Unity of Church

Huy Fong Foods’ founder and owner, David Tran, created the sauce we know as sriracha in his L.A. kitchen as a refugee from Vietnam. Starting with nothing but a recipe and condensed milk cans full of 100 ounces gold that he smuggled out of Vietnam, Tran built Huy Fong Foods over the next four decades into a behemoth that was the No. 3 hot sauce brand in America, behind only Tabasco and Frank’s Red Hot.

Sriracha hot sauce has been copied, counterfeited, and even taken into outer space. Tran didn’t spend a dime on marketing, but his product found fans across the country and was celebrated by chefs and celebrities like Miley Cyrus. The bottle could even be found on the International Space Station.

Then a catastrophic disagreement between Tran and Craig Underwood, the California pepper farmer who had grown the red jalapeños for Huy Fong’s sauce for 28 years, created a crisis for the business. The breakup of Huy Fong Foods and Underwood Ranches, stemming from a disagreement over payment that erupted in November 2016, led to shortages of Huy Fong’s “rooster sauce.” This left millions of fans often unable to get their hands on their favorite condiment. The rift decimated both men’s companies—leaving the farmer with thousands of acres of pepper fields but no customer; and the sauce-maker with a 650,000-square-foot factory but not enough chili peppers to keep it running consistently.

Since then, dozens of other srirachas have flooded the market amid the original’s scarcity, including versions from the likes of Texas Pete and Roland’s and generics from various supermarket chains. And the No. 1 hot sauce brand in America seized the opportunity created by the shortage of Huy Fong’s sauce to dominate the category that Tran created: Tabasco had the bestselling sriracha in the country for the second half of 2023, pulling ahead even of the original rooster sauce.

The sad saga of the two men who created one of America's favorite condiments feels like a kind of fable, or cautionary tale, showing how fragile one product’s dominance of a category can be, no matter how beloved it is.

Possible Preaching Angles:

Just as discord can splinter a business and erode its effectiveness, so disagreements within a church can be equally devastating. Unresolved conflicts have the potential to shatter unity, undoing the hard work, and cause harm to its reputation.

The Bible teaches us that it is not good for us to be alone, we need others. Researchers now know that we are wired to be with and interact with others.

Our culture teaches us to focus on personal uniqueness, but at a deeper level we barely exist as individual organisms. Our brains are built to help us function as members of a tribe. We are part of that tribe even when we are by ourselves, whether listening to music (that other people created), watching a basketball game on television (our own muscles tensing as the players run and jump), or preparing a spreadsheet for a sales meeting (anticipating the boss’s reactions). Most of our energy is devoted to connecting with others.

Marvin Gaye, one of the most legendary soul singers of the 20th century, produced a series of hit recordings before his untimely death in 1984 from gun violence. But now, 40 years later, the world may experience a new set of never-heard recordings from the singer. “We can open a time capsule here and share the music of Marvin with the world," says Belgian lawyer Alex Trappeniers.

Assuming, of course, that ongoing legal proceedings can resolve their legal ownership. Trappeniers is the attorney for the family of Charles Dumolin, with whom Gaye once lived. Gaye moved to Belgium in 1981, to escape a cocaine habit he’d picked up living in London. While living with Dumolin, Gaye regained his health, and returned to recording. Some of the recordings he made during that time have never been released, and their potential value has only skyrocketed in the decades since his death.

And since Gaye gave them to the family, Trappeniers says, they should remain the family’s estate. He said, “They belong to [the family] because they were left in Belgium 42 years ago. Marvin gave it to them and said, 'Do whatever you want with it' and he never came back.”

The problem is, the Belgian law that would support the family’s custodianship of the physical tapes does not necessarily apply to intellectual property contained therein. If the heirs of the Gaye estate lay a claim to his music, the family could possess the recordings without a legal right to release them commercially. The Gaye family could legally own the music, but have no access to the tapes that contain them. Without a resolution, a legal stalemate would result.

Trappeniers says some kind of compromise and collaboration is necessary to bring Gaye’s new music to life. “I think we both benefit, the family of Marvin and the collection in the hands of [Dumolin's heirs]. If we put our hands together and find the right people in the world, the Mark Ronsons, or the Bruno Mars. ... Let's listen to this and let's make the next album.”

Possible Preaching Angle:

Cooperation; Partnership; Teamwork; Unity – Much can be accomplished in any area of society where there is collaboration instead of competitiveness. This is what Paul told the Corinthian church, “I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree together, so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be united in mind and conviction” (1 Cor. 1:10-17).

The unheralded Florida Atlantic University men’s basketball team made it all the way to the 2023 NCAA Final Four. How did they make it that far, especially considering they had no superstars? They relied on teamwork. Nine players on this Owls team averaged 15-plus minutes during the season, and the starting rotation has changed several times.

"We really don't care who starts as long as you just impact the game," said sophomore guard Alijah Martin, who started 20 games that season. Another starter said, "It's probably the first team I've been on where really nobody cares about their stats. I feel like across the board, any game it's just a whole bunch of selfless guys just trying to get a win."

"If you feel like it could do better for the team, why not serve and make that happen?" another player said. "There's been many opportunities and many times when guys offered up their spot for somebody else. I feel like that just reflects on the type of people we are as humans, and it shows on the court."

This selfless team spirit was exemplified early in the season between a fifth-year senior named Boyd and Michael Forrest, who lost his starting job to Boyd because of an injury. When Forrest returned, Boyd offered to give up his starting role. May declined to make the change. Where that might have affected the dynamics of some teams, FAU continued to win. Forrest said, "It doesn't really matter who starts, who finishes, it just matters about what you do on the court. Everyone's just playing to win. Everyone's playing for each other. So that's really what the difference is."

A recent news article featured the story of three restaurant-owning brothers in India who constantly compete and bicker for business.

B. Vivekanandhan, the 51-year-old owner of a popular restaurant called Moonrakers, competes fiercely for customers in this southern Indian holiday town. So fiercely, in fact, that fists have flown. His chief foes are his own flesh-and-blood. His older brother operates a seafood joint called Moonwalkers right across the street. Just down the same lane, his younger brother runs Moonrocks. The menus are nearly identical.

At one time, all three brothers and their families would sit down for dinner. The three brothers behind Moonrakers agree it began as a true family endeavor. No more. One of the brothers said, “When money comes, comes, comes, love goes away.”

A couple of times in 2020, two of the brothers brawled with each other in the street in front of befuddled customers. “Sometimes it’s like a street fight,” one brother said. “People say, ‘This is a complicated family. We just came down to eat.’”

It’s all proving baffling to tourists, who frequently are stopped on the street by two of the brothers who were giving pitches for their rival restaurants. One resident said she wanted to eat at the original Moonrakers, but was bewildered by the competing eateries. Her husband, who swore he had dined at Moonrakers years ago, was even more confused.

Possible Preaching Angle:

The church looks just as petty and ridiculous when we don’t walk in unity in Christ.

If you attend a service in the small Roman Catholic church Sankt Maria in Carinthia, Austria, you might find that the pastor has to pause the sermon for an unusual reason: A road runs through the middle of the church. While the pastor preaches his sermon in the sanctuary on the east side of a one-lane road, the churchgoers sit in a building on the opposite side of the road.

As early as 1443, a Marterl (a wayside shrine erected on roads and paths to encourage prayer) was built at this point on the former Roman road. At the time, the road was an important trade route from Venice to Salzburg, and the Marterl gave travelers a place to pray.

In 1754 the roadside shrine was replaced by a chapel. Since there was not much space between the road and the slope, a chapel was built with the sanctuary about six feet above the road, and worshipers gathered on the street in front of the church.

Eventually, a pastor felt sorry for the pilgrims who often stood in front of him in the rain, and had a two-story structure built on the opposite side of the road about 15 feet from the chapel. In this building, there are two rooms with chairs and benches. This building is also open on the side facing the road and the chapel, and the open side of both buildings have wrought-iron safety fences.

Services now took place in two buildings: the priest stood in one, and congregants in the other. If a vehicle came by, he had to interrupt his sermon. This happened more often up until 1905, because up until then the road had been a federal road. Then the bypass road, which still exists today, was built. Even today, local traffic still passes through the church.

You can see a picture of this unusual chapel here.

Possible Preaching Angle:

This church in Austria is unique because it is divided physically, but the sad fact is that many churches are divided spiritually. Even in the first century Paul wrote to the Corinthian church that he had heard “that there are divisions among you” (1 Cor. 11:18). Christ prayed “that they may all be one … so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (John 17:21).

Suzanne Simard writes about ecosystems from the viewpoint of adaptation and evolution. But her comments pique the interest of those who love the diversity and interconnectedness of the Body of Christ. She writes:

We can think of an ecosystem of wolves, caribou, trees, and fungi creating biodiversity just as an orchestra of woodwind, brass, percussion, and string musicians assemble into a symphony. Or our brains, composed of neurons, axons, and neurotransmitters, produce thought and compassion. Or the way brothers and sisters join to overcome a trauma like illness or death, the whole greater than the sum of the parts.

The cohesion of biodiversity in a forest, the musicians in an orchestra, the members of a family growing through conversation and feedback, through memories and learning from the past. Through this cohesion, our systems develop into something whole and resilient.

Possible Preaching Angle:

Members of the body of Christ, with different personalities, gifts, and backgrounds are “being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit” (Eph. 2:19-22).

A.W. Tozer wrote:

Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So, one hundred worshipers met together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be, were they to become “unity” conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship.

A single strand of spider silk is thinner than a human hair, but five times stronger than steel of the same width. A spider silk rope just two inches thick could reportedly stop a Boeing 747. On its own it could do little, but bound together with other strands in a rope, it has awesome strength.

Possible Preaching Angle:

This is like the church. On our own we are vulnerable and weak. But standing together with our brothers and sisters we can impact the world for Christ (1 Cor. 12:12; Rom. 12:4-6).

Assembling your office team is like putting together a puzzle. To succeed, you need to find the proper combination of complementary talents. Hiring a bunch of go-getters is not the sole solution to creating a successful team. Big egos and arrogance can turn the office into a battlefield--a killer for a small company. Instead, strive for balance as you hire.

Here are the six personalities every startup needs:

1. The Dreamer: The dreamer is a motivating force in creating the company and a sustaining force every day after. The dreamer inspires, excites, and leads the company from a sky-high view.

2. The Manager: The manager takes a dream and makes it happen. They are pragmatic, reliable, and have the initiative to turn ideas into action items. It’s all about being approachable, trust-worthy, and forward thinking.

3. The Builder: The builder thinks like an architect and has a clear understanding of the company vision and knows how to create it. He or she is intuitive, bright, and inventive.

4. The Workhorse: The workhorse is happy to step up and do whatever it takes to make the company engine purr. You will never hear the words: “It’s not my job” come out of this person’s mouth. The workhorse gets things done behind the scenes.

5. The Penny Pincher: The penny pincher never commits to a cost without first considering the options. He or she is creative with budgets, doesn’t spend unnecessarily and understands the difference between need and want.

6. The Social Butterfly: The person has the ability to create connections among team members, laugh at themselves and others, and shift perspective at the right time. They are an essential ingredient to strong morale and a happy team.

Possible Preaching Angle:

This variety of personality types (with their biblical titles) is also essential for a healthy church. God supplies each church with a diversity of spiritual gifts to equip the local body to best serve the church and the community. For example, the “dreamer” has the spiritual gift of faith, the “manager” has the gift of administration, the “builder” has the gift of leadership, the “workhorse” has the gift of serving, the “penny pincher” may have the gift of giving, and the “social butterfly” the gift of encouragement or showing mercy.

Termites may be hard to love, but they’re easy to admire. Termite mounds can reach as high as thirty feet. Based on their tiny size, that’s the equivalent of humans building something twice as tall as the 2,722-foot Burj Khalifa, in Dubai. The interior of a termite mound is an intricate structure of interweaving tunnels and passageways, radiating chambers, galleries, archways, and spiral staircases.

To build a mound, termites move vast quantities of mud and water. In the course of a year, eleven pounds of termites can move about three hundred and sixty-four pounds of dirt and thirty-three hundred pounds of water. The point of all this construction is not to have a place to dwell—the colony lives in a nest six to seven feet below the mound—but to be able to breathe. The mound acts as a lung for the colony, managing the exchange of gases, leveraging small changes in wind speed to inhale and exhale.

Termites appear to do all this without any centralized planning: there are no architects, engineers, or blueprints. The termite mound isn’t just a building. It’s much more like a body, a self-regulating organic process that always reacts to its changing environment. Scientists claim that individual termites are not very intelligent. They lack memory and the ability to learn. Put a few termites into a Petri dish and they wander around aimlessly. But put enough termites together, in the right conditions, and they will build you a cathedral.

Possible Preaching Angles: 1) Creation; Creator; Evolution – Humble termites unmistakably show evidence of intelligent design by our omniscient God. 2) Body of Christ; Church; Unity – Great things can be accomplished when God’s people, weak though we are individually, work together in unity.

Hungry patrons at a local buffet in Alabama took “hangry” (hunger combined with anger) to a new level when a fight broke out allegedly over crab legs. The unexpected brawl went down at Meteor Buffet in Huntsville as diners were waiting to feast on a freshly boiled batch of crab legs.

Among the restaurant goers was police officer Gerald Johnson, who recalled hearing yelling and tongs clashing. “Literally, as I sat down and maybe took two bites out of my plate,” Johnson said. “There’s a woman who’s beating a man. People are moving around, plates are shattering everywhere.”

“It’s not something you typically hear, if you can imagine a fencing match,” Johnson said of the guests allegedly using tongs as weapons. As for why the altercation took place, “Everyone was saying, ‘She cut me in line. He cut me in line. I was here first.' They’d been waiting there for the crab legs for a good 10, 20 minutes. When they finally came out, it’s very heated. Especially if someone is taking more than their fair share,” Johnson said.

Following the fight, police arrested John Chapman and Chequita Jenkins. Chapman sustained a cut on his head while Jenkins was uninjured. Both Chapman and Jenkins allegedly admitted to letting their temper cloud their judgment.

The New York Times ran an article about Chinese immigrants in the United States who meet by phone at night for worship and fellowship. More than one hundred people call each night to the Church of Grace in Manhattan's Chinatown, where the pastor leads them in hymn singing and Bible study.

The immigrants are spread out around the United States, working "bone-wearying 12-hour shifts as stir-fry cooks, dishwashers, deliverymen and waiters at Chinese restaurants, buffets, and takeout places." Not speaking English, they are isolated and lonely.

Using their cell phones they "sing praises to God over the phone and study … the Bible together." The far-flung restaurant workers "have come to form a virtual church on Monday through Thursday nights, deriving spiritual sustenance and companionship."

"It's like there's a giant net, connecting people from all different places together,” said Mr. Chen, speaking in Mandarin. He said that the "Bible study offered him a lifeline, a rare chance to escape. For us brothers and sisters who are out of state,” he said, “the Bible study over the phone is central to our lives." Sometimes Bible study participants ask questions. Sometimes they share news about their lives and pray for each other. Though unable to see each other, they form a community as they listen and are heard.

The teacher, speaking about the disciples going from village to village with Jesus, tells the restaurant workers that they "could go from buffet house to buffet house, planting seeds of faith wherever they went." Grace flows to them and through them to the world.

At the end of their debate, two candidates for a Vermont state House seat asked the moderator for a few extra minutes—not to make last-second appeals for votes, but rather to make a little music. Lucy Rogers, the Democrat, grabbed her cello, while Zac Mayo, the Republican, picked up his guitar. They started performing "Society" by Eddie Vedder, much to the surprise of everyone in attendance. "It strikes a chord," Mayo told CBS News. "To say to the world that this is a better way."

Rogers and Mayo agreed early on while campaigning in Lamoille County that they were going to be civil and treat each other with respect throughout the race. When Rogers asked Mayo if he wanted to play a song with her, he thought it was a fantastic idea—as did the voters who attended the debate.

Possible Preaching Angles:

This is a powerful example of people who can disagree without being disagreeable. Church members who disagree should take note and also demonstrate this attitude to one another as the world is watching.

Ron Bryce writes in “The Fingerprint of God“:

One day, as I assisted a surgeon, he had me reach into the patient's chest and turn his heart so he could work on it from a better angle. As I gingerly swiveled it, he asked, "How does it feel to hold a man's beating heart in your hand?" In spite of our manipulations, the man's heart kept thumping as billions of tiny heart cells communicated and coordinated their activities.

The cells in your heart rhythmically contract in unity, acting together to produce a heartbeat. If these living cells are separated from the heart in a test tube, they will instinctively continue beating, but not in coordination with each other. If the cells are brought back in contact with one another, the instant they touch, their contractions again become synchronized.

That is the nature of heart cells. Individual heart cells cannot accomplish their God-given function alone. They were designed to be one of many cells in one heart. While they serve a unique function in the body, they are not useful if they don't communicate and coordinate their efforts. If the members of an entire body don't communicate, life is not possible. A single heart cell working alone cannot pump blood to the body, no matter how hard it tries. It needs the other cells to fulfill its purpose.

This is a consistent pattern found in all living bodies. The only way a body can survive is through its many members working together. All living bodies have communication among the members.

Amy Chua's book Political Tribes tells the story of Carl Marlantes, a marine Lieutenant who served in Vietnam, who observed how the military creates unity among diverse soldiers. He recalls being on the remote jungle hilltop in Vietnam in 1968 and being asked by Ray Del Gato, "an 18-year-old Hispanic kid from Texas," if he wanted to try a tamale from a care package that Ray's mother had sent him. Marlantes tried the tamale but complained that it was very tough to eat. "Lieutenant," Ray finally said. "You take the corn husk off."

Years later Marlantes reflected on how focusing on a common mission can bring different people together:

I was from a small town on the Oregon coast. I'd heard of tamales, but I've never seen one. Until I joined my company of Marines in Vietnam, I'd never even talked to a Mexican. I saw how [the military] brought together young men from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds and forced them to trust one another with their lives … If I was pinned down by enemy fire and I needed an M-79 man, I'd scream for Thompson, because he was the best. I didn't even think about what color Thompson was. … White guys had to listen to soul music and black guys had to listen to country music. We didn't fear one another. And the experience stuck with us. Hundreds of thousands of young men came home from Vietnam with different ideas about race – some for the worse, but most for the better. Racism wasn't solved in Vietnam, but I believe it was where our country finally learned that it just might be possible for us all to get along.

400 musicians gathered in the 23rd Street Armory of Philadelphia to perform "Symphony for a Broken Orchestra" by David Lang. The orchestra included amateurs, professionals, and even members of the storied Philadelphia Orchestra. The youngest performer was a nine-year-old cellist; the oldest, an 82-year-old oboist. It might have been the most diverse orchestra in America.

The 400 brought with them broken instruments: a trumpet held together with blue painter's tape, a violin with no A string, a bow that had lost most of its hair, a cello carried in multiple pieces. You see, the government had cut funding for music programs in public schools, and many school instruments fell into disrepair. But Lang made something beautiful of them.

As the musical piece opened many of the instruments were silent, but gradually they found their voices—while a trumpet might not be capable of a sound, the keys could tap a rhythm; the scraping of a bow over the silhouette of a violin body could add an unusual element. At one point, a cellist made noise by turning a stringless peg. As the 40-minute symphony progressed, the instruments roared to life. Some musicians struggled, like a clarinetist who could get out only short spurts of sound and a French horn player who kept losing his mouthpiece. But together, the orchestra produced rich harmony. The music was playful and joyous. As the performance wound down each section bowed out one-by-one, until all that remained was the humble squeal of a broken clarinet.

In the church each broken instrument adds its own voice to the symphony. The best that some can do is simply tap or squeak, but with each other the orchestra produces a joyful song of praise under the hand of the Director.

Spurned by family members who left him out of an event, an Oregon man got his revenge in a most public, disruptive fashion.

Sonny Donnie Smith, 38, was sentenced to three years of probation after he dialed in a terrorist threat that implicated his father and brother, who were both traveling through airports. He placed two anonymous phone calls to McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, and Midland International Air and Space Port, in Midland, Texas.

Smith's father and brother were detained and questioned as part of an investigation, which eventually yielded no evidence of terrorist activity. The temporary detention caused Smith's brother to miss his flight.

US District Judge Anna Brown was reserved in her words to Smith: "I hope you appreciate what you did really did disrupt not just your family but the whole system,'' Brown said.

Smith was tearful and apologetic as he stood before the court, and his attorney Todd Bofferding requested that his sentence not include community service, because Smith's emotional needs were so pressing. Bofferding claimed his client suffers from high levels of anxiety and has been prescribed anti-anxiety and anti-psychotic medication.

As if to confirm his counsel's advocacy, Smith burst into tears at the conclusion of the hearing.

Potential Preaching Angles: Jealousy can turn into immorality under the guise of pranking. When family members turn against each other, it's a sign of impending destruction. If we can't love our family members, it's difficult to love God.

After racial slurs were scrawled outside black students' doors at the US Air Force Academy's preparatory school, Superintendent Lt. Gen. Jay Silveria gathered all 4,000 cadets in a hall. Speaking to a crowd of some 5,500 people that included faculty, coaches, airstrip personnel, and senior officers and staff of the 10th Air Base Wing that includes the academy, Silveria urged them to share his sense of outrage. "This kind of behavior has no place at the prep school," he said, "it has no place at USAFA, and it has no place in the United States Air Force. You should be outraged not only as an airman, but as a human being."

While acknowledging that the academy isn't a perfect institution, Silveria said it would be naive and unjust not to speak about racism. Toward the end of his address, Silveria said:

Just in case you're unclear on where I stand on this topic, I'm going to leave you my most important thought today: If you can't treat someone with dignity and respect, then you need to get out. If you can't treat someone from another gender, whether that's a man or a woman, with dignity and respect, then you need to get out. If you demean someone in any way, then you need to get out. And if you can't treat someone from another race, or different color skin, with dignity and respect, then you need to get out.

To make sure his message was received, Silveria told cadets to get out their phones and record it. Citing the need for the group to have moral courage and protect their institution's values, he then repeated his message: "If you can't treat someone with dignity and respect, then get out."

Editor's Note: A follow up story in the Washington Post was headlined "A black student wrote those racist messages that shook the Air Force Academy, school says." After the additional facts came out Lt. Gen. Jay Silveria said, "Regardless of the circumstances under which those words were written, they were written, and that deserved to be addressed," Silveria told the Colorado Springs Gazette in a Tuesday email. "You can never over-emphasize the need for a culture of dignity and respect—and those who don't understand those concepts aren't welcome here."

Possible Preaching Angles: 1) In the same way, God expresses his outrage and wrath towards everything that bends or twists or distorts his good and holy creation. 2) Racism also has no place in the church where we accept each other as equals in Christ.

New York Times columnist David Brooks went around the country interviewing students at some of the most prestigious campuses in America. He admits that the students he met represent only "a tiny slice of the rising generation," but, still, their comments are striking. Notice how Brooks concluded his article about this series of interviews:

I came away from these conversations thinking that one big challenge for this generation is determining how to take good things that are happening on the local level and translate them to the national level, where the problems are. I was also struck by pervasive but subtle hunger for a change in the emotional tenor of life. "We're more connected but we're more apart," one student lamented. Again and again, students expressed a hunger for social and emotional bonding, for a shift from guilt and accusation toward empathy. "How do you create relationship?" one student asked. That may be the longing that undergirds all others.