United We Stand, Divided We Fall

I love the theme of ‘United we stand’ – except for the fact that I am a Manchester City fan, the idea of being United is very positive!

The problem with it though is that we tend to think that to be united means we all have to agree. Unity is being together or ‘at one’ with someone or something. But unity doesn’t mean unanimity (where everyone agrees) and it doesn’t mean uniformity (where we are all the same or behave in the same way).

Aren’t you pleased about that? But we can be united around an idea, an objective, a goal and it’s far more effective to be united if we want to achieve anything.

The bible has a lot to say about unity.

Readings like Psalm 133 and Ephesians 4 really emphasize a few things:

- It’s pleasant when God’s people live together in unity! The church should be leading the way in this but sometimes lags behind. It’s a challenge when you think that there are around 40K Christian denominations in the world! But the bible says it’s pleasant when we live together.

- And it’s more than pleasant! It’s where the Lord commands HIS blessing. He blesses it.

The verses in Ephesians 4 ask us to make every effort to keep or maintain the unity of the Spirit. The idea here is that God himself dwells in unity, he makes it possible and we don’t need to manufacture it just to maintain it.

But I would like to look for inspiration from the Gospels to help us gain another perspective.

Luke 5 v 1-10

One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”

Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”

When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.

Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him. Jesus performs a nature miracle, often referred to as the miraculous catch of fish, to illustrate a spiritual lesson. It’s a significant miracle when you think that the previous trip has been unproductive and frustrating. They are tired and not really wanting to go out again and they probably don’t like being told what to do by a guy who isn’t even a fisherman! And, when you think that these ancient fishing boats would be twenty to thirty feet long. That’s a lot of fish! It’s a picture of effective work.

What’s today’s equivalent?

Of course this is about mission and reaching people rather than fish but Jesus is teaching them about being effective. About being productive. For me it’s a picture of fruitfulness.

Churches are being encouraged to live out faith in ways that communities and people benefit. It’s the success of things like food banks, cap debt counselling, street pastors and lots of things the church does. In fact Churches in UK are contributing £3bn to the economy in volunteer hours. A recent report estimates that two million people, the vast majority of them volunteers,  from faith groups give at least 384 million hours a year to projects like food banks, drop-in groups, debt advice, family support, employment coaching and other projects.

A significant 288 million of those hours are unpaid, the report claims, and 48 million people are receiving much-needed support from religious groups every year.

My charity ROC has recently produced a resource recently called ‘101 Community Ideas’ of what churches and groups could do if they want to start up something new. Things like mentoring, cinema club, lunch club, knit and natter, garden clear-up. Imagine new work springing up all over the UK as local people pick up these simple ideas and get things going in their area.

It was a miracle that so many fish were caught! It’s a perfect picture of success. But is there an even greater miracle here?

Verse 7 tells us that they signalled to their partners in the other boat. They needed help to make sure they didn’t lose the catch. The word here for partners is Metachois which it literally means fellow workers. This is a miraculous catch of fish but also a miraculous partnership. The boat is there just at the right time.

In the work you are doing locally who are your partners in the other boat? I believe that identifying and working alongside partners is the key to making community life work. It’s such an obvious idea but it is often missing.

ROC is currently involved in a really effective place-based scheme in Oldham where 15 organisations are working together to address local needs. Last year we opened the ROC n Rolls Café and have recently received proceeds of crime funding to extend the café and employ a café manager. It’s so simple but effective.

United we really do stand and ordinary people thrive because of it. But unity needs help, it doesn’t always come naturally or automatically to us.

Partnership don’t just happen.

Intentionally find ways of building partnerships.

Check out ROC and Debra's new videos about her book, Mountain Moving Prayer, available on YouTube now!