I was reading the post of a good friend of mine, and it has inspired me to write a post of my own regarding the issues he has raised. You can read the original post(s) here and here (you may need to read them in order to get a better grip on what I’m trying to say).
There are two things I want to explore in my post, all of which have been gleaned from my friend’s post. These are:
- A Divided Church versus A Unified Church
- Hypocrisy within the Church
A Divided Church versus A Unified Church
What exactly is it that divides a Church? What can happen in order to have a unified one instead? I guess this is both a problem and a solution for churches nationwide – or worldwide for that matter.
I want to first open with a quote from my friend’s post:
In a perfect world I would like to see one church
stand together against Satan and not fall down
because they can't agree on which denomination
they belong to. (1)
I find it amazing that whenever I have asked people about their Christian journey, they more often than not say, “I’m a Baptist” or, “I’m a Catholic” or, “I’m Anglican”. I was once asked this and I responded with “I’m a Christian”. I didn’t say that to sound smug or superior. I said it because that’s who I am. My name is Ryan Sumner, and I am a Christian. I can’t pinpoint the exact time that denominations turned into “armed factions”, but that’s what has happened in today’s church. We have become entrenched in this thinking that says my church is the right church, and all those others are wrong! It’s like saying the Anglicans have the way of salvation, and the rest are like blind guides. Did I miss something? Isn’t Jesus Christ, the Son of God the way of salvation? And if that is so, then how is it that we believe that Christ is only part of one denomination? He flipping isn’t! The Bible tells us that the church is His bride, not one or two denominations. Let’s get that record straight!
Last month, various denominations pulled strings and hosted Pastor Greg Laurie and musician Rebecca St. James at the Christchurch Town Hall for an amazing night of evangelism. Good grief, did I say various? I hope that serves an example that different denominations can work together without debate. It can be done.
Hypocrisy within the Church
It is no surprise that we as Christians are constantly bombarded with accusations of hypocrisy. And our usual inclination is to bite back and charge that it is all lies. And I know I can find a number of biblical texts to throw at the accusers, but let’s hit the pause button. If I did that, would I not be fuelling their flames? To fight fire with fire, I would not be winning a soul for Christ; I would instead be proving that I am no different to everyone else. Instead, would it not make sense to listen to what the charge is? I mean, we can’t deny what Capill did.
Allow me to quote a second time from the same post:
…its just that in the world and the church these things
are so relaxed. That said, if we as church relax
whatever rules and laws are we not in danger
of becoming hypocrites…(2)
This is what the church in Corinth did 2000 years ago, and (sadly) this is repeated in so many churches. In 1 Cor 5, we have an account of a member who is practising an abhorrent sexual sin. While we probably don’t have church members (congregation and worship team, there is no distinction) doing that sort of thing, most churches these days are affected with the cancer I like to call tolerance. Churches have become lax. Churches are tolerant of sin. Dare I say this?
If you disagree with that comment, take a look at your church, and tell me that you don’t have the following:
- Openly gay ministers.
- Fornicators on the worship team. (3)
- Preachers who don’t practice what they preach.
- Pornographers on the ministry team.
- People in the church (ministry and congregation) that you know are living un-Christ like lives, turning up to church, and thinking everything is ok.
I’ll stop my rant here and wait for the oncoming storm of comments. But before you leave a nasty comment (if you plan on writing a nasty one), stop and think for a moment. Has anything I’ve said been an outright lie? Or do I actually have a point? Is there an actual problem with Christianity out there? And if there is, what are we prepared to do about this problem?
Someone suggested being more like Christ. I say we invest our lives – and our lifestyles – in that achievement.
Notes:
(1) See http://youraveragechristian.blogspot.com/2005/10/lets-get-controversial-part-2.html.
(2) ibid.
(3) To get a better understanding, I recommend either Maximised Manhood (Edwin Louis Cole) or I Kissed Dating Goodbye (Joshua Harris).
2 comments:
Hey hey, just to comment on your comment about a church divided.
Whilst I agree that this is an issue that still confronts the church it is actually a lot less than what it was. In Christchurch in the 21st century there is a lot more interaction between the denominations. Most churches I know are for the most part transdenominational. By this I mean that someone from one church can readily go to a church of a different denomination and find the teaching and worship not much different. I have been to a couple of Pentie, an Anglican, a Baptist, and of course an Open Brethren. I have not seen any major differences between all of them. Oh, of course there are different emphases and orders of worship but there is much variation within a denomination as there is without. No one I know has major problems with other denominations.
All that said there is still room for improvement especially between the eastern orthodox, catholic, and protestant because let's face it there are fewer fundamental differences between us than between us and the rest of the world. This said I would not want to abolish denominations. I see that denominations 'cater' to different types of people. Just as all people have different mind sets I think it is beneficial for churches to have different mind sets. Not to say that they shouldn't work together as the church but rather they should work in harmony like different members of the same body.
Wow that was a long comment.
That's OK mate - it was a long post to reply to. Yeah it is encouraging to see different denominations working as one, but in nearly every denomination you get congregations (not everyone of course) that say that they are the only 'right' one, and all the rest aren't. Thinking of the comment once made by the Catholic (yes, the capital C) Church: One day, they will come home.
Oh, and the "they" was referring to every other denomination out there.
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