Tag: unity

Categories
Relationships

Designed for Community, pt. 2

As I mentioned previously, you were designed for community.

You were designed to have both an intimate relationship with God and intimate relationships with others. Without both, you will never find complete satisfaction in life. Here’s another great quote on community from “Creature of the Word”

…The reason most community is shallow in our world is because it’s built on temporary foundations. The reason most relationships don’t last is because they’re built on commonalities that change over time.
When the common bond changes, the relationship changes. If you’re married, you see this happen immediately when you have kids. You once had friends you would hang out with late at night, but now you can’t do that. Even if you get a babysitter, you’re not staying up till 1:00 in the morning, because your kids are waking up at 6:50 and you’ll be exhausted.

If you play sports with a group of guys, and if nothing deeper than your love of basketball binds you together, that community will weaken and likely disappear if you blow out a knee and can’t play anymore. If relationships aren’t built on something deeper than finding good restaurants, working at the same company, or having kids in the same activities, they will change whenever the common bond is no longer there. Community is only as strong as what it’s built upon. And nothing is as strong as the gospel.

The gospel is the deepest foundation for community. What connects believers is the reality that we were all very messed-up people, broken before a holy God, yet rescued and given new life in Christ. What unites believers is deeper than anything that can divide.

A unity that is deeper than anything that can divide.

That’s what I want.
That’s what I long for.
That’s what I need.

A community built on the strongest foundation.
A community built on the gospel.

Make sure that you are a part of that community!

(How have you found this to be true? How have you found that the community you have with others through the gospel is deeper than anything that can divide?)

Categories
Church

Too Many Denominations

There just seems to be too many different Christian denominations. All these different expressions of one belief in Jesus Christ – Protestant or Catholic; Evangelical or Orthodox; Baptist or Methodist; Snake Handling or Non-Snake Handling!

Why do we need so many? Why can’t we all just get along? Can’t we agree to disagree on these minor matters that divide us and find a sense of unity?

Sometimes I hear questions or statements along these lines. I have even heard people imply that so many different denominations with different expressions of belief have confused them about who God really is. Why hasn’t God unified His church? Maybe you have wondered something like this before too. There was time I struggled with the idea. But the truth is that denominations celebrate our inner unity while allowing distinctive outward expressions of our faith.

Bruce Shelley does an excellent job of explaining how “denominationalism” actually promotes unity, not division:

“The word denomination…was an inclusive term. It implied that the Christian group called or ‘denominated’ by a particular name was but one member of a larger group —the church— to which all denominations belong.
The denominational theory of the church, then, insists that the true church cannot be identified with any single [church] structure. No denomination claims to represent the Whole church of Christ. Each simply constitutes a different form —in worship and organization— of the larger life of the church.

The denominational theory of the church [has] several fundamental truths:
First, considering man’s inability to always see the truth clearly, differences of opinion about the outward form of the church are inevitable.

Second, even though these differences do not involve fundamentals of the faith, they are not matters of indifference. Every Christian is obligated to practice what he believes the Bible teaches.

Third, since, no church has a final and full grasp of divine truth, the true Church of Christ can never be fully represented by any single ecclesiastical structure.

Finally, the mere fact of separation does not of itself constitute schism. It is possible to be divided at many points and still be united in Christ.

Thus, the denominational theory of the church looked for Christian unity in some inward religious experience and allowed diversity in the outward expressions of that personal faith. …In the end, then, the denominational form of the church has marked the recent centuries of Christian history, not because it is ideal, but because it is better than any alternative the years have offered.”

Thank you Dr. Shelley for helping me to better understand denominations as a way for us to celebrate the diversity that God has created within us. Having different denominations allows us to provide different expressions that meet the diverse needs of diverse people! Let’s celebrate the fact that God has created us to enjoy different things and that we can all agree to the fundamentals of loving Christ and His Word even if we have slightly different ways of church governance, methods, and outward practices.

What additional thoughts would you share on the issue of denominations?