Hi Friends -
Have you ever been asked “What is Unity?” And did you respond by listing out the “Five Unity Principles”? If so, I believe that was a mistake. And it is a mistake that nearly everyone in Unity is making today. The Five Unity Principles may be helpful for internal consumption—helping students organize their belief system. But they are not useful for bringing people into Unity from outside our movement. Here’s why.
The Five Principles are features of Unity, or more accurately, the features of our belief system. The person isn’t really asking about our belief system. He or she wants to know how our belief system is different from what they already know. And they want to know how those differences are relevant to them in the way they live. The differences they are asking about aren’t features, rather they are benefits.
Distinguishing features from benefits is a well-known concept in the marketing world. But it is also a classic literary form in religion, known as Apologetics, and defined as a “reasoned argument or writing in justification of something, typically a theory or religious doctrine.” Apologetic writings in early Christianity actually predate theological writings. When your people are being fed to the lions, you don’t respond with features, you respond with benefits, like love and community. In short, you go from theologian to sales person.
Practical Christianity—It Works! was written in 1975 by Catherine Ponder and published in the February issue of Unity magazine. It is a solid work of Unity apologetics. And if you are trying to answer the commonly asked question, “What is Unity?” or to explain how Unity is different from traditional Christianity, then this article is for you. This five-page essay lists five benefits of Practical Christianity and explains what they are. Here are her points:
- Practical Christianity “works” because it gives us an understanding of the true nature of God and man.
- Practical Christianity “works” because it stands for redemption of the whole man: spirit, soul, and body.
- Practical Christianity “works” because it stands for the establishment of the kingdom of heaven upon the earth—in our lives, right here and now.
- Practical Christianity “works” because it brings increased prosperity into our life.
- Practical Christianity “works” because it shows us how to pray in a simple way that brings results: through the use of affirmative words followed by a meditative silence.
If I were speaking in a Unity church this morning, these are the things I would be bringing out. Each one is an opening to delivering what we know today as an “elevator pitch”—an opportunity to define how what we offer is useful and how it compares with what the person has already got.
Catherine Ponder is a smart woman. We all should memorize these “Five Unity Benefits” and learn to elaborate on how they enrich our life.
Sunday, June 30, 2019
