As the president of Midland Ministerial Alliance, I am sincerely concerned about authentic unity among Christians. On one hand, it goes with the territory of leading a ministerial alliance, and on the other hand it has to do with Jesus’ own prayer in John 17. So I eagerly decided to dive into John H. Armstrong’s your church is too small: why unity in Christ’s mission is vital to the future of the church (lower case in the title is the way it is published). This short, 220 page hardback, published by Zondervan, is specifically about the unity of the larger church, not the literal size of a congregation.

Armstrong takes up his subject with a personal warmth and earnestness. As he tells his story, the author shows that his desire for a restored relational unity amongst Christians has been a growing, heart-felt longing in his journey. There have been a few pitfalls, a growing realization of his own prejudice and misconception, as well as making himself the target for those who feel that any push for unity is a compromise of the Gospel. The reader gets the sense that “your church is too small” is written with genuine yearning and pain.

Armstrong approaches the problem in three phases, the past, the present, and the future. This is how he breaks the subject down. The past deals with the more immediate past, threading the way back to the earlier Church’s history. By going back, the writer shows how things unraveled and have continued to remain tattered.

He also deals in some depth on Jesus’ prayer in John 17 and why unity (relational, not organizational) has been an underlying theme, pulsing through the Christian movement all along. He bases his case on a strong Trinitarian theology that is Biblical and refreshing.

The middle portion of your church is too small is taken up with the present. Here Armstrong addresses the present causes of disunity, and various possible aspects of the remedy. The bad-boy in the crowd is Sectarianism, which the author nicely defines and exposes. Part of the antidote Armstrong proposes is returning to the sense of catholicity of the Church. By catholicity the author means not just the universality of the Church, but also an inclusive tolerance that embraces bearable differences amongst Christians, and a maintaining of what the ancient creeds (specifically the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed) declared as the dogmatic core of Christianity.

Armstrong’s desire to have Christians return to the announcements in the creeds is desirable, but I think almost completely fanciful, mainly because of the big culprit he names: Sectarianism. My experience has been that when someone says “unity” he normally means united around his particular brand, or his peculiar set of prejudices. Creeds in modern American Christianity have been so disdained and bad-mouthed that it would be nearly impossible to get the disparate churches in one town or city to agree to them.

I concur with Armstrong’s desire in my heart, but my cynical head tells me it is a human impossibility. This is a serious weakness in your church is too small, but it’s not the author’s fault, it’s the fault of us sinful Christians and our fallen churches.

The final section of Armstrong’s book looks to the future, in which he lays out the importance of relational unity in regard to churches cooperating in reaching out to our broken, tribalized, alienated world. The author leans heavily on Lesslie Newbigin, J.I. Packer, John Mott, and John R.W. Stott in this section. He gives real-life examples where this “missional-ecumenism” has taken place, and how the sample churches have met various challenges and adapted to move forward.

One of the instances Armstrong recounts, to illustrate this “missional-ecumenism”, is how seven congregations in a specific town in Ohio pulled together and worked out a joint Vacation Bible School. The venture drew from a diverse denominational mixture for support, teachers, resources, etc. They rented out a local elementary school and ended up hosting 500-plus kids.

It’s this final section of your church is too small that some will find most disagreeable. Armstrong speaks favorably of “Evangelicals and Catholics Together” as well as the work of Brother Roger and Taize, along with other approaches. Be that as it may, this section is loaded with exemplary ideas on what “missional-ecumenism” looks like, and the ingenious ways it has been fleshed out.

I found your church is too small to be an enjoyable read that speaks to the heart of a divided, fragmented Christianity. Though I think that Armstrong’s tentative antidotes may be generally untenable and unworkable (given the state of North American Christianity, not necessarily for any reason with Armstrong), yet his book is worth reading by those who grieve over the shameful fragmentation of Christianity and long for Christ’s remediation. your church is too small would be a good conversation starter for Christian clergy groups, especially in a local ministerial alliance.

Dr. Michael Philiber is pastor of Providence Presbyterian Church in Midland, TX. He is also the President of the Midland Ministerial Alliance.

your church is too small: why unity in Christ’s mission is vital to the future of the church is available through purchase through the Colson Center Bookstore.