the competing values, but then finding a way forward that honors those different values. C stands for Comprehend. Understanding the people and what the needs and contexts are, especially those shared convictions and competing values.
If we can bridge and comprehend, but don’t advocate, there’s no change. Nothing will happen because no one will say anything. If we can advocate and comprehend, but don’t bridge, there’s no buy-in. There may be change, but at the cost of relationships. If we can advocate and bridge, but don’t comprehend, there’s no purpose. We suggest solutions that don’t make sense. We risk taking the church in a different direction or bringing about unforeseen consequences, because we don’t really understand the people, the needs, or the context. So we need to be able to advocate, bridge, and comprehend together.
And the foundation that undergirds this entire framework is “trust.” Trust in God and trust in each other as we do these ABCs.
Without trust, advocacy will feel self-serving. “You’re just bringing this up to benefit yourself.” Without trust, bridging will feel fragile. “I don’t really know you and you don’t really know me.” Without trust, comprehending will feel shallow. “You don’t actually understand my needs.”
The three points from Phillippians 2:1-4 are this.
- The starting point for unity is our shared experience of the gospel (v. 1)
- The substance of unity is our shared mindset in Christ (v. 2)
- The steps to unity is our shared concerns for one another (vv. 3-4)
And if every member and leader embodied all three, what a powerful picture of church unity in our diversity that would be. Because remember, you can’t spell unity without U n’ I.
About the author: Jeff is the pastor of the Cross Bridge Ministry – an English ministry at CBCGB. This sermon was originally delivered as the sermon during the Church’s joint 55th Anniversary Service and has been edited for clarity, grammar, and readability in print.