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May 12,2007 (Topeka, KS) Have you ever wondered why so many
of God's promises only seem to work occasionally? Or why sickness, both
physical and mental, seems to be more prevalent among Christians than it
is in the world? Or why all of the efforts at unifying Church
organizations have not resulted in more visible unity among believers on
the street? A recently released book, Our Oneness in Christ by Ian
Johnson and Lauston Stephens (PublishAmerica, 2006), ISBN 1-4241-6035-9,
provides at least one of the major answers to all of these questions: The
Church has become too individualistic. God's promises are made to the
Body of Christ, and only function properly in our individual lives when
that Body is healthy—that is, when we are each individually living out
our oneness. Conversely, when the whole Body is sick and weak from
disunity, each of its members shares in its sickness and weakness.
This book starts by establishing that all believers in Christ are
already, in fact, one with each other in Christ. This leaves us with the
challenge, not of creating unity where it does not exist, but of living
consistently with the oneness that already exists.
The first section then explains why living consistently with our oneness
is important, including God's commands and expectations, the benefits of
living in oneness and the hazards of living contrary to the truth. Part
two explains what oneness is and is not, including the concepts that
oneness is a harmony of diverse believers each doing their own part, not
unison, unanimity or strict conformity to the same mold. The third
section deals with practical barriers to living in oneness—selfishness,
misunderstandings, heresy, and incorrect understanding of the origin of
the organizational divisions in the universal Church—and suggests how to
overcome them. The focus of the book is how each of us individually may
live out the oneness of the Body and contribute to its health and
strength.