‘Mission is done together’ – Mike Royal 

The Baptist Assembly closed with an appeal for unity from Mike Royal, General Secretary of Churches Together in England (CTE)

Mike took John 17: 13-23 as his text when he spoke during the Sunday morning service, and encouraged Baptists to 'keep listening, receiving, reflecting and loving' even when there is profound disagreement. He added Jesus' prayer applies to us as it did his disciples, and that our unity is a sign that Jesus loves the world too.  
 
‘You leave the most important things to say until last because you want people to remember it,’ said Mike.
 
‘Jesus prayed this prayer to His Father in front of his disciples just before he goes to the cross, because he didn’t want his disciples to forget this prayer. He knew the challenges they would face in the future.
 
‘These are, in my opinion, some of the most important words Jesus spoke: “that they might be one as we are one”.’
 
Mike said there were three things in the passage that jump out.

• Jesus prays that the disciples would stay true to the gospel, while speaking truth to the world. “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but you protect them from the evil one”.
• Jesus prays for us who are yet to be born that we might know the same oneness that Jesus knew with his Father “that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you”.
• That our unity as believers will be a sign to the world that Jesus loves the world too and wants them to experience the Father's love. Jesus prays “That they may be brought to complete unity… then the world will know The Father sent Jesus and The Father loves the World as much as the Father loves his Son Jesus.”

 
'So while we started the Baptist Assembly with the Great Commission,' Mike said, 'we finish with the new commandment summed up in John 13:34 "love one another as I have loved you".
 
The takeaway from this passage, continued Mike, is that we will only reach the world if we do it together.
 
‘We’re not going to do it in silos,’ he said. ‘And we’re definitely not going to do it by shouting at each other on social media.’
 
Mike said this appeal to Christian unity is a key reason why he felt called to this role at Churches Together in England, before proceeding to outline a series of ecumenical principles.
 
Firstly, we have to make a distinction between important issues and essential issues. There are two key essentials for a denomination to become part of CTE

• The Nature of God – The Godhead - Father, Son and Holy Spirit
• The Person of Christ – God the Son, the Saviour of the World 

Beyond these there are important theological issues – ‘but let’s stay together as we work them through,’ said Mike.
 
Secondly, we can use the principles of receptive ecumenism to work those through. This is where we approach one and another ‘with a disposition of wanting to learn, to understand.’
 
This involves:

• Approaching one another with a sense of lack that can only be made complete as we receive from one another
• That receiving from one another involves deep listening and receptive hearts
• That the aim isn’t to not necessarily agree, but to understand each other more deeply
• That we commit to stay at the table and keep listening, receiving and reflecting and loving. 

‘As we deal with the complex issues that have the potential to divide us, including the issues of human sexuality, human dignity and equal marriage, we use those principles to deepen our understanding of different theological positions,’ said Mike.
 
Thirdly, we commit to walk together even where there is profound disagreement. The Apostle Paul had a disagreement with Barnabas over John Mark, but at the end of his ministry was calling for John Mark to help him.
 
Mike explained that CTE is an instrument that helps the church to walk in unity. There have been times of ‘enormous personal and denominational cost’, he said, adding ‘we haven’t always done this well.’
 
However, ‘I keep reminding myself of the prayer of Jesus - that we all might be one as Jesus and the Father are one,’ he continued.
 
‘We choose not to sweep that pain under the carpet, we keep acknowledging it, we keep talking about the issues that matter. Living with disagreement well is a conversation we keep on having – and this morning I want to call you to continue to do that.’
 
He said it is ‘a beautiful thing’ when people on the opposite sides of arguments embrace each other because they refuse to be divided. He referenced a quote shared by Hugh Osgood, past president CTE, in an interview for his book Is Kindness Killing the Church?:
 
‘Sometimes it’s helpful to think of unity as a gift rather than a destination’
 
‘I keep reflecting on this point,’ said Mike. ‘The thing about gifts is that you keep giving to the people you love. ‘Our unity is a gift whereby we keep giving ourselves to one another.’
 
Mike said churches can transform society when they speak and act with one voice, highlighting the Warm Welcome Campaign. And ‘keeping talking about the difficult stuff is the glue that guarantees we stay together…’ he continued. ‘I want to see that within denominations as well as between denominations.’
 
Concluding his address, Mike said Baptists have a ‘vital place’ in the ecumenical family, and that the Baptist movement is ‘pivotal’ to the future of movement of Jesus Christ in this country.
 
He finished by praying for the following:
 
May God give you both wisdom and grace as you seek to walk forward and disagree well.  
 
May God give us all ecumenism of the heart – a passion for the whole body of Christ in all its diversity.
 
As we leave, May God remind us that our diversity is a visible sign of the strength of our unity!


Access a recording of Mike's address below: