7 – Unity
I am not praying only on their behalf, but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their testimony, that they will all be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. I pray that they will be in us, so that the world will believe that you sent me. The glory you gave to me I have given to them, that they may be one just as we are one— I in them and you in me—that they may be completely one, so that the world will know that you sent me, and you have loved them just as you have loved me. John 17.20-23
The substance of our final core value has to do with integrity, how things hold up and all work together for good. It has to do with cooperating with the underlying powers and principles that give cohesiveness to our lives and relationships, learning how things are supposed to work and falling into line with reality, recognizing that there is an order to the universe – ways that produce good results or integration and ways that lead only to disintegration. Gathering instead of scattering. Building up what is good instead of tearing it down.
Unity and integrity start in individual hearts. Are we divided within our own selves, pulling in contradictory directions, violating our own principles? Are we doing what we believe is right or are we trying to fool ourselves and those around us? What about our families? Are we doing what we can and being who we truly are by taking our part in holding our families together in a divided world? Are we part of the solution or part of the problem? What about our neighborhoods? Do we just come and go like transients, or are we genuinely seeking to love our neighbors and work together for the common good? Can a neighborhood thrive if it’s immersed in institutionalized dysfunction, mediocrity, and disintegration in the surrounding community? How can one church survive without taking an interest in all the others around? Are we islands unto ourselves? How can this continue to be if we are to have any hope or confidence for our future and the generations to come? At the very root of His Branches lies the conviction that it’s time for us all to come together, look around and see what there is to do, then roll up our sleeves and get the job done.
We share the dream Martin Luther King’s shared so passionately 50 years ago and yearn to see it come to pass in our time. Will you join us?
