1. The body of ideas reflecting the social needs and aspirations of an individual, group, class, or culture.
2. A set of doctrines or beliefs that form the basis of a political, economic, or other system.
Theology
1. The study of the nature of God and religious truth; rational inquiry into religious questions.
2. A system or school of opinions concerning God and religious questions.
Luke 9:49-50, "John answered and said, 'Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name; and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow along with us.' But Jesus said to him, 'Do not hinder him; for he who is not against you is for you.'"
After much thought and consideration, I am convinced that much of the disagreement/division in the church has more to do with ideology than theology. I have had several conversations with people where this has been the case. The problem is that we tend to become so tied to our ideology that it becomes a part of our theology. In other words, what we believe becomes our Bible and anything outside of our belief system is a cause for division.
Some people may not have a problem with this approach to life but I see it as an extremely narrow way of doing relationships. This approach can be especially true in denominational life. In America, especially, we have all of these Protestant churches running around with the belief that there way of thinking and believing is the only way. They have a specific set of doctrines and practices that we must line up with or we cannot dwell together in unity. It's not enough to agree 99% on the same core beliefs but there must be 100% agreement or else. It has gotten so bad in some areas that a person isn't even considered a brother/sister in Christ unless they are a part of a particular fellowship of believers. I have often wondered what would happen if you could get pastors together from all the different denominations, have them share from their core beliefs, find the places of agreement or disagreement, and whether or not they would consider these other pastors a part of the faith family. It's at least something to consider.
The point that I want to make in all of this is that we do have some common ground. I don't have to be a part of a particular assembly of people, nor do I have to prescribe to a particular set of beliefs. The commonality of all sons and daughters of God should be and always has been Jesus. He is our common denominator. He is the Author & Finisher of OUR faith. I'm not saying that we have to agree with everything that everyone is practicing in their faith but the time has come for us to stop demonizing every church or pastor that we do not agree with. There comes a time in each of our lives where we must believe what Jesus told His disciples: "Do not hinder him; for he who is not against you is for you."
Somewhere in this journey of life you will discover that there are genuine followers of Jesus that do not believe the same way that you do. You know this to be true because the evidence of His Spirit is so clear in their lives. The question you should not ask is whether or not you two agree on everything but can you agree on the one main thing...that Jesus is enough!
I'm fortunate in that denominational division has never really been an issue for me. I grew up in Baptist and Disciple of Christ churches. I was saved while being a part of an Independent Baptist Church, baptized as a part of a Southern Baptist Church, and worshiped frequently with members of the Church of God. I have friends who are pastors in almost every denomination and non-denomination. I have other friends who are of the same multi-denominational background. We all agree on the major points of faith. We understand that God sent Jesus in the world to be the atoning sacrifice for sin. We all agree that it is through faith in Him that we are saved. We believe that the power of the Holy Spirit is available to all who believe. We all believe in being a witness of Jesus to the earth. We also believe that there is no other name given under heaven whereby we must be saved. To put it another way, we all believe that Jesus is the main thing.
This approach to life and fellowship has allowed me to see relationships strengthened rather than weakened. I have been able to encounter the Lord through people of various backgrounds and they through me. There is genuine love, respect, and encouragement in our lives. Why? Because we don't believe that someone has to fall into our ideology to be considered a brother or sister in Christ. We don't have to listen to the same types of music, dress a certain way in church, read a particular version of the Bible, or practice our faith the exact same way. We don't even have to agree on how we split theological hairs but can appreciate the fact that we are walking in relationship with Jesus and one another.
This is how we experience the person of the Lord in our lives. We don't believe that Jesus is only blessing our denomination, or our practice of the faith. We have discovered Him everywhere - meeting people in their pursuit of Him. He's showing up in the lives of passionate worshipers. People are being saved, taught, and grown in their love of the Savior. Sure...it may look different than it does at your place but it does not negate the authenticity of their faith. It's no different than how you operate in your home. I don't know anyone in my current relationships that do not love their children. They want to give their child the best life possible. They want to see them grow up to be strong, respectable, and caring adults. These parents desperately want their children to grow up in the faith. However, the way they parent is not always in line with how I parent. They do things differently. They have some different core values in their home than I have in mine. The reality that I have to get a hold of is that they are legitimate parents to legitimate children. If this is true in our homes then why can it not be true in our churches? In fact, the only time this isn't true in parenting is when you have someone who is tied to a certain ideology when it comes to how we raise our kids (and I think most of us have experienced that in some form or another).
Why not begin to see our brothers and sisters for who they really are: Our Brothers and Sisters!!!
Let's appreciate the faith that they walk in.
Let's encourage them in their pursuit of the Lord.
Let's bless them, pray for them, love them, and even seek community with them.
We may never agree on everything but we can agree on Jesus being the main thing.
Who or What are we following is a legitimate question. May we be found following after Jesus. He is the main thing.
No comments:
Post a Comment