{"id":636016,"date":"2026-09-01T07:00:13","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T20:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hillsong.com\/collected\/?p=636016"},"modified":"2026-09-01T19:39:42","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T08:39:42","slug":"jesus-believed-it-a-collected-conversation-with-tracy-barrell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hillsong.com\/collected\/fr\/blog\/2026\/09\/jesus-believed-it-a-collected-conversation-with-tracy-barrell\/","title":{"rendered":"Jesus Believed It | A Collected Conversation with Tracy Barrell"},"content":{"rendered":"

D\u00e9sol\u00e9, cet article est seulement disponible en English<\/a>.<\/p>

What if Jesus prayed for unity because He believed it was\u00a0actually possible?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We have returned to Jesus\u2019 prayer in John 17 many times, often acknowledging just how difficult unity can be. But in a recent conversation, a friend asked a question that stopped me:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhy would He pray for something that wasn\u2019t achievable?\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What if we have spent so much time talking about how difficult unity is that we have missed the hope within Jesus\u2019 prayer?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He prayed that we would be one.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Not as an ideal we admire from a distance, but as something His Church could actually embody.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In our latest Collected conversation, Tracy Barrell invites\u00a0us to broaden our view of the biblical story. To\u00a0see unity and belonging not as an addition to the gospel, but as part of the fullness of God\u2019s redemptive work.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tracy has spent two decades on staff with Hillsong\u00a0College and\u00a0now is a\u00a0Teaching\u00a0Pastor\u00a0based\u00a0in Australia.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Unity and belonging are not a project.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tracy quickly highlighted that unity and belonging\u00a0are not\u00a0one person\u2019s role, a passing cultural conversation, or an initiative to complete.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

They are a biblical vision.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

From the harmony of\u00a0the garden of\u00a0Eden\u00a0in Genesis\u00a0to the redeemed people of every nation, tribe, and language gathered before God in Revelation, Scripture tells the story of God restoring people to Himself\u00a0and to one another.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGod saw all that he had made, and it was very good.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Genesis 1:31 (NIV)<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAfter this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could\u00a0count, from every nation, tribe, people and language.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Revelation 7:9 (NIV)<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

My conversation with Tracy was loaded with Biblical truths\u00a0and revelations.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What if\u00a0differences are\u00a0a gift?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Have you considered this\u00a0before.\u00a0Not only considered\u00a0it but\u00a0sat in it. This\u00a0wasn\u2019t\u00a0the first time Tracy has said this,\u00a0in essence echoing\u00a0my own life.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In my family\u00a0of\u00a0twelve, my kids and husband, there are six\u00a0different cultures\u00a0represented.\u00a0I myself\u00a0am a two times immigrant, and English is my third language.\u00a0Around our family table, difference is not an initiative. It is our everyday life.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It is beautiful, but it is not always easy. We do not always interpret the same experience in the same way. We carry different histories, communicate differently, and see the world through different lenses. But our differences have expanded me. They have shown me perspectives I could never have discovered on my own.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tracy said,\u00a0<\/span>\u201cWhat if the people who see the world differently from us are not obstacles to unity\u00a0but gifts to us? \u201c<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Without them,\u00a0she\u00a0reflected,\u00a0we risk becoming one-dimensional: surrounded only by our own preferences, experiences, and ways of seeing.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At one point, I said,\u00a0<\/span>\u201cWe are all different from each other.<\/span><\/i>\u201d Tracy quickly replied: \u201cI\u00a0am\u00a0the challenge. I am your challenge.\u201d We laughed, but there was truth in it.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Difference is not something that belongs only to the person entering our culture, speaking another language, or seeing the world differently. I am different from you, too. My way of seeing, communicating, worshipping, or relating may be just as unfamiliar to you as yours is to me.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As Tracy said:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy version of us is not necessarily better than\u00a0your\u00a0version of us.\u201d<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Biblical unity does not ask us to erase\u00a0our\u00a0differences. It invites us to discover what God can form among us when our differences are brought together in Christ.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut in\u00a0fact,\u00a0God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he\u00a0<\/span> wanted them to be.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u20141 Corinthians 12:18 (NIV)<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Across our global church, we worship Jesus in different languages, nations, cultures, generations, and expressions. But\u00a0differences are\u00a0not only found between countries. It exists within every campus and every room. In our ages, abilities, experiences, personalities, family stories, and ways of encountering God.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The question is not whether differences are\u00a0present. The question is whether we will receive one another as gifts.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Unity without sameness<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tracy brought us back to\u00a0the Trinity.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one, but they are not the same Person. With her characteristic humor, Tracy pointed out that we never see Jesus wishing He could be the Holy Spirit or the Holy Spirit competing to become the Son.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no jostling for\u00a0position. Each is fully who He is, while perfectly united in love and purpose.\u201d<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This gives us a richer picture of biblical unity. Oneness does not require us to erase who God created us to be. It calls us to bring who we are into surrendered relationship with God and one another.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014John 17:21 (NIV)<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Become curious<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Differences\u00a0can sound beautiful in a vision statement. It can feel much less beautiful when someone\u2019s perspective, communication style, culture, or preference disrupts our own.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tracy encouraged us to replace immediate judgment with a simple response:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s\u00a0interesting. Tell me more.\u201d<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Curiosity slows our reaction long enough to seek understanding. It communicates: Your life matters to me. Your experience matters. I may not\u00a0understand it\u00a0yet, but I want to.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Curiosity does not require us to agree about everything. It asks us to resist\u00a0assuming that\u00a0we already know someone\u2019s heart, motives, or story.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014James 1:19 (NIV)<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Becoming like Jesus together\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The conversation was marked by theology and laughter.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

During our conversation, I reminded Tracy of something she once said that made us both laugh:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe point\u00a0isn\u2019t\u00a0that they stop\u00a0being annoying\u00a0and become more like me. The point is that they become more like Jesus.\u201d<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It is funny because it is\u00a0uncomfortably true.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The goal is for all of us to become more like Jesus.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That distinction matters.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When we confuse unity with sameness, we can unintentionally expect people to adopt our personality, preferences, culture, or expression of faith. But the Church is not being formed into one version of us. Together, we are being formed into the likeness of Christ.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord\u2019s glory, are being\u00a0<\/span> transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u20142 Corinthians 3:18 (NIV)<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jesus believed oneness was possible\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That statement stayed with me throughout our conversation.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On the night before the cross, Jesus prayed that His followers would be one.\u00a0We talked at length about this.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

John 17:20-23 have\u00a0become\u00a0some\u00a0of my favorite verses. But what Tracy said was gold, a deeper revelation for what\u00a0Jesus\u00a0prayed.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through\u00a0<\/span> their message, that all of them may be one.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014John 17:20\u201321 (NIV)<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We often hear that prayer as an acknowledgment of how difficult unity would be.\u00a0I have said it many\u00a0times\u00a0myself. In both conversations and on platforms.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But what if it also reveals what Jesus believed was possible?\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As Tracy reflected in our conversation:\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhy would He pray for something that wasn\u2019t achievable?\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jesus\u2019 prayer is more than a response to division.\u00a0The division He was seeing and experiencing, and the division He knew was to come.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jesus\u2019s prayer\u00a0is a hopeful vision of the people we can become in Him.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That He believed in.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This is powerful.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This should mark us and make our unity and belonging bolder. What if we all leaned into this work not as a project, but with the spirit-led belief\u00a0that Jesus believes our unity and belonging is possible.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jesus did more than notice.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jesus saw people.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I think we can move past the significance of this too quickly.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0a key aspect of us stewarding unity and belonging better.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jesus did not simply see people from a distance.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He looked into a tree and saw Zacchaeus\u2014a tax collector and an outsider in his community.\u00a0In other words, Zacchaeus was not someone people were lining up to welcome home.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, \u2018Zacchaeus, come down\u00a0immediately. I must stay at your house today.\u2019\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Luke 19:5 (NIV)<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jesus called him down, entered his home, shared a meal, and became part of his story.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jesus shows us that belonging begins when we are willing to move toward one another.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As Tracy beautifully expressed it:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBelonging is not just\u00a0a hello.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0a \u2018let\u2019s take a walk.\u2019\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A greeting may help someone feel welcomed for a moment. But walking together, listening, learning, and helping one another move closer to Jesus is how welcome begins to feel like home.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The conversation reminded\u00a0me of\u00a0so much.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Unity is not found by making everyone the same. It is found as different people turn their eyes toward the same Jesus.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This is how \u201cWelcome Home\u201d becomes more than what we say.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We see\u00a0one\u00a0another.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We move toward one another.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We\u00a0remain\u00a0curious about one another\u2019s stories.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And together, in\u00a0all of\u00a0our differences, we become more like Him.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This is not simply a project for our church. It is part of the biblical vision of who we are becoming\u2014one body, one family, one people in Christ. This is what a healthy church changing lives through Christ looks like: a church where every one can experience Welcome Home.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Pause and Reflect<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n