09 One Heart, One Mind, One Purpose

Some years ago I was in Brazil talking to a church leader. He was asking me about church leadership. About eldership, about deacons. How we work, how authority works, who makes decisions. I was trying to explain to him how we operate. That it's not by democracy, it's not dictatorship.

It is how we all are trying to navigate this thing and find what the Spirit wants us to do. And we're not always in consensus. Sometimes one person can say something, everybody goes with it. Sometimes one person objects in the group. There is no rule for how it works.

We are all trying to work together to hear the Lord. He looked at me and he said, "But that's impossible, that can never work." I said, "Why do you say that? Because, it's working for us. Why do you say it could never work?"

And he gave me a one-word answer. And his answer was "flesh." My response was, "You're absolutely right." Where there is flesh it won't work. Because flesh wars against the Spirit. Where there is ambition, where there is division, where there is competition, where there is jostling for position, this kind of leadership can't work.

And that's what destroys many churches. We have got to ensure that whether we are elders or deacons, that we're putting to death our own ambition. Our own rights, our own need to be heard, our own need for our perspective to be taken. And Paul is well aware of this.

Philippians 2 on Humility and Like-Mindedness

In Philippians 2:1-4 He writes something really powerful. He says, "If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ. If any comfort from His love. If any fellowship with the Spirit. If any tenderness and compassion. Then make my joy complete by being like-minded.

Having the same love. Being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. But in humility, consider others better than yourselves. And each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others."

That is a key principle for us to bear in mind when we're in a leadership team. That we need to be of one heart, one mind, one purpose. And to consider other people's perspective, other people's interests, other people's opinions greater than our own.

One Heart, One Mind, One Purpose

We need to enter into that team dynamic with humility. But when it comes to one heart, one mind, and one purpose, there's an important aspect of that we need to understand. Which is it's possible to have one of those aspects without the other.

And then we don't have true unity. So it's possible to be of one heart, but not of one mind or of one purpose. You know, there are some people I love dearly. I just couldn't do church with them. I couldn't walk with them.

We'd just see things so differently. So, you say, "I love you. I'll see you on the other side." But we can't walk together. We can't be yoked together, because we're going in completely different directions. Love alone or having the same heart is not sufficient for operating well in a team.

Likewise, we can have the same mind. We can hold to the same theology. We can hold to the same way of thinking. But if we've got different purposes in life, and if we don't love each other, then we're going to run into problems as well.

And finally, of course, we can have one purpose. If you speak to church leaders around the world, ultimately, you would say they've got one purpose. Which is to build the church, see healthy church. But if your idea of how that healthy church is achieved is very different, then we can't work together.

Why Unity Without Christ Fails

"Unity" is the buzzword of this Christian generation. We need unity. We need unity. But unity doesn't always bring a blessing. If you think of the events at the Tower of Babel, mankind was in unity and it brought judgment because they weren't united around Christ.

I have spoken to church leaders and they're trying to have unity in the city, which is a noble desire, I guess. But, how can I have true unity and cooperate and work with and fellowship and really co-labor with somebody whose purpose is radically different to mine?

How can I really join myself, even with a church that loves Jesus, but they believe that being seeker sensitive is the way forward? That we must be non-offensive and really open, real to visitors and not do anything that might offend. How could we do church together?

It would be impossible. So you can see how we need to be of one heart, one mind, and one purpose, in order for us to truly work together and have the kind of unity that brings a blessing. Unity isn't about being united around the lowest common denominator or the least offensive thing.

True Unity Follows Christ's Direction

True unity comes when we all follow Christ. Rather like the Israelites in the desert. Their unity wasn't formed by having a meeting to discuss where everybody wanted to go or have consensus. I've seen some churches where the concept of leadership is, let's wait until we have consensus before we go anywhere.

That's a recipe for disaster. The Israelites would have still been in the desert today. No, unity came because they decided when the cloud moved, they would move. And we've got to be the same kind of people. That our direction and our purpose and our motivation is centered around Jesus, not each other.

Not myself, not keeping the peace. Jesus didn't say blessed are the peacekeepers; He said blessed are the peacemakers. And so as we work together on team, we need to fight to be of one heart, one mind, and one purpose. And one important way in which we attain that and maintain that in our own hearts, Paul says:

"Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus, who, being in very nature God, didn't consider equality with God something to be grasped. But made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness, and being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross. And therefore God exalted Him."

Jesus as the Model of Servant Leadership

And so we see the nature of a servant is modeled by Jesus. Deacons are servants. We're all servants, but particularly as I speak to deacons and potential deacons, I would ask that you have this at the forefront of your heart and mind: to imitate Christ Jesus, who though He was in very nature equal to God—and deacons and elders are equal. Sheep and elders are equal. All children of God are equal in value and equal in nature.

But Jesus recognized that His function within the Godhead was different. And because He knew what His function was, He knew that the only way to fulfill that function, and to maintain unity and purpose, was for Him to adopt a posture of submission and making Himself nothing. That is one of the things that is the heart of a deacon: that I'm willing to submit myself to the government of the elders and to do what I'm asked to do. Just as Jesus was able to say, "I only do what the Father asks me to do," or only say what the Father gives me to say.

As we move forward as a leadership team, elders and deacons need to be very close. We need to work very closely together. Yes, we are equal in the eyes of God; we just have different functions. And I would ask you to fight and guard the unity of the faith, and work with us so that we can truly be of one heart, one mind, and one purpose.