Earlier this month I had the honour and opportunity to participate in a panel discussion at an annual gathering of Roman Catholic communicators. Joining us on the panel was the conference's main speaker Archbishop John Foley, principal communications advisor to Pope John Paul II and to the Roman Catholic Church around the world.

Now, I don't pretend to be an expert on things Catholic, but I also thought I had the basics figured out. I know they have five more sacraments than I'm used to and they structure most church events around mass. But it only took a few hours of Latin phrases and many complex, bureaucratic terms to be bantered about before I realized I didn't really have a clue about Catholic expressions of Christian faith.

Nor did I know what an archbishop could be like. But each time Bishop Foley spoke, I couldn't help but agree. He was extremely well-grounded in reality—telling one publication editor to stop blaming her readers for the magazine's demise, that instead perhaps the problem was that the publication was dull!

The archbishop advised against outside funding, encouraging media to become self-sufficient and creatively engage advertising in a positive way. I was so enthused I kept wanting to shout “Amen.” But it occurred to me that maybe Catholics didn't do that. And furthermore, good Reformed boys don't do too much of that either.

Reflecting on this time, I can't help but realize all types of Christian media are in a time of transition. Like so much in today's world, old ways of doing things aren't working so well anymore. ChristianWeek is in a unique position to provide some leadership in this area, and conference attendees listened eagerly as I shared what we are learning.

But more than that, I see again how unity in the body of Christ has nothing to do with everyone looking, acting and even believing exactly the same. The biblical example of the Christian Church represented in the human body is extremely powerful; if only we would all stop trying to be the head.

Each church should strive to be a complete body, but at the same time recognize God has special gifting for special groups. I saw this in dramatic fashion in a recent transdenominational service held in our city. The service was lead by three pastors: One Reformed, one Pentecostal, one Salvation Army.

This service was organized in large part by the Reformed pastor and it went extremely well. Say what you want about Reformed church services, but you always know when they start and when they end.

We only have to look at nature and the complex ecosystems found therein to understand our God is incredibly organized and structured. I think God's special gift to people of Reformed persuasion is a sense of this divine practicality—perhaps like the central nervous system of the body, or the brain.

The Pentecostal pastor spoke about worship and members of his church led a time of praise and worship. Say what you want about the emotionalism of Pentecostals, they know how to bring a group of believers into the presence of God. I believe church groups with this type of passion can be said to represent the heart of God.

The pastor from The Salvation Army spoke about caring for the poor and needy. Say what you want about their militaristic structure, The Salvation Army knows how to feed and clothe those in need; both inside and outside the Christian church. They have the respect of our secular culture in a way that the other denominations can only dream about. They are, in a very real way, the hands and feet of the body of Christ.

In a perfect world, all of our churches would be a complete reflection of this body—and we must continuously strive to hold up that mirror. But until that glorious day, Christians need to recognize the contribution we each provide and see that together we are united in a common cause, even though in so many ways—thank God—we are very different.

It is my prayer that ChristianWeek, ChristianCurrent and all our publications strive to be a medium that assists in cultivating strength through this diversity.