Unity, Liberty & Charity: Worshipping Together in a Blended Church (Part 1)

The landscape of the American church has changed a lot in the last 100 years, especially at the turn of the 21st century.

Overall, more people are leaving traditional Christianity, and the ones that have stayed have migrated away from established denominations and joined together in independent collectives, in what we call “non-denominational” churches.

This isn’t really new to most of you reading this—you’re likely part of a non-denominational church.

But here’s the reality: Each you brings a denominational ingredient to the overall recipe of what makes your church, “your church.”

And with so many ingredients coming together, it’s vital to establish clear goals, parameters, and balance so that everyone can glorify God in unity on the essentials, liberty in their differences, and charity in everything else.

Over the next three weeks, we’ll look at how this plays out well and where it doesn’t. For now, let’s dig into the essentials of the faith that unites us as believers.

Unity in the Essentials

The term “essential” begs the question: What are the essentials of the faith?

The answer comes from this adaptation/summary of the Nicene and Apostles’ Creeds:

For those of us in Protestantism, essential doctrine concerning salvation/justification also extends to what are known as the Five Solas:

• Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone)

• Sola fide (faith alone)

• Sola gratia (grace alone)

• Solus Christus (Christ alone)

• Soli Deo gloria (Glory to God alone)

These five pillars of Protestantism address and reform what many would call a works-based righteousness wrought through the many sacraments and order of priests established through the Roman Catholic church.

It is in these essentials we find unity, and they should be the primary focus of our worship through singing, teaching, praying, and ministering in service.

Practical Resources (Songs You Can Sing)

For the worship leaders, preparing services focused on the unifying essentials practically looks like singing songs that:

• Bring the gospel to full-front attention in the themes, emphasizing a strong Christology without losing attention of the will of the Father and work of the Holy Spirit.

• Use Scripture as primary text for lyrics, as much as possible.

• Explore the means of expression demonstrated in Scripture (i.e., lament, rejoice, supplication, adoration, etc.).

Checking off these points in your preparation brings focus to what unites the believers within your church, pushing past subtle (or not-so-subtle) differences that make up the fabric of backgrounds in the body.

Below is a very brief list of recent songs that I’ve found to be clear explanations of gospel truths, orthodoxy (right doctrine/belief), and explorations of emotion that can be used in almost any singing portion of your worship services.

“Christ Our Hope in Life and Death”

Written by Keith Getty, Matt Boswell, Jordan Kauflin, Matthew Merker, and Matt Papa, this song uses a question-and-answer approach (much like a catechism—learn more about that here in a post about “Neglected Worship”) to illustrate Christ’s sufficiency and authority over all areas of salvation, justification, and the Christian life.

“This I Believe (The Creed)”

Coming from past-Hillsong writers Ben Fielding and Matt Crocker, this song is a near-perfect adaptation of the Apostles’ Creed, summing up the essentials a singable and dynamically charged presentation.

“Christus Victor (Amen)”

Another entry from the Gettys’ group of songwriters (specifically, Bryan Fowler, Keith Getty, Kristyn Getty, Matt Boswell, and Matt Papa), this song sums up the Christus Victor theory of atonement, displaying Christ as the triumphant victor over death, sin, and the devil. It also compliments the theory of penal substitutionary atonement, where Christ redeems His church as “stepping in” for the price we owed for our individual and collective sin. (See the lyric, “By Your blood You have redeemed us…”)

Next week, we’ll look into how we handle our differences, but in the meantime, take moments throughout your week to savor what unites us in the faith, especially as we celebrate the arrival of our Savior Jesus Christ during the Christmas week!

Be blessed 👊✌️