Another interesting fact: 'In politics as in religion we have less charity for those who believe half our creed, than for those who deny the whole of it.' (Charles Caleb Colton).

The church at Jerusalem felt a oneness with the young church at Antioch. As you read the New Testament letters this sort of 'bonding' is quite remarkable. Indeed, I once heard a Latin American preacher, Juan Carlos Ortiz, say the Lord of the church wants all the shepherds in an area to express their unity by working, praying and planning together: they should regard each other as fellow-workers, not competitors for each others' sheep!

Jesus had a unifying vision for his church and prayed that she 'may become perfectly one' (John 17:20-23). C H Spurgeon once said: 'This prayer was not only the casual expression of the Saviour's desire at the last, but is the sort of modlel of the prayer which is incessently going up from him to the eternal throne.' The Holy Spirit has been given to the church to form the body of Christ, knit together into one body those different persons who believe in Jesus. If another (individual or church) has something against us we ought to attempt reconciliation before we worship (Matthew 5:23-24). Peter had to learn that what God had cleansed had to be acceptable to him also. Later, defending his acceptance of Cornelius to the other apostles he says 'If God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God? (Acts 10:9 - 11:18). In Ephesians Paul says there is a spiritual unity between believers anyway; and the good news breaks down the walls that divide us. One of the most serious sins in the early churches was schism (1 Corinthians 11:18). So we do not manufacture Christian unity, we maintain it. One of the hallmarks of a 'sect' or 'cult' is that they define who are saved or lost very narrowly - the saved are pretty much confined to their own group.

A home and family can be a unity despite differences of temperament - because we are children of the same parents. So the thing that binds the family of God together is not that we agree on everything, but the fact hat we are all children of the same Father. Immaturity in a church is manifest when we expect others to be\believe the same as we do before we'll have full fellowship with them. We wait until we can all sing in unison, where now we should be singing in harmony!

Disunity in the name of Christ is a scandal and a shame, but it is nothing new - even Jesus had to deal with it. One day Jesus' friends found someone casting out demons in his name and told him to stop, on the ground that 'he doesn't belong to our group.' But Jesus rebuked them: 'Do not try to stop him, because whoever is not against you is for you.' (Luke 9:49-50).

Why the disunity? (1) First there may be a fear that we will lose our 'distinctiveness'. But what we have in common (ie in fellowship) with others is more important than what divides us. What God has taught others (their distinctives) ought to be added to ours. (2) Denominational pride: we ought to be thankful for all the Lord has given and taught our group: but let us be humbly thankful for what we can learn from others. (3) This one is more sinister: Disunity is a demonic tactic and many Christian churches and sects have fallen for it! So it's a spiritual battle we're waging here (Ephesians 6:12). Satan has a direct interest in keeping the body of Christ divided and weak - encouraging Christians to forget who their real enemy is so they'll be in conflict with one another. Satan knows and fears a united church; he knows the gates of hell will not prevail against Christ's church, but he also also knows a house divided against itself cannot stand. The church down the street is not the enemy! We're to be co-labourers not competitors in the kingdom. So let us pray for our church leaders, and for the many ecumenical theological dialogues happening everywhere. Pray for and with Christians from other traditions.

According to Romans 15:7 we are to receive and accept one another not on the basis of accepting the same creeds or cliches, but on the basis of Christ's acceptance of us. Whoever demands more than faith in Christ in order to be accepted by God, makes the death of Christ unnecessary (Galatians 2:21). We ought to define persons not in terms of their being Prebyterian or Catholic or Pentecostal or whatever; but rather ask do they acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord?

John Calvin wrote to Archbishop Thomas Cranmer (the man largely responsible for the Anglican Book of Common Prayer): 'The churches are so divided that human fellowship is scarcely now of any repute... So much does this concern me that if I could be of any service, I would not begrudge traversing ten seas for this purpose.'

When we are united we become more mature, like our Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 4:13). Churches need each other. Let us love one another, help one another, work together to spread God's shalom throughout a very needy world.

Research: Contact the 8-10 nearest Christian churches, and draw up a list of items they would like you to pray about. Feed these into your church's prayer groups.