Rarely will

one find a sharper contrast in the Christian community

than the one between the keynote preacher for this year's

Fayette unity service and the congregation that worships

in the place where he will be speaking.

But those

who are planning the service don't see it that way.

Carter

Shultz, minister at the Southern Crescent Church of

Christ, will speak on the topic "The Kingdom of

God" in a 6 p.m. service Sunday, March 5 at the

Atlanta City Church. Everyone of all denominations, or no

denomination, is invited.

A committee

of several local ministers promotes the yearly unity

service as a way to celebrate the common bond of all

Christians as children of God and brothers of Christ, and

to diminish the differences in practice and doctrine that

often divide Christians.

Churches of

Christ are known for their austere services, devoid of

musical instruments because the New Testament does not

mention them. Following a literal interpretation of the

New Testament, its ministers take no title such as

"Reverend," and emotionalism in religious life

is frowned upon in many congregations.

Atlanta

City Church, on the other hand, is known for its full

praise band and a spirited, celebratory service.

Those

differences will be put aside for the unity service, said

the Rev. Dr. John Hatcher, senior pastor of River's Edge

Community Church and a member of the organizing

committee.

"The

emphasis is not on our practices, which are

different," said Hatcher, "but on a person,

Jesus Christ."

Unity is

not free, Hatcher said. There's a cost. "It's the

cost of diminishing our differences rather than exalting

our differences," he said. "It's about

swallowing our denominational pride and saying who is

important, rather than what is important."

Shultz is

"the first Church of Christ minister who has chosen

to come under the umbrella of unity," said Hatcher.

A Church of

Christ minister preaching in a facility where instruments

are center stage may be a bit incongruous, Shultz

admitted, but pointed out that everyone at the service

will be there for the same reason.

"The

Church of Christ actually started as a unity

movement," Shultz said. "I would love to see us

as a heritage reach out to other denominations to look at

the common heritage of being washed in the blood of

Jesus.

"I

preached on the theme of unity in my church a couple of

weeks ago," he added, "and I emphasized that

it's not just reaching out to other denominations, but

reaching into our own. I've been trying to contact other

Church of Christ ministers in hopes of developing more

unity along those lines too," he said.

Christ came

to establish God's Kingdom on the earth, and all

denominations can be a part of that, said Hatcher.

"It's

not about the church... it's about the Kingdom of

God," he said.