11 Ways to Maintain Unity in a Political Crisis
Many have seen the recent protests on the streets of Hong Kong. Although they began as a response to a proposed extradition bill, they quickly embraced wider demands, including the call for greater democracy and an amnesty for those arrested. Among all the challenges involved, one issue that the church needs to address is the disunity between those with differing political views within the congregation.
Ambassador International Church, where I serve, is an English-speaking independent evangelical church that meets on Hong Kong Island. We number around 300 over two services on Sunday mornings (including kids). About 75% of the church are ethnically Asian, most of whom are originally from Hong Kong and have spent time abroad especially in the UK, Canada, Australia, and the U.S. There is a wide spectrum of political views represented in the church—usually reflecting people’s age, background, and experiences in life.
We have sought to maintain unity in the gospel, recognizing that the gospel is the foundation of our unity and the source of our identity.
There are many helpful tips that other pastors facing similar circumstances may be able to share, but here are some things that we have done to work for unity during a time of political crisis:
1. PREACH EXPOSITIONALLY
It is important that pastors let the Bible speak for itself, rather than imposing any agenda on it. Preaching sermons where the message of the passage is the message of the sermon (and sticking to our planned preaching schedule) means that there is a sense of God setting the agenda—not us. Although it is not wrong to address specific topics (we had one service with a short devotion on the political crisis and small group prayer), preaching through passages in a systematic way helps us avoid either side feeling that we are “aiming” teaching at them.
2. BE CLEAR ON WHAT THE GOSPEL IS (AND ISN’T)
During times of political crisis, it is easy for words like “hope” or “freedom” or even “justice” to be co-opted as support for one political cause or the other. Therefore, pastors need to double down on what the gospel is and is not. In their own right, these concepts may be worthy pursuits in certain scenarios, and some may be implications of the gospel, but we find this a helpful time to be extra clear on what the gospel is: the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ on the cross for unworthy rebels, who are then called to respond in repentance and faith.
3. ALLOW SPACE FOR DISAGREEMENT
Some will disagree with this, but I decided early on that the original cause of the protests in Hong Kong (the proposed extradition bill) was not something that Christians needed to have one view about. Therefore, we allow space for different views and continue to focus on our unity together.
4. DON’T FOCUS ON UNITY AT THE EXPENSE OF TALKING
This is a difficult one, but we need to make sure we don’t reach a place where no one can express a political opinion for fear of being accused of undermining unity. We try to communicate that the ideal is to reach a place where we can talk about our differences openly—but in a helpful and unified way.
5. UNITED LEADERSHIP
Early on in the crisis, I met with our elders and asked them to share their honest views one by one. This helped forge unity even where we disagreed and meant that everyone knew where everyone else stood on the issue. One of the great blessings for me was that at no stage did the elders try and pressure me into taking a political stance. The key? Choose your elders wisely!
6. BE PLUGGED INTO WIDER NETWORKS
I have personally benefitted from relationships with other gospel-preaching pastors in the city. These connections are encouraging—to see that we are handling things in roughly the same way and to share advice and resources. Hearing from pastors of Mandarin and Cantonese-speaking churches has also been valuable, as it helped me see the situation from where others were standing and made me more aware of my own blind spots.
7. BE PROACTIVE ABOUT PRAYER
We prioritize praying for Hong Kong’s situation in both our prayer meetings and intercessory prayers on a Sunday. We are careful to stick to biblical priorities (e.g., unity, the spread of the gospel) and also to pray equally for those on both sides (e.g., the protestors and also the police). We had staff and elders lead prayers early on to model how to pray in a way that everyone could say “Amen” to.
8. BE OUTWARD-FACING
Many have testified that there are more opportunities to share their faith in times of crisis, and so it is good to encourage people to look out for these openings. One example is the opportunity to share the greater security we have in life by knowing God is watching over us and that our times are in his hands.
Some of our people have felt discouraged by friends accusing them of “not doing anything for Hong Kong” if they are not involved in the protests—but we need to remember that listening, praying, and sharing the hope that we have in Christ are all vital responses.
9. HONOR COMMUNION
At Ambassador, we have weekly communion. This is a great way to remind people of the heart of the gospel and that our reconciliation is not only with God, but also with one another. Weekly communion provides an opportunity to remind everyone that our identity as Christians stems from being an adopted child of God rather than our political views.
10. SPEAK ABOUT GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY
We strongly believe that the nations are “like a drop in a bucket” (Isaiah 40:15), and that “the king’s heart is a stream of water that the Lord channels” (Proverbs 21:1). These verses show that God is in absolute control of all that happens. This is a great comfort for the Christian. It is an antidote to both anger and anxiety: to anger because we know that God is the ultimate judge of the world, and to anxiety because we know that God is working through all things for our good and his glory.
11. MEMBERSHIP MATTERS
We are in the process of transitioning to formal membership as a church, and I think that there are aspects of church membership that may have helped us earlier during this time. I think that something like a church covenant, where church members have promised to relate to one another in certain ways, would remind us of our unity together and express our commitment to resolve our differences in a way that honors Christ. Rather than letting disagreements fester, this would help us fulfill our obligations to one another as members of the same body.
CONCLUSION
At one point during the current crisis, I watched two people on very different sides of the political debate, by virtue of their occupations, talking quietly to one another over coffee. The thought crossed my mind: There really can’t be too many places in Hong Kong right now where people like this are actually talking to each other.
Yet that is the power of the gospel at work.
At the time of this writing, the protests in Hong Kong are still ongoing. The political divisions seem as wide as ever. There is a great need for Christians to demonstrate the unity that the gospel brings. Please pray for peace in Hong Kong, and that the church might live out Paul’s words in Romans 15:7:
“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.”
About the Author
John Percival is originally from the U.K. and is currently senior pastor of Ambassador International Church in Hong Kong. He and his wife, Rachel, have lived in Hong Kong for ten years and have three young children. He studied at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary in the USA and enjoys hiking and history.