The week before last the Presbyterian Church in America, the denomination which owns and governs Covenant College, held its annual General Assembly in Orlando, FL. Each year a specially appointed committee reviews the program and progress of the College, examining board meeting minutes and financial reports and inquiring about a wide range of matters. It was a joy to engage with these commissioners who take very seriously their oversight responsibility on behalf of the denomination, and I am grateful that their report to the full Assembly expressed strong support and appreciation for the work of the College.

Each year we also have the opportunity to give an informational report on the Assembly floor. This year Pastor Jeff Jakes, senior pastor of Orangewood Presbyterian Church in Maitland, FL, joined me at the podium, and he read wonderful remarks written by his daughter Jessie, a rising Covenant sophomore.

As with all such ecclesiastical gatherings, serious issues arise which deserve serious attention, raising the possibility of sharp divisions and rising emotions. What a blessing it was to witness leaders in the PCA discussing important matters thoughtfully and graciously, always with a focus on the purity and peace of the church, even when they disagree. Our fathers and brothers are providing a wonderful, godly example for all of us.

A few weeks ago I came across a posting by John Piper entitled “What I Said to the Pastoral Staff About Unity Amid Differences.”

Piper writes:

The reason for this focus was, negatively, that if this pastoral staff disintegrates into disunity, the damage to the church will be great; and, positively, if God would keep us unified around our mission, the Christ-exalting scope of the impact would be worth dying for.

Piper then offered these biblical guidelines for loving one another amid differences:

1. Avoid gossiping.
2. Identify evidences of grace in each other and speak them to each other and about each other.
3. Speak criticism directly to each other if we feel the need to speak to others about it.
4. Look for, and assume, the best motive in the other’s viewpoint, especially when we disagree.
5. Think often of the magnificent things we hold in common.
6. Be more amazed that we are forgiven than that we are right; in that way, shape our relationships by the gospel.

Of course there’s nothing revolutionary about John Piper’s counsel. But how easy it is to forget such biblical principles or, worse, to set them aside for self-justifying reasons. Particularly during times of stress and disagreement, we should prayerfully and diligently set ourselves to walk and talk in ways that honor Christ.

This applies not only to how we interact with one another within our communities of faith, but also to our engagement with the wider community. In the June 2009 issue of Comment magazine, author Jedd Medefind offers a series of questions “to keep our civic engagement rooted in Christ.” (Until January 2009, Medefind was Special Assistant to President Bush, serving as acting director of the Faith Based and Community Initiative in the White House. In April 2009 he was appointed Executive Director of the Christian Alliance for Orphans.)

Medefind’s questions are particularly crucial during these days of stark differences on society-shaking political, economic, and moral issues. How can Christians faithfully honor Jesus Christ even as we address matters of life and death, justice, human freedom and dignity, and religious liberty?

1. Is my political stance a reflection of the heart of God or merely a product of my own culture?
2. Do the goals I seek to achieve flow from a vision for common grace (i.e. the truly best good for all involved), or merely the narrow interests of my own group?
3. Will the tactics I use make it more difficult to influence hearts and lives positively in the long run?
4. Is government really the best way to address this issue?
5. Am I willing to be unpopular?
6. Do I sincerely love my political “enemies” as Jesus taught, not just in theory but in action?
7. Am I falling off the other side of the road (i.e. overreacting to others)?
8. Is my political stance reflected in my private choices?
9. Have I embraced spiritual disciplines that will sustain me and keep me spiritually rooted for the long haul?
10. What is my ultimate goal?

The ground of both Piper’s and Medefind’s counsel is the gospel of Jesus Christ, which points us to the larger frame of reference for life here and now. It is tempting to narrow our perspective, to allow the immediate issues at hand, important as they are, to fill our entire field of vision, and to live small. Two quips come to mind, one from a colleague of many years ago who said, after a particularly ferocious meeting, “The battles are so fierce because the stakes are so small!” And then this from another good friend: “Anyone who really wants to be a king can find a kingdom small enough for him to rule!”

Whether the context is disagreement in the home, conflict in the church, trouble in the workplace, or battles in the broader culture, we do well to remember the bigger story that, in God’s gracious providence and for his eternal glory, is being written. That big story includes all our smaller stories, being told right now in all the challenges and joys of daily life. Surely living life in its complex detail is our Christian calling, and the nuts and bolts of ordinary living are eternally significant. But hearing and telling the big story again and again will raise our eyes and expand our field of vision to see the Lord Jesus Christ in all his sovereign majesty, so that we would live large, walking faithfully and courageously and waiting in hope for the glory that is to come.

It is that larger gospel story – described by one speaker in terms of our common eschatological identity – which provided the shape and tone of the PCA General Assembly. I have returned to Lookout Mountain no less committed to the challenges and battles of real life, but wonderfully encouraged by the display of big-story gospel truth, love, and hope which I witnessed in Orlando.