Message Follow Up | United
United: Better Together from Journey Church on Vimeo.
By Chris Denning
If you weren’t able to make it to Journey yesterday, you’re going to want to make time to check out the conversation we had with our pastoral team called United.
We talked not only about why it’s important for Journey to be unified as we move into 2015, but more importantly, we talked about the importance of unity within the “Big C” Church of Lake Norman.
Like Matt was saying, the goal for unity in the “Big C” Church of Lake Norman isn’t Sameness (a bunch of clones or everyone trying to be exactly the same), but rather is Oneness (unity in purpose and being connected with Jesus). Jesus thought that unity was imperative for the Church, as we see in His prayer before He was taken to be crucified:
John 17:23
May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.
Jesus’ hope is that we would experience unity in the Church-at-large not so that we would be awesome or the best ever, rather so that the world would know about Him. Our unity would reveal to the world where our hope and trust is placed. I talked yesterday about a picture of what this unity could look like:
What if the Church of Lake Norman was responsible for helping at-risk kids succeed and thrive?
What if the Church of Lake Norman provided homes for foster kids who don’t have families?
What if the Church of Lake Norman was known not for how much we disagree with each other, but rather for how our unity creates change in the Lake Norman community?
What if when the Lake Norman community had an issue or problem, they turned first to the Church of Lake Norman for help?
I don’t know about you, but THAT is a Church I want to be a part of. I believe in the power of the “Big C” Church because of what God can do in and through us! I believe that unity is worth it because the potential impact of the “Big C” Church is far greater than the impact of any single church.
If you take anything away from this weekend, remember this:
The Love We Display in Unity WILL Make Jesus KNOWN.
Again, take a few minutes and check out the video or audio from today, I promise its worth your time. We love you guys, and we’re so excited about what’s coming in 2015 for Journey Church & the Church of Lake Norman!