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Unity
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Unity
Unity is such a sweet word. It implies peace and harmony. It implies a commonness of purpose. When a family has unity, everyone is at their best. When a business has unity, it is a serious force to be reckoned with. America became stronger after 9/11 because we all unified. A church that has unity impacts eternity.
On Sunday, I went to Unity Baptist Church. This church is so unique that it attracted national attention. You may have read about it but I had never heard of it until Saturday. On Saturday, at the Minneapolis Zoo, I met some very proud members of that church.
Before Unity Baptist Church, there were two struggling churches with different names. They served in the same neighborhood. One served the African American community and the other served the white community. The pastors met and became friends. God led them to combine their churches into one and change the name to Unity. They now lead this church together as co-pastors.
I had been praying about what church to visit on Sunday and when I met these church members, I knew I had my answer. Shawn is the son of one of the co-pastors. He excitedly gave directions. They turned out to be excellent. The service began at 10:45.
When I arrived, people met me and welcomed me. They were expecting me. I was hugged before I ever entered the building. The church is a beautiful old building with stained glass windows. There are pictures on the Website under "Unity Baptist Church." It is a small church. They had about 75 worshipers. They had a blend of African American and while members. They had male and female pastors. They seemed color and gender blind.
I walked in to hear the choir warming up and knew I was going to enjoy this service. The service began with a Call to Unity. The scripture was based on Psalms 116:1-2, 12-19. One of the lines that the leader says is "Each person is so precious in His eyes that no one is abandoned by God, not even in death." The people answer, "We shall freely and faithfully serve you, O God, with thanksgiving in our hearts."
Together we said The Lord's Prayer. I love this prayer. During the welcome, they asked me to introduce myself and tell the church about my mission. I was both nervous and honored to have time to share. They later prayed for me and called me a ministering angel. If you read my story called "The Fantasy" you will know why I smiled.
They have a tradition in this church. They say to each other, "God loves you, I love you, and there is nothing you can do about it." They had a greeting time where everyone wandered around hugging each other and repeating that phrase. This was a sincere fellowship time and it didn't end until everyone had time to circulate all the way around the church.
We began singing. This is a singing church. People occasionally break out in song spontaneously. They sang with their entire hearts and bodies. I have never been able to be still when I sing praises to God. I felt right at home. I thought of the scripture where David sang and danced in the Holy Spirit.
Shawn sings in the choir. His brother Ronnie is the Minister of Music. Ronnie is a very talented self-taught musician. He sang and played during the service and it brought tears to everyone. I enjoyed the choir. It was very small but enthusiastic.
Shawn and Ronnie's father, Reverend Ronald A. Smith is also a wonderful musician. He was sitting a couple of rows behind me and I enjoyed his singing.
This church has several ministers. It is an equal blend of men and women and African American and White. This particular service was lead by women. Of the two main worship leaders, one was African American and one was White. The ministers take turns doing various parts of the worship service and it was the women's turn.
One of my favorite parts of the service was something called "Joys and Concerns." This is a time where church members can say what ever they feel lead to say. They believe in letting the spirit lead and it lasted until no one else was lead to speak. No one worried about people talking too much or taking too much time. People were so patient.
I loved the offering. It was a praise and worship service all by itself. We sang, thanked God, praised God, and were encouraged to experience the joy of giving.
I heard the words that we are supposed to live like we have come from heaven. We are not to live like we are going to heaven.
The next day I couldn't get that off of my mind. I clearly see the difference and I think I agree with the speaker.
I love to worship close to nature. The next day, as I was walking and praying in the beautiful "Bad Lands" of South Dakota, I felt a strong presence of God. As the peace of a loving God wrapped his arms around me, it occurred to me that those special moments are a small glimpse of what heaven is like.
When that happens, I feel so light. I want to skip and usually do. I want to sing praises and I feel like dancing. Sometimes I settle for blowing bubbles and that works.
I know that if we could live like we had just come from heaven, people would want to take the trip with us. Joy would radiate from our souls. We would be experiencing so much love that it spread to everyone around us. We would have Unity. We could never be accused of being stuffy, boring, judgmental, or any of the other things that we saw in the Pharisees and often get accused of in modern day Christianity.
In that same service, I heard that God's people are peculiar people and if we are not peculiar, something is wrong with our walk.
I thought about my own life and found this statement comforting. This journey is a little peculiar.
I heard, "if he brings you to it, he will bring you through it." How true. How comforting.
The sermon was called "From Faith To Glory - No Strings Attached." It was on grace. It was based on the scripture Romans 5:1-8 and was delivered by a white female minister. Her name was Reverend Cathy Cox. She was gentle, intelligent, and well spoken. She was obviously an educated student of theology.
Read the scripture and you will develop such a sense of awe for Grace. Christianity is the only religion that relies fully on grace. We don't have to follow a set of rules to find our God. He is there if we ask for his presence. He always loves us. He will take us however we are at any point in time.
"Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have a peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 5:1."
What an injustice we do our Lord Jesus Christ when we give the impression that Christianity or the Bible is a set of rules. We accept Jesus' love and forgiveness. We love people around us. We love the Lord Our God with all of our Heart, Soul, and Might. That love changes us and it doesn't take rules to know how to live. The Bible and Jesus' life are a road map to happiness in this life and the next life. To insinuate that the Bible is a book of rules is a serious injustice and an understatement. This book and Jesus' life are the secret formula to life beyond our wildest dreams.
As the minister talked about God dying for the ungodly and how we can stand in the presence of royalty, I got a picture of Unity Baptist Church. They understand. It is about love. Race, gender, age, or any other dividers do not matter. Jesus Christ is about love. He didn't die for us once we followed a set of rules or acted like society around us. He died for us while we were still sinners.
"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8.
I arrived at my car at 1:45. I had been in church almost 3 hours. The only inconvenience was biological. If I belonged to that church, I would have to eat a bigger breakfast and drink less tea. I was never bored. Kleenex was passed around throughout the entire worship service. They had taken the best of both culture's worship styles.
They truly worshiped God with their heart. Their emotions came through in their singing and their testimony. No one was afraid to show joy or tears.
They worshiped God with their soul. In the midst of the spontaneous singing and walking to the front with Kleenex, there was a sense of reverence and awe. At the alter call, when decisions were made, people formed a circle around the individual and prayed. No one fidgeted. We continued to worship.
They love the Lord their God with their might. The sermon was stimulating intellectually and well prepared. The choir was prepared. The leader of the children's sermon was prepared.
This church wasn't perfect. Some people did talk too long. It is possible some were even showing off. It didn't matter. They were accepted. Christ died for sinners.
Some of the spontaneous music was off key. No one minded. It was accepted in the spirit it was given.
Would this worship style work for everyone? Certainly not. We are blessed by many styles of worship. We have the privilege of choosing the one that we are comfortable with.
What was impressive about this worship and this church was the love that was present. It was fascinating that they combined so many styles of worship into one worship service. Regardless of the worship style, love is essential for worship. I know that I certainly enjoyed this service.
Reverend Cox wanted me to know that this service wasn't always like this. Other churches have told me the same thing. I understand their humility and the fact that they don't want to paint a picture of a utopia. My answer is always the same. Everyone has the right to be judged by his or her best moment. What I observed on this Sunday really did happen.
One of their co-ministers, Reverend Ronald Smith summed up this church. I complimented him on "his" church. This was clearly the wrong choice of words. He quickly said this wasn't his church. He gave it to God a long time ago. To God Be The Glory, great things he has done.
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