The Unity Plan is still a bad idea. Tonight, my old church in NC is going to announce that they are not signing it. I doubt they will post something on their website. Just in NC, you have five churches – two that signed it (Greenville and Fayetville), one that will not sign (Triangle), one that is ambivalent (Triad), and a final one that no one knows what they will do (Charlotte). Relationships were strained a couple years ago, but they were meeting together sometimes. This UP did not help, especially with the mentality of “we have to know who’s committed in order to know who we’re responsible for.”(sic) Now a big question when they get together is, “why did you/why didn’t you sign?” That is assuming that they still meet monthly.
The admonition to form a regional group may or may not be heeded – all of them are sending folks to Beachstock. (Ironic.) Point is that this plan has exacerbated problems that were already there. They had problems before and all five churches need to work together to work through them – however – trying to separate the sheep and the goats pushes them further apart. Is Triangle the goat now for not signing? Is Fayetville a sheep for signing? Is the Triad righteous for not saying which way they will go? Personally, I think their issues are theological and historical – if it is worked out, it will take quite some time.
In 2004 at the Dallas M.O.A.C. I spoke to leaders from churches in NC and VA. The idea of forming a regional group or even calling Mitch to offer encouragement seemed a distant hope. Things have changed some and I hope that the differences can be worked out despite the UP. Oddly enough, the only person that said they would call was Wyndham Shaw, the man that baptized Mitch.
What I have come to peace with, is that the church I attend has signed it. I do not agree with their decision. I believe it was the wrong one. I believe that the rationale behind signing it is not valid. Despite that, I can accept that they have signed it and that I can be respected for disagreeing. I disagreed with the 40 Days of Purpose Campaign and we worked through that. I am at peace with the fact that I want some kind of relationships with the people here, even if I place membership elsewhere.
I am not at peace that this was done in the first place – but I have chosen to give up fighting about it. There is a time to pursue and a time to give up. I give up. I think all the people that are going to sign, except NY and San Antonio have signed. Given that, the UP is hardly a mandate, especially from the US churches. I think that fact will void the UP and something like what I and others have proposed will be done. Even if everyone suddenly signs, then I will move on. I have said what I needed to say about it.
John Engler had once said that some find peace within the ICoC subculture by forming their own little ‘safe’ groups of trusted friends. It allows them to stay a part of the church while not agreeing with decisions and events elsewhere. That is my separate peace that I have acheived. When my wife and I move in a few years, the likelihood that I will be a part of the ICoC congregation there is almost zero. I do not want to fight these battles all over again. I’d rather go somewhere with a different set of problems.
Knowing this has allowed me to live my life in what I percieve as a healthy and honest way.