The Rainbow Church

Image Source: Community Immunity

Peter Storey, a former bishop of the Methodist Church in Southern Africa, makes the bold claim that Christians who can't worship together, can't be together.

This realization raises a number of important questions:

If our churches want to be a true unified community of believers, can achieve that if there are certain groups of people who do not feel comfortable worshiping with us?

If old and young people can't feel comfortable worshiping together, can they do church together? What about black and white people? Hetero and homosexuals? Foreigners and locals? Women and men?

Sometimes our churches can be exclusive when we gather for worship. We are often set in our ways and so comfortable with our own methods of doing corporate worship that if people don't relate to what we are offering, we are happy to send them away to find a new church somewhere else that might cater to their needs better than we do.

To me, this just seems to promote disunity in our churches. Rather than trying to create a space that serves everyone in our community, we cater to the select few and everyone else needs to either adapt and fit in or leave and find somewhere else where their needs can be fulfilled.

I understand that there are many different worship styles and not everyone enjoys the same thing.

But this statement from Peter Storey has really made me consider whether we are doing everything in our power to ensure that our churches are places where people from all walks of life can gather and feel like they are equal members of God's family...

Unfortunately I don't have all the answers for how we can achieve this desired unity among all members of our churches. But I believe it is a crucial issue that we need to seriously consider... An issue that we each need to address to ensure that we (as Christians in the self-proclaimed rainbow nation of South Africa) can continue to worship together in unity for many years to come.

"Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect meeting together as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of the Lord's return is drawing near."

- Hebrews 10:24-25 (NLT)