The heartbeat and prayer of Jesus' ministry was that the church would be one (John 17:21). Paul picks up the oneness bully pulpit in I Corinthians 12:12 when he says, "The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts and though it's parts are many, they form one body." 

What does it mean to be one? As I've read the Bible I have always assumed that to be one or to be unified meant that we were absent of conflict in the church.  Don't get me wrong…I believe that church conflict is a piece of the puzzle that both Jesus and Paul were trying to address. I grew up in a church that was full of conflict, and I personally witnessed the sheer destruction that arguing can bring upon a body. It is a cancer in the local church that distracts us from our mission and purpose, and must be avoided at all costs! One of the problems with church arguments is that they turn our attention to issues within the church instead of on Jesus. I want my church's attention focused 100% on Jesus not on color of carpet or worship styles!

However, I think that when Jesus and Paul talk about divisions in the church, and unity, and oneness that the issue goes so much deeper than church conflict. I think that when Paul talks about divisions in I Corinthians that a better word would be separations. During the days of both Jesus and Paul people were separated from each other into certain economic and social groups.  There was this huge chasm socially, economically, politically, and racially between people. Within this system people were consistently mistreated and abused...if you didn't have much money, if you had a certain disease, if you were born on the wrong side of the road, then society viewed you as unimportant and an outcast.

Jesus came and ignored these separations and called all men to himself. He spent time with the tax collector and beggar, the physically afflicted and those that were healthy, the prostitute and centurion. Jesus showed no favoritism and he calls us to follow His example. 

Let me make two final points:

1. Our churches are far too segregated. If we are to model who Jesus was and is we must begin to integrate churches, in order to accurately reflect God's desire for all people. I understand the principle of homogeneous groups, that people are naturally drawn to others like themselves, but this teaching has no place in the church. The church should be the place that we abandon self, and people from all economic, social, and racial backgrounds come together and become one. Churches are supposed to be snapshots of Jesus, a figurative picture of what Jesus looks like and who He was, but when we target a specific group of people (whether it be socially or economically), it deprives the community of a clear photograph. It sends the impression that Jesus only cared about rich, or middle class, or poor, when in reality Jesus cared about all people! Oneness was Jesus' prayer, and I believe we will see an outreach explosion like never before when our churches begin to integrate more.
2. I need to integrate more.  Jesus was intentional about integration. He made efforts to reach out to people that were different, whether it be racially or socially.  I would hate for people to get the perception that God is middle class because of the churches they see in America, or that God hates rich people on the opposite side of the issue.  As a Christ follower I have a mandate to reach beyond all borders, so that Jesus can be made known and better understood. 

Oneness is not just about avoiding church conflict and arguments. I think it's time that the church became more missional in its approach, and demonstrated that God is color blind and doesn't care about the number of zeros in your checking account. He is a God that cares for all people and it's time for the church to pick up the cause!

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