"No Earthly Good", in defense of Ecumenism

I recently experienced my first significant resistance to our efforts through Mustard Seed Missions to work ecumenically to help the needy.  Thankfully, this opposition did not come from anyone in my church, or even anyone here in our community or in one of the forty churches we partner with.  The objection to the work of Mustard Seed Missions came from people who had no direct knowledge of our work, but rather only an objection to the principle of ecumenism, in most of its forms, regardless of its application in our case and without any first-hand, or even second-hand knowledge of what it is that we actually do for people here in Venango County in the name of Christ.

It did of course bother me somewhat, and sadden me, to know that sincere Christians would object to a ministry that has brought so much hope and brotherly love not only to our clients but to our churches, but it didn’t really surprise me.  There is a long standing tradition in Church history of choosing principles over people in the sense that the people involved are considered to be casualties of the need to hold on tightly to principles and therefore such casualties are regrettable but not avoidable.  As I pondered this situation this morning I was reminded of a song that I knew as a kid that was covered by the Oak Ridge Boys but originally written and sung by Johnny Cash, “No earthly good”.  A portion of the third verse speaks to this point: “If you're holdin' heaven then spread it around, There are hungry hands reaching up here from the ground, Move over and share the high ground where you stood, So heavenly minded and you're no earthly good”.

Principles are an important thing, the fundamentals of the Christian faith are an essential part of what defines us that we cannot afford to lose.  That being said, the fractured and varied Church that exists today is the reality with which we must work.  In an ideal world, there would only be one Church, all in doctrinal agreement and all correctly following the Word of God.  In case you haven’t noticed, this isn’t an ideal world.  We have two primary choices then as we face the reality of the divisions within the Church of Jesus Christ: #1 Build a wall around our church to avoid the “corrupting” influence of the theology of churches that we object to and only work with completely like-minded people for the kingdom of God #2 Work with all of our sister churches for the sake of the lost even though we have important differences in our theology.

As someone who grew up enjoying the hard-nosed theology of the Apostle Paul, I can see the appeal of taking a stand on principle, but the words of Jesus Christ compel me forward, “whatever you did for the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”  In a world of darkness, I choose to seek out other lights that shine besides my own, together we will shine brighter as we share the light of Jesus Christ.