Uniting with brothers and sisters in Christ can change the world, speaker says

Pastor Chris Thomas of New Generation Outreach in Greenwood, S.C., spoke about unity through Christ at Erskine’s chapel service Thursday, Jan. 28. Throughout his message, he referenced the teachings of the late Benjamin Mays, a pillar of the civil rights movement and personal hero of Thomas.

Thomas explained that Benjamin Mays learned about the ways of peaceful protest from Mahatma Gandhi before passing that knowledge on to his student Martin Luther King, Jr. Mays believed in unity amongst all people, Thomas said. He believed that all people must be dependent on God and therefore we should look to Christianity as a guide for handling race relations and uniting as a people.

“Christianity is a bond of brotherhood,” Thomas said.

Thomas quoted Psalm 133 and discussed its importance to the teachings of Mays. Psalm 133 is about the joy felt at the yearly feast where everyone from Israel would set aside conflicts with one another to enjoy each other’s company. The psalmist represents this unity in the first verse— “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!”

“Unity is like an anointing upon your life,” Thomas said.

He explained that understanding and promoting unity changes lives for the better by spreading positive influence and opening minds to new and different viewpoints.

Thomas encouraged everyone to change the world by uniting with their brothers and sisters in Christ. “Unity is more important than anything in our lives.”