"¹⁵Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. ¹⁶Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. ¹⁷And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." -- Colossians 3:15-17

Unity through peace. It's the ideal. For all believers to act in one accord once more. For each of us to stop fighting, to reach out, to be one. It is a noble goal, and it is a necessary one. It comes though our Savior, Jesus Christ, and it comes through living like Christ. Like any other ideal, any other objective, it comes not all at once, but rather through a series of steps.

If we are truly to be one body in Christ, we must be of one accord in each of our local assemblies. Think about it: if individual congregations are fighting amongst themselves, there is no way our one body will be able to operate. If we are not of one accord inside the walls of our own buildings, then we will never be able to tear down those walls and work together to further the cause of Christ. Therefore, to act like the One Body in Christ that we are, we need to be of one mind in our own local centers of worship.

In order for us to be of one accord in our local assemblies, we need to make sure we have it together with our individual families. I don't mean we need to be living a "Leave it to Beaver" kind of life, but we do need to be able to rely on and support each other. Family is the basic unit of society; it has been since the beginning of time. If we cannot be united as individual families, what chance does the church made up of those families have?

The word "church" is a confusing word. It can be used to describe a building where Christians meet, a group or Christians who meet together or the entirety of Christendom. Typically when referring to all of Christianity, a big "C" is used, and when referring to a "local assembly," a little "c" is used. Thus, the Body of Christ is referred to as "Church" and each congregation in that body as "church." It stands to reason then in order for the big "C" to be of one mind, all of the smaller "c"s need to be of one accord as well.

Picture a hand. A hand is part of the body; it needs to work with the eyes to open a door. Both body parts must work together to accomplish a single goal. In order for the hand and the eye to work together, the hand must "be of one mind." That is, if the thumb and the forefinger decide they do not want to work together, the hand will be unable to grasp the door knob. Then it does not matter if the eye is in one accord with the hand or not, the door will not get opened. It is the same in our church today. If a single congregation cannot work together to go out and reach the lost, there is no way it will be able to work in conjunction with other congregations towards that end.

I have witnessed something like this first hand. I grew up in a small church on Long Island. As I grew older, I watched the church grow bigger. Soon we outgrew the building we were meeting in, even with multiple services. A new building was constructed and the church continued to grow. Then, one fateful day, the minister and board of elders made a decision that rocked the church to its foundation: they started to allow women elders and deacons. The denomination this church belonged to had been ordaining women for some time, and the minister and consistory decided they would follow suit by allowing women elders.

This did not go over well with the whole congregation. Many praised the effort, but many decried the change as unbiblical. The two sides were unable to reconcile, and the church split. A good majority left the church all together. The issue of women elders and pastors is still a very controversial one, but it is not a "salvation issue." That is, nobody is going to lose their salvation based upon whether they believe women should be ordained or not. Still, this issue tore the congregation apart.

With the congregation cut in half, their effectiveness was cut doubly so. I remember visiting them some years after the split. The congregation was so small it could have fit in the smaller building twice over. After the initial split, they had difficulty bringing in new people. Many programs were cut, and people slowly drifted away from that church. The sad thing is many people would never hear the gospel because that particular congregation would rather argue and then split apart over what Paul would call a "disputable matter:"

¹Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. ²One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. ³The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. ⁴Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. -- Romans 14:1-4

¹³Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way. ¹⁴As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. ¹⁵If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died. -- Romans 14:13-15

Notice that God accepts people on both sides of the issue. There are certain points of doctrine where it is ok to disagree. Paul gave two examples in his letter to the Romans and I believe the issue that divided my church is another. Unfortunately, in this, I happen to be in the minority, and therein lies the problem.

The problem is not just with the body of Christ as a whole, it is with each and every assembly that makes up that body. When my family and I were living in Mississippi, there were no less than four Independent Baptist churches one road. All of them were within a half of mile of each other, and all of them consisted of only a few families. None of them were effective. None of them grew...all of them shrank. One church even had to close its doors for good.

The one we attended shrank as well. This was not due to lack of effort either. I had the privilege of working very closely with the pastor trying to bring people in. I invited friends, and the pastor encouraged others to invite friends. Community outreach events were planned and held. No, the problem with our church certainly was not due to lack of effort! It was, sadly, due to the congregation. The congregation had a certain set of beliefs and they would not tolerate anything that was different.

As a result, the Kingdom of God suffered.

All is not bleak in our Savior's Kingdom, however. The most recent church my family and I attended was, without exaggerating, as diverse as the U.N. in both culture and beliefs. Everyone there held to the gospel, the core of Christianity, but in some of the "disputable matters" such as women's roles or the rapture, there was just about every side of the issue represented. And it was ok. Why? Because we were all Christians. We were all family! Let me tell you, this was a church that was effective. As a matter of fact, its two biggest problems were seating and parking!

This was a church where people got saved. Every month there were at least a dozen people who confessed belief in Christ and obeyed His command to be baptized. Every month our Church grew. New programs were developed and added to help new Christians grow in their faith and help "older" Christians mature into leaders. This Church accomplished, and still is accomplishing, a great deal for the Body of Christ.

Why? Why was this Church able to accomplish what many others cannot? They accepted all people. Background did not matter, not culture, not race, not even a particular dogma. From the most devout Christian to the most ashamed "sinner," people were welcomed with open arms. What's more, that church was united. They did not let minor differences in doctrine impede their progress. Their focus was on Jesus Christ and bringing the lost to Him. This was a church that was truly "of one mind." Notice that phrase. There were not of one opinion, they were of one goal. The "opinions" or views did not matter as much as their purpose.

That is the model we need to copy. That is how our individual congregations need to be. We need to stop fighting and tearing ourselves apart over disputable matters and we need to start working towards our common aim: reaching the lost. We cannot do that if we are not presenting a united front. People looking from the outside can tell when there are rumblings inside the church building and will stay away. Some may stay away from any church as a result. That is why it is so important to have peace in our churches.

Christ gave His Body one mission before he ascended: go out and reach the lost, bringing them to Him. In order for the Body to accomplish that mission, each of the body parts needs to be working towards that mission as well. Just like that Church on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, they need to make the "disputable matters" secondary to the mission Christ gave us. Only when each individual congregation is united towards a common purpose can the Body of Christ be whole.

Many times Christians refer to each other as "family," and we are. We are all co-heirs with Christ, brothers and sisters along with our Savior. As such, it is important that we act like family. We just saw how each of our individual congregations should be one, big, happy family. As important as that is, I believe that our own individual families are even more important. The "nuclear family" needs to be of one accord if our congregations are going to be unified. Recently, my baby boy taught me just how important family is.

Just before Katrina struck, I went to New Orleans, LA, to perform my two weeks of Annual Training with the U.S. Navy. I was fortunate, this time, in that I was able to return home halfway through. I reported on Monday morning, and found they would not require my being there over the weekend. After finishing my duties that Friday, I was able to head home for the weekend, and then return to New Orleans on Sunday to report again on Monday. When I got home on Friday, I was a little surprised at how happy my kids were to see me. After all, I had only been gone a week. Not thirty seconds later, I realized why they were so happy to see me...presents! My wife had received flowers for our anniversary the day before, so, naturally, my kids were expecting their presents as soon as I walked in the door.

Of course, I was only too happy to comply.

Before I had even moved out the doorway, I put my bag down and started doling out presents to each of my kids. The oldest got her hat (I bought her a hat once from Seattle, so now she expects one anytime I go on travel or AT) which made her very excited. The middle child got a toy jeep from the D-Day museum in New Orleans, and the baby received a stuffed bear. He didn't care for it very much...he threw it right down and walked away. However, once the other two kids were happy with their gifts, and I was able to get passed the doorway and "settled," my littlest son walked up to me and put his arms out--his sign that he wants me to pick him up--so I did and later that evening, when my wife was out and the kids were doing their own thing, I was able to take my son and hold him while sitting on the couch.

We just sat there, together. He would look at me, smile, then lay his head on my shoulder...pick his head up, look at me, smile and then lay his head on my shoulder. That was all he wanted..."daa." While I had brought home presents for each of my kids, it was the baby who had given me a present--unconditional love. He didn't want a present; he wanted "daa." I guess sometimes it takes a baby to remind us of the things that are truly important in life. Things like family.

That is really the heart of the matter. In order for our "local assemblies" to be unified, each of our individual families needs to be unified as well. If the members of that assembly cannot keep their families together, how can they bring about unity in their congregation? The congregation is not made strong by its individual members, but by the families that meet and fellowship together.

If not for family, Jesus may have been short his most important disciple:

⁴⁰Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. ⁴¹The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ). ⁴²And he brought him to Jesus.  Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas." -- John 1:40-42

Notice what John says is the first thing Andrew did: he went and got family. Andrew found the Messiah and his first thought was to get his brother, Peter, who became the leader of the believers in Jerusalem after Jesus ascended. Peter was part of Andrews family, and that was important to him.

The family unit, no matter how many people there are or how it is made up, is the basic building block of society and of our church. There is an old adage that goes, "A family that prays together, stays together." When a family prays together they can withstand whatever life throws at them. My family is a relatively new one compared to most people we know. However, in the short time we have been together, we have endured a total of six moves, three of them cross country, a military deployment, the very beginning of the war on terror, been on the verge of bankruptcy and lost all of our worldly goods.

Through all of that, each and every event, we have stayed together. It has not always been easy, and things have not always been peaceful in the Uebele household, but we have stayed together. Why? Prayer. We do not always pray together, but we do so enough that our family is strong. That is what our churches need today, strong families. It does not matter if it is a "traditional" or "blended" family, it needs to be a strong family. Its members need to care for each other, rely on each other and strengthen each other. Then our congregations will be strengthened and unified, and then the body of Christ will be strengthened and unified.

Unity starts at home. What's more it starts with us, as individuals. I would be remiss if I did not talk about my own personal responsibility in having a unified family and unified congregation. Each of us would be remiss if we neglected our part. Heck, there would be no unity anywhere if nobody did anything to make it happen. The big question that has been on my mind as I have been pecking away at the keyboard the last few weeks is "How?" That is, how can I do my part in bringing about harmony in my family and my church? What practical steps must I take to bring about this end?

I like to use the "Ephesians Approach." It comes from Ephesians Chapter 4 and has four steps. Step one is the most simple: live like a Christian (Ephesians 4:1). We should carry ourselves like a Christian man or woman ought, whether we are being watched or not. Step two builds on that, bringing unity through peace. If we are living like we should, we will be at peace with our brothers and sisters, bringing us closer to unity (v 3). Step three acknowledges that it comes through Christ (v 7). Both the peace and the unity will only come when we focus on our savior and what's more (step 4) living and loving like Christ. We must become mature, attaining the fullness of Christ (v 13).

I think step four encompasses all the steps. What it really boils down it is this: we need to lay aside our own personal biases, strive to live like Christ would and reach out to our families and our family in Christ. We have seen first hand that Christians can do this. When disaster strikes, members of the Church are able to lay aside their own personal biases, rise up, reach out and help those in need. Let's see if we can continue to rise up and reach out to our brethren and continue to work together for our common goals: unity through Christ so we may bring the lost to Him.

There are thirty (30) books of the Bible in the paragraph below. Can you find them?

The names of the books of the Bible are hidden in the paragraph below. Some of them are really hard to find, but there really are 30 there. TIP: Ignore the punctuation and spacing between the words.

This is a most remarkable puzzle. It was found by a gentleman in an airplane seat pocket, on a flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu, keeping him occupied for hours. He enjoyed it so much, he passed it on to some friends. One friend from Illinois worked on this while fishing from his john boat. Another friend studied it while playing his banjo. Elaine Taylor, a columnist friend, was so intrigued by it she mentioned it in her weekly newspaper column. Another friend judges the job of solving this puzzle so involving, she brews a cup of tea to help her nerves. There will be some names that are really easy to spot. That's an act. Some people, however, will soon find themselves in a jam, especially since the book names are not necessarily capitalized. Truthfully, from answers we get, we are forced to admit it usually takes a minister or scholar to see some of them at the worst. Research has shown that something in our genes is responsible for the difficulty we have in seeing the books in this paragraph. During a recent fund raising event, which featured this puzzle, the Alpha Delta Phi lemonade booth set a new sales record. The local paper, The Chronicle, surveyed over 200 patrons who reported that this puzzle was one of the most difficult they had ever seen. As Daniel Humana humbly puts it, the books are all right here in plain view hidden from sight. Those able to find all of them will hear great lamentations from those who have to be shown. One revelation that may help is that books like Timothy and Samuel may occur without their numbers. Also, keep in mind, that punctuation and spaces in the middle are normal. A chipper attitude will help you compete really against those who claim to know the answers. Remember, there is no need for a mad exodus, there really are 30 books of the Bible lurking somewhere in this paragraph waiting to be found.

Stumped? Think you found them all? Highlight the text between the arrows for the answers:

--->1. Amos; 2. Mark; 3. Luke; 4. John; 5. Joel; 6. Judges; 7. Job; 8. Hebrews; 9. Esther; 10. Acts; 11. James; 12. Ruth; 13. Romans; 14. Titus; 15. Matthew; 16. Genesis; 17. Philemon; 18. Chronicles; 19. Daniel; 20. Nahum; 21. Hosea; 22. Lamentations; 23. Revelation; 24. Timothy; 25. Samuel; 26. Numbers; 27. Malachi; 28. Peter; 29. Exodus; 30. Kings<---