Growing Together
Luke 9:49 (NKJV) - Now John answered and said, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow with us.” But Jesus said to him, “Do not forbid him, for he who is not against us is on our side.”
As a Christian interested in Christendom, I’ve attended many churches of many different denominations. One of the many unifying features I have found is that every Christian believes that they need to tell people about Jesus. For the vast majority, their goal for telling others is that they want more people to go to heaven. I want more people to go to heaven so badly too. I want it so much that I’ve dedicated my life to it for the last six years. And for the previous 20 years, I have been researching and thinking about Christianity from a multi-denominational perspective. I have found that every denomination refuses to work substantively with other denominations. For example, the Baptists/non-denominational churches refuse to work together with the Catholics or vice versa. The reason is that the leadership has placed doctrinal purity above mutual aid.
That ideology was perfectly shown while I was talking with a leader who sat on a particular denomination’s committee for interdenominational reconciliation. While discussing a doctrine they have, which they claim is adiaphora (neither commanded nor forbidden), he was pushing for us to dissolve our relationship because we were not in 100% agreement. Another prominent figure within the same denomination stated, “You should start your own church,” because I disagreed with them on the same subject. But how are seemingly endless divisions helpful to the Christian’s main goal? How are those beliefs helpful in telling others about Jesus?
The reality is that there is a flavor of Christianity for everyone these days. Even flavors that I would argue make them no longer Christian. As some might say, “Diversity is our strength.” But, when the Nazi’s came after the Jews, they did not differentiate between the different sects of Judaism. To the Nazi’s, a Jew, is a Jew, is a Jew. For Christians, Satan does not care either what sect of Christianity we are. To him, a Christian, is a Christian, is a Christian. He attacks us all and wants to destroy us all equally (1 Peter 5:8). As Jesus rightly said in Mark 3:24, “A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand.” The Christian church is Christ’s “holy nation” (1 Peter 2:9), so I ask, “Is it any wonder the divided Christian church is in decline?”
So, while I firmly believe a Christian should not give up the truth and go along for the sake of unity, I also recognize we must stand together, or we will die apart. Therefore, this substack is dedicated to emphasizing where Christians can, should, and must work together, to cross-denominational understanding, and to identifying where and how we can incorporate another denomination’s strengths without compromising doctrinal integrity.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®.
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission.
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