Christian Pipe Smokers

From the article wosbald shared:

Around, Not Through

It’s often said that the best marriages begin as friendships, when the partners aren’t thinking about themselves as spouses but simply people bound by common interests and values. In the same vein, it may well be that Christian unity doesn’t begin with formal declarations of structural reintegration, but rather with expressions of common cause on other fronts.

This is actually my theory for future Christian unity. Not only expressions of common cause, but actual common experience.

1) A reinvigorated understanding of the supernatural
2) A renewed understanding of the sacraments
3) Persecution/suffering

I'm looking at this from a protestant POV so #2 might be more specific to that stream, but I have at lease seen evidence in my own life that these three things can unite Christians who have been traditionally separated. And like the article said, I don't think any of these requires formal declarations. My hope is that the unity becomes overwhelming to the point of overflowing the boundaries and documents and declarations that we have all been unable to overcome by our own efforts.

Not saying these three paths are the only paths, just ones I've particularly noticed that might sneak past watchful dragons.