All For One, And One For All
Stories
Lectionary Tales for the Pulpit
Series V, Cycle C
Object:
I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. (vv. 20-23)
Dr. Dale Galloway is on the faculty of Asbury Theological Seminary. He was also the founding pastor of New Hope Community Church in Portland, Oregon. In 1987, a young widowed mother named Donna and her son belonged to New Hope. While at a women's meeting, someone commented that Donna looked yellow and should probably see a doctor. She replied that she couldn't afford insurance. The group took up a collection and sent her for a checkup.
The doctor examined her and discovered she had a serious liver problem. She was given six weeks to live without a transplant. Specialists at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, could do the operation, but it would cost $140,000. Things looked pretty bleak.
The women went to talk to Galloway to see how they could help Donna. He was greatly troubled. The church was already financially strapped as they were $400,000 in debt with a building program. He was sure the congregation was financially tapped out, but he prayed about the situation. He knew that somehow they had to help. A highly respected businessman volunteered to lead the effort they called "Save My Mom." Another person volunteered to work on the project full time over the next six weeks.
The next Sunday morning, Galloway told the congregation of the need and $60,000 was given. The next day, Galloway was invited to speak before the Oregon legislature about Donna and others who couldn't afford insurance. The media picked up the story and people outside the church began contributing. In one week, they had raised $220,000. Donna went to Texas for her transplant.
A decade later when people talk about their church, they don't talk about their building. They talk about the love given to a single mom without insurance. It was unity that made the miracle happen.
In our scripture today, Jesus prays redundantly that Christians "may all be one." Jesus' prayer was for believers to be unified. That doesn't mean we won't have disagreements. It does mean that we will share basic common beliefs. We will put aside any differences and be there for one another in times of need.
Jesus prayed that we would be unified so that the world might believe in the reality of God. If all people see is a church that fights among itself, or denominations that bicker over theological differences, they don't see Christ, and they don't see God's love. Let us, then, be unified in love to show the essence of God.
(Dale E. Galloway, "Ten Characteristics of a Healthy Church" Net Results, May 1998, p. 20)
Dr. Dale Galloway is on the faculty of Asbury Theological Seminary. He was also the founding pastor of New Hope Community Church in Portland, Oregon. In 1987, a young widowed mother named Donna and her son belonged to New Hope. While at a women's meeting, someone commented that Donna looked yellow and should probably see a doctor. She replied that she couldn't afford insurance. The group took up a collection and sent her for a checkup.
The doctor examined her and discovered she had a serious liver problem. She was given six weeks to live without a transplant. Specialists at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, could do the operation, but it would cost $140,000. Things looked pretty bleak.
The women went to talk to Galloway to see how they could help Donna. He was greatly troubled. The church was already financially strapped as they were $400,000 in debt with a building program. He was sure the congregation was financially tapped out, but he prayed about the situation. He knew that somehow they had to help. A highly respected businessman volunteered to lead the effort they called "Save My Mom." Another person volunteered to work on the project full time over the next six weeks.
The next Sunday morning, Galloway told the congregation of the need and $60,000 was given. The next day, Galloway was invited to speak before the Oregon legislature about Donna and others who couldn't afford insurance. The media picked up the story and people outside the church began contributing. In one week, they had raised $220,000. Donna went to Texas for her transplant.
A decade later when people talk about their church, they don't talk about their building. They talk about the love given to a single mom without insurance. It was unity that made the miracle happen.
In our scripture today, Jesus prays redundantly that Christians "may all be one." Jesus' prayer was for believers to be unified. That doesn't mean we won't have disagreements. It does mean that we will share basic common beliefs. We will put aside any differences and be there for one another in times of need.
Jesus prayed that we would be unified so that the world might believe in the reality of God. If all people see is a church that fights among itself, or denominations that bicker over theological differences, they don't see Christ, and they don't see God's love. Let us, then, be unified in love to show the essence of God.
(Dale E. Galloway, "Ten Characteristics of a Healthy Church" Net Results, May 1998, p. 20)
