Church-Wide Read (Summer)

How do you deal with conflict? How do you relate to people who are different from you? Moreover, how do you navigate those tensions in the church? If it's true that the church is a display of God's manifold wisdom (Eph.3:10); if we're called to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Eph.4:3), then conflict and differences aren't just a threat to unity, but also an opportunity! An opportunity to grow downward in humility, outward in love, and upward in holiness. That's God's surprising plan for His church - a loving unity found in Christ alone.

This summer, we're commending Jamie Dunlop's excellent book Love the Ones Who Drive You Crazy: Eight Truths for Pursuing Unity in Your Church.

Practical Tip: invite 2 or 3 fellow church members to get together once a week to discuss the book, apply its principles, and build deeper bonds of unity with each other.

Now may the God who gives endurance and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, according to Christ Jesus, so that you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ with one mind and one voice. Therefore welcome one another, just as Christ also welcomed you, to the glory of God. (Rom. 15:5-7).

Tolle Lege!

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