Unless you have been living on another planet, or you never watch television, you've seen the commercials by a battery company featuring the Energizer Bunny.

Because he is empowered by that particular brand battery, the bunny overcomes all obstacles placed in his way. The furry, fuzzy, funny little creature breaks down walls, goes right over anything in its way.

Why did the sponsor choose the Energizer Bunny for its "spokesbunny"? Maybe the element of surprise? Just when you begin to yawn that "here-we-go-again-with-another-commercial" disgust, the smiling little rabbit comes on the screen and forces you out of your routine way of looking at commercials.

The Energizer Bunny is quite a character! When he comes on the scene, things are definitely going to be different. His drum-banging is a sign that things are going to happen. I guess you could say you'll be stepping to the beat of a different drummer!

You have listened to me often enough to know that one of my "six main topics" of preoccupation is unity. The night before Jesus was crucified, he prayed the most passionate prayer of his ministry (John 17) in which he made clear that unity among his followers would be the strongest proof to nonchristians of his divine nature and mission. Ellen White says John 17 is the most important chapter in the Bible. But sometimes we incorrectly equate "unity" with "uniformity."

Paul, a faithful and faith-filled apostle of Jesus, gave us an explication of unity and diversity. "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:28)

Obviously, Jews and Greeks look different, live and worship differently. Slaves were significantly different from free persons. And, in case you hadn't noticed, there are a few differences between women and men!!

That is the message today -- unity and diversity are part of God's creation, part of God's plan.

In our Wednesday night Bible studies we are beginning the study of Acts. Last Wednesday we studied the Pentecost experience -- when "they were all together" they were baptized by the Holy Spirit. Do you suppose the "all together" signifies more than simply being in the same place? We are told they had "all things in common." It seems obvious that their togetherness was spiritually significant.

Our Epistle emphasizes differences within the framework of unity! "There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men." (I Corinthians 12:4 - 6)

Later in this chapter, Paul uses the analogy, and anatomy, of a human body in order to explain the variety of gifts within the church.

Now, I am very glad my body is held together. It would surely be inconvenient to have feet that had to be held onto my legs by straps! It would be hard to type on my computer without a connection between my hands and my brain!

But -- and this is Paul's thesis -- if the whole body were ears, we wouldn't be able to see; if the whole were eyes, we wouldn't be able to hear . . . and so on.

The point is clear: the Holy Spirit gives us each gifts. We are to use those gifts. No two people have the same gifts. God knows who can best heal, plant crops, lay bricks, pray, cut people open for surgical repair, sweep the floor, teach, paint, cook, preach, sing, play, give words of encouragement . . .

Jesus did not pray for uniformity, but for unity. After all, it was he who created us. And he created no two people exactly alike, no two flowers alike, no two stars alike, no two blades of grass alike . . .

When I was a young minister, the senior minister under whom I served had worked with an evangelist who was extremely animated, running from one end of the platform to the other. So that's what my friend did -- emulated his mentor by over-animation, which did not really reflect his personality. So that's what I did -- tried to mimic my mentor. It was not natural for me, and as I look back from a more mature vantage point, I realize that so long as I tried to emulate his style I was a phony!

Unity is based on love, respect and freedom. In fact, there can be no real love without respect and freedom. I very much love the lady who just told the children's story, but her favorite color is red, and I don't care much for red. I very much enjoy this cold weather; she does not. Because I respect her, I grant her the freedom to be wrong! And she grants me the freedom to be right!

Seriously, Jesus gives us freedom. Sometimes we misuse it. More often, we abuse it -- we want freedom to believe as we see things, while we want to limit the freedom of others to believe as they see things. We show that by criticism, judgment, passive resistance, power plays, by autocratic and authoritarian attitudes.

After discussing the variety of spiritual gifts in chapter 12, the last verse is a lead-in for chapter 13 -- Paul says, "First, however, let me tell you about something else that is better than any of them" (the gifts, that is).

It is significant that the next chapter is I Corinthians 13, the famous love chapter.

More important than all these gifts, says Paul, is love. And he explains love in great detail.

No wonder Jesus said, "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:35) Be your own self. Exercise your various gifts, but live together in unity, as closely knit as are your hands, feet, ears, eyes . . . When you are filled with the Spirit, you just keep going . . . and going . . . and going . . . like the Energizer Bunny.

When we are filled, immersed, baptized by the Holy Spirit, we are energized, filled with so much enthusiasm that we overflow with the love and message of Jesus. We are so busy doing the work of Jesus we don't have time to fret about the faults of others!

That's what unity is all about, loving and living in harmony with people who are as diverse as -- well, I better not name names. You all know who the odd people are: They are the ones who are different from you and me!

"Neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female . . ." Paul is not denying or defying differences. He is not saying: Men and women, try to be alike, look alike, act alike. No, no, no. His thesis in I Corinthians is precisely the opposite.

Did you hear about the British politician who appeared at the gate of heaven? The admitting angel said, "Sorry, but our records show you were a male chauvinist. No room for you here."

"Humph, I suppose you got that from Margaret Thatcher! I see her over there gloating at me."

"More bad news, sir. That's not Mrs. Thatcher; that's God!"

Now here's a story that's true: Susan B. Anthony called on editor Horace Greeley in 1860 to ask for his support of women's suffrage. He was an outspoken opponent of women's rights, and said, "What would you do in the event of a civil war?"

She answered, "I would do just what you do. I would sit in my office and write articles urging other people to go fight!" I wonder if he ever supported the cause of women's rights.

Prejudice is the enemy of unity. Love is recognizing differences and still maintaining unity. We are different and we need to see and celebrate those differences. Ladies, be ladies. Your charm and feminine characteristics are what make ladies appealing. And men, be men. Just be sure your manliness is Christian manliness, not the worldly "macho man"!

In the best-selling book, You Just Don't Understand, Deborah Tannen tells of a study of men and women students in a Baptist seminary.

It revealed that women are more apt to suggest, whereas men are more ready to command. When women gave devotions they gently invited their listeners, "Let's go to verse 15," but men tended to say, "Now listen while I read verse 15."

Of course there are other kinds of differences. Do you realize that 21 of the original 23 astronauts were first-born children? The Mercury astronauts were all first-borns. More than 50% of U. S. presidents were first-borns. More than 60% of those listed in Who's Who were first-born!

Yet most creative persons, artists and writers, are later-borns. There's not much we can do about our rank among siblings! So what does this tell us? It simply tells us that each of us hears the gospel, the good news of Jesus, thru different sets of ear drums; we process what we hear thru different sets of presuppositions and predispositions.

One of the fascinating -- and challenging -- differences for a preacher to consider is that some people are right-handed and some are left-handed! The right-handed people are left-brained, more literal, logical, verbal, rational, fact-oriented . . . and more opinionated! Left-handed people are right-brained -- more creative, emotional, more visual. So right-handed people want the sermon to be doctrinally sound; they want the preacher to get his facts right. But left-handed people want the preacher to be warm and accepting, to tell some stories, include some humor.

So we are different . . . Let's really celebrate and capitalize on our differences, being careful not to antagonize by extremes. The worst enemy of a good cause is not its antithesis, but its extreme.

One of my favorite professors was Harold Benjamin. He gave a Harvard lecture which was printed as The Cultivation of Idiosyncrasies. He called us to deliberately, arbitrarily find ways to be appropriately different.

Isn't that what Jesus called for in the Sermon on the Mount? "You are the salt of the earth." "You are the light of the world." Salt adds flavor, makes a difference, keeps food from tasting bland.

That was Peter's challenge -- "you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people . . ." (I Peter 2:9) Not peculiar as eccentric, odd, capricious, but peculiar as different, creative, unique . . .

One of the strategies for becoming a creative person is to do something you have never done before. When I attended a Creative Thinking seminar at New York University, we were told to go home and do something we had never done before. I came back to Detroit, drove up Gratiot Avenue, saw a black dress shirt in a window. I bought it and wore it to work the following day. My secretary stared at me in surprise -- that was 1961. My manager said, "What's with you, Felix?" As you know, I've been wearing black shirts ever since!

So what did that accomplish? It simply took me out of a rut.

There is no virtue in nonconformity for the sake of nonconformity, except as it may be a means of adding salt-flavor to a bland society! Nor is there virtue in conformity for the sake of conformity.

Someone has said if we really believed in the baptism of the Holy Spirit we would have to replace the crosses on our churches with lightning rods!

To be sure, we would have more life and enthusiasm, more feeling and fervor and spirit and sparkle and passion. The world would be a better and happier place for our being here.

I conducted two funerals in one week, both for ladies in their 80's; both were known for adding happiness and richness to the lives of those around them.

Both were hospice patients for the last few months. One of them was Mary McDonald, whose son described her as a "hard-as-nails, outspoken, cards-on-the-table woman with a heart as soft as melted butter!" Her other son said, "She was definitely not your ordinary lady."

That, dear saints, is the call of Jesus -- to be "definitely not your ordinary person."

The other lady was Dorothy Goodenow. One of her sons said, "She faced death like she faced life, straight on." Her other son said, "She made a difference wherever she went."

Yes, that's what Jesus calls us to do: face life straight on, to make a difference.

The baptism of the Holy Spirit enables us, empowers us to use our gifts to make this a better world. The Holy Spirit does not empower us to use our talents for only our own gratification, but for a witness to the world, to represent Jesus as our King. The serendipity is that by making a better world, we find self-fulfillment and happiness.

A word of caution: Jesus said if you are faithful to his call, you must be prepared to face opposition, even persecution. That's scary! We don't face much persecution in this country, and maybe that is why Christianity does not seem to grow like it did in the early days, when Christians were persecuted for their faith. Apparently Jesus does not mean to us what he meant to them!

Henry Hitt Crane was the pacifist minister of Central Methodist Church, before my time here. I wish I had known him. He said he was concerned that his preaching might not have been faithful -- he had never experienced an assassination attempt!

Church music has changed quite dramatically in the past two centuries, especially in the past 30 years or so. I remember when the congregation in the old College View (Nebraska) church sang all 4 parts. Today, most everyone simply sings the melody. The few brave souls who sing parts are usually drowned-out exceptions! Praise God for our choir.

Even choir music used to stress parts, fundamental harmony. Much of today's music stresses loud, driving rhythm, more unison and less harmony. (Wilma will tell you I complain that basses seldom sing in the bass range anymore!)

Do you suppose Paul would say that is theologically sound? Did he perceive dissimilarities -- dissonances, discords, if you please -- as salt-flavor in the congregation, the spark and sparkle which keeps the body of Christ alert and alive, colorful and fascinating?

The mix of ideas, even the clash of ideals within the church is a sign of life and health, not a morbid sign of sickness -- if we live in harmony, in peace, in love and fellowship. Unity in diversity is the challenge.

The call of our scriptures today is to be baptized by the Holy Spirit, to identify and use the gifts of the Holy Spirit, to celebrate the variety of those gifts -- and still live in unity.

Larry and Wilma and Lucille and I saw a presentation at Meadowbrook in which an architect worked long and hard to build a high-rise building in London. His good friend, a social-activist neighbor, worked long and hard with the community to oppose the project.

The beauty of the story is that the architect kept right on working to implement his dream, while at the same time not just enduring, but actually celebrating his friend's freedom to do what he tho't he should do.

Unity in no way compromises the Christian's convictions. True unity is not just tolerance. Condescension and tolerance are paternalistic attitudes of "triumphalism." Unity based on love and freedom is Christian grace.

The gifts of the Spirit are not to be gratuities for our enjoyment. They are tools to be used in the service for others. They are talents which Jesus calls us to use as we serve him to make this a better world.

The baptism of the Spirit will make "Energizer Bunnies" of us all. It will empower and energize us, and if we use our gifts in unity we will amaze the world. "Higher than the highest human thought can reach is God's ideal for his children." (Ellen White)

Thus energized, Spirit-filled saints "will advance as fast and as far as possible" to serve Jesus and to make this a better world. After John Wesley had his Aldersgate experience nothing could stop him in his service for Christ.

Paul's call is for individuality rather than individualism. The me-first, narcissistic culture bombards us with "get" rather than "give" messages.

Our society is not all that much different from Corinth, the "Big Apple" of the ancient world, which was a center of commerce, travel, politics, religious and recreational activities of all sorts. It was not your model city by any means!

And I rather think many of our churches are not all that different from the church of Corinth. Apparently some rivalry among the members concerning the importance of the various gifts threatened their unity. So Paul made very clear that our gifts are just that -- gifts. Gifts of grace, charisms from God.

John promised, "After me will come one who is more powerful than I . . . He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." (Matthew 3:11)

Today I urge you to pray for the baptism of the Holy Spirit, for "fire" to energize you for the greatest work there is -- to serve a sin-filled world as a Spirit-filled saint in the name of a saving Jesus Christ.

Let us pray . . .