Churches don’t collaborate well. Have you noticed this? There is a lot of talk around the idea of “unity” and a lot of accusations of disunity or divisiveness when groups offer criticism or push back. It’s rare to see churches actually united for a single purpose, in a meaningful way. I’m not talking about “partnerships” to host a conference or youth camp. I’m not encouraging more denominations and networks to be formed. I’m suggesting an authentic unity of purpose for a specific outcome that transcends denominational loyalty and even theological agreement.
If you’re familiar with the work of Church Clarity, you may have guessed by now where I’m going with this. In my 9 years of church leadership, I’ve become convinced of the effectiveness of clarity to deliver a unique type of “unity” that can serve as a great equalizer throughout the entire landscape of Christianity. By “equalizer” I simply mean that if churches can agree on a basic, consistent standard of clarity when it comes to their actively enforced policies, then they have something powerful in common while retaining their critical distinctions of denomination, theology and so on. This alignment around clarity reveals a unity of intention among these churches: a commitment to lead with conviction. The reason this is important is because it separates these churches from the ones who are unwilling to be clear, who lack conviction, and lead people astray.
The diversity that would be represented among such churches would be somewhat unprecedented. Theological differences alone have kept churches from even searching for common ground ever since the last ecumenical council. I’m not here to debate the wisdom of this reality or encourage “conversation” between conservative and liberal churches. I’m more pointing out that a distinct commonality already exists among them that can be a unique catalyst for change if simply acknowledged. This call for unity is likely fanciful or wishful in its aspiration. But perhaps the power of the internet and the two year head start that our dedicated team of volunteers has established could offer some hope that such a task is possible. It’s simple really, if you’re a church leader and you agree that Clarity is Reasonable, then simply complete our Verified Clear survey (email us from a church email address for a link) and join the ranks of the 500+ churches who have already made this same declaration.