RESOURCING THE CHURCH FOR ECUMENICAL MINISTRy A ...

challenges that we will explore in greater depth
throughout the course of this consultation. And,
please keep in mind, our task is not to lament, but
to assess and respond.
Diversity and Unity
We live in an era (often called post-modern) when
many people regard diversity as an end in itself.
Surely, it is good to affirm groups and perspectives
that have been historically marginalized or excluded.
But it is also possible, in my judgment, to
value diversity to such an extent that God’s gift of
unity is undercut.
Leaders in the ecumenical movement, drawing
on scripture, have contended at least since 1910
that unity and diversity must be held in dialectical
tension in any true understanding of the church.
An emphasis on unity that does not value human
diversity—diversity not only of race and culture,
but also of theological perspective—can easily
become bland and authoritarian. But, conversely,
an emphasis on diversity without concern for what
Paul calls the “common good” can easily become
fragmented and provincial. Unity is meaningful
only if it includes in one whole those who are not
alike. And diversity is only diverse when seen in
relation to the other distinctive members of a
whole body.
During the early decades of modern ecumenism,
however, the balance at times seemed to tip in the
direction of unity, as if diversity were a problem to
be resolved. Confessional identities, it was argued,
need to die as part of the cost of union. Particular
racial or ethnic groups need to be “included” (read
“absorbed”) in the majority. Theological differences
need to be eliminated through dialogues
aimed at reaching “consensus.” It is little wonder
that, when ecumenists spoke of unity, many
Christians (especially by the late 1960s) heard it as a
subordination of diversity based on the preferences
of those with power.
Over the past two generations, however, the balance
has clearly shifted in the other direction—and that,
too, can have destructive consequences. Churches
that overvalue diversity settle for tolerant cooperation
rather than struggling to overcome churchdividing
issues, such as those that still prevent
Christians from sharing the Lord’s Supper or
recognizing one another’s ministries. Affirmation
of particular identity comes to be seen as an end in
itself rather than as a God-given opportunity to
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share spiritual and cultural gifts in order that the
body, in the words of Ephesians, may be “built up
in love.”
Disciples claim to be a movement for
wholeness, but, in fact, our emphasis on
personal freedom and individual
interpretation makes this very difficult in
practice.
This is difficult terrain. All of us here, I trust, affirm
the goal of being a “multi-cultural, inclusive
church”—as long as the different cultural and racialethnic
streams are seen as parts of a whole
communion. To put it simply, the goal of the
ecumenical movement (and, I hope, of our life as
Disciples) is not to bring together those who are
diverse—that is the goal of governments or political
parties. The goal is to celebrate the wondrous
diversity of our given oneness as children of a single
Creator and members of Christ’s body.
Disciples claim to be a movement for wholeness,
but, in fact, our emphasis on personal freedom and
individual interpretation makes this very difficult in
practice. The post-modern emphasis on diversity
only increases the challenge.
Justice and Unity
There is clearly a new focus on justice as a central
theme (for many, the central theme) of the ecumenical
movement. Again, this needs to be said very
carefully. Speaking personally, I am entirely in favor
of a strong justice emphasis. (After all, I was the
chair of the NCC’s Justice and Advocacy Commission
before becoming General Secretary, and
am often identified among Disciples with justice
causes.) The challenge, once again, is to sustain a
necessary tension between justice and the calling to
unity.
Let me put it as bluntly and succinctly as I can.
Christians acting together for justice, without
concern for how this deepens and expands the life
of the church, are not “ecumenical” in any full sense
of the word. Just as Christians pursuing sacramental
fellowship, without concern for how this deepens
and expands their engagement with the world, are
not “ecumenical” in any full sense of the word. For
ecumenical Christians, the terms help define each
other. On the one hand, talk of unity can end up
Kinnamon • A Century of Witness, a Journey of Wholeness