5 Steps to Living Christian Unity: Insights and Examples

For as long as Christian churches and communities have been divided, there are those who have looked for ways to heal the fractures. Callan Slipper offers five ways for Christians to approach one another on the path toward unity. (1) Recognize the need; (2) Start from being united; (3) Proceed one person at a time, with love; (4) Don't make yourself the measure of truth. Truth is a person. It is Jesus; (5) embrace the cross, and let Jesus' love transform division. His observations come from years of experience with ecumenists, and his optimism that unity is inevitable is evidence that faith and hope undergird the challenges that abide our daily choice to build Christian unity by the way we love one another.

Callan Slipper is a theologian and writer. He is Ecumenical Facilitator for Hertfordshire in the south of England and is a member of several national and international ecumenical bodies. He has been interested in dialogue of all kinds throughout his life, and his doctoral studies looked at cognition in Buddhism and in Christianity. He lives in a focolare community with members of different churches.