10 Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you should be in agreement and that there should be no divisions among you, but that you should be united in the same mind and the same purpose. 11For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there are quarrels among you, my brothers and sisters.* 12What I mean is that each of you says, ‘I belong to Paul’, or ‘I belong to Apollos’, or ‘I belong to Cephas’, or ‘I belong to Christ.’ 13Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14I thank God* that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15so that no one can say that you were baptized in my name. 16(I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) 17For Christ did not send me to baptize but to proclaim the gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its power.                         I Corinthians 1:10-18

Some of you will remember the song by the Beach Boys, “I Wish They All Could Be California Girls.”

I knew a Presbyterian Pastor who wrote a song entitled: “I Wish They All Could Be Presbyterian Girls.”

The song went something like:

“Well, Baptist girls are groovy

But their rules are hard to bear..

And Episcopal girls with all the pearls

I love the way they style their hair…

I Wish They All Could Be Presbyterian Girls……

We know they are not all Presbyterians. In fact, there is a bewildering array of denominations:

PCUSA Presbyterians, Evangelical Presbyterians, Orthodox Presbyterians, Bible Presbyterians, Presbyterian Church in America Presbyterians,  Southern Baptists, American Baptists, Independent Baptists, Cooperative Baptists, Disciples of Christ, Church of Christ (instrumental/non instrumental, United Church of Christ, Assembly of God, Church of God Anderson Indiana, Church of God Cleveland ,TN., Missouri Synod Lutherans, Wisconsin Synod Lutherans, Evangelical Lutherans, Mennonites, United Methodists, Free Methodists, Episcopalians, Charismatic Episcopalians, Anglicans, Evangelical Covenant, Pentecostals, Russian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, Serbian Orthodox, Foursquare Gospel, Full Gospel and Friends churches.(Those are Quakers not churches based on the TV series).

We know in the history of the Christian faith…and other faiths…. there have been terrible  atrocities committed in God’s name and supposedly for God’s sake.

Presbyterians are not immune.

John Calvin, the father of Presbyterianism (1509-1564).

When Calvin was invited to Geneva, Switzerland in 1541 to reform the city he eventually encountered Michael Servetus, scholar & Physician, did not conform with the accepted doctrine of the Trinity. Servetus was condemned as a heretic and burned at the stake, although Calvin wanted a more merciful form of execution…beheading….

In the January 26th Kansas City Star there was an article by Helen Gray entitled “The Time is Now,” about a historic gathering of Baptists. In part the article read:

“In the 1990s former President Jimmy Carter tried to unite warring factions of Southern Baptists.

It didn’t work, and Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, eventually left the denomination. Now Carter, who considers himself a moderate Baptist, is bringing together more than 30 Baptist groups to see how they can cooperate on common goals. He’s more hopeful this time.

The convocation, called the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant, will take place Wednesday through Friday in Atlanta. It reportedly is the largest and most diverse gathering of North American Baptists ever held. Between 10,000 and 20,000 people, representing 20 million Baptists, are expected to attend the event at the Georgia World Congress Center.

“It’s fairly ambitious, bringing people of different theological, ethnic and geographical persuasions together,” Carter said in a phone interview this week.

Carter said the celebration is the first “genuinely interracial meeting” among the various Baptist denominations since before 1845, when Southern Baptists split from the Northern churches and formed their own denomination.

“We decided we would plan this convocation when the four African-American denominations were meeting,” he said. “We want to demonstrate unity and non-exclusion.”

Carter said he had been praying for a new willingness among Baptists to come together and even set an example for other denominations that are on the brink of dividing over conflicting issues such as the ordination of gays.”

I love this next statement, “We can show them that if the Baptists can get together, anybody can.” (My Baptist friends tell me there’s nothing more embarrassing than for two Baptists to see each other in a liquor store and not be able to say hello!)

10 Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you should be in agreement and that there should be no divisions among you, but that you should be united in the same mind and the same purpose.

In the passage, the apostle Paul might sound like a candidate running for a political office!...

Paul is appealing for agreement and unity of purpose within the church.

The Christians in Corinth were divided over their loyalty to particular leaders or teachers….not denominations like we have today….

“Paul believes the division is primarily between followers of Apollos and himself.

Apollos, from Alexandria in Egypt, was known for his eloquence and knowledge of the scriptures.  Paul may not have been a very convincing speaker..

Unity of purpose unites the church but does not necessarily mean uniformity of actions, thoughts, words, beliefs or opinions about issues and behavior. In the early church there was a wide-range of beliefs and practices.

Paul assumes all sorts of differences among the followers of Christ. But the basis of unity is the shared death and resurrection with Christ in which God brings new life and ministry to others in sacrificial witness and service.

Unity of purpose means discovering God’s direction and intent for us.

In the midst of seeking unity of purpose, we do well to remember the words of Ramon Corrales: “To integrate all the diverse elements, an organization needs a culture and structure that nourishes differences.”

We are unique individuals…we are different but we are serving a common goal of sharing God’s love.

Now …a word about our Pastor Nominating Committee. Our PNC is in the process of working the CIF( Church Information Form (so that it can be submitted to the COM in order to begin receiving PIF’s. Translate….

They have a narrative form to fill out including responses to the following:

• Please write a brief description of your church programs/accomplishments.
• Describe what gifts, skills and experiences your congregation possesses to fulfill its mission.
• What are the key theological issues of our church and society that are reflected in the ministry of your congregation?

We pray for the eleven members of our PNC:

Frank Allison, Nicole Anderson, Valerie Baehr, Sue Bond, Craig Hamlin, Jim Killian, Dell Kingan, Nancy Morrison, Chris Rhea, Dave Voysey and Phil Watson. The PNC has elected Dave Voysey as moderator, Dell Kingan as vice-moderator and Valerie Baehr as secretary. With the capable guidance of Don Frankland, the liaison from the presbytery’s Committee on Ministry, the PNC is now working on the Church Information Form (CIF). The CIF will be circulated through the denomination’s website, pcusa.org, and other appropriate avenues of communication to prospective candidates for the position of Pastor/Head of Staff.

Rolling Hills is a diverse congregation….but with a unity of purpose. This is an exciting time in the life of the church as we grow as “A Welcoming Community that worships joyfully, thinks broadly, serves gladly, gives generously, nurtures children intentionally, and cares for others as Jesus cares for us.”

Amen.