Denominations – Necessary Evil or Necessarily Evil? – Part 3

A third passage that needs major consideration is 1 Corinthians 1. Paul could not be more clear in 1:10 when he says, “I urge you…to end your divisions, and to be united by the same purpose and mind.” From the context of 1:10-17 we can gather that a number of the Corinthian believers were getting caught up in “name-dropping.” They were saying, “I am of Paul” or “I am of Apollos” or “I am of Peter” or “I am of Christ” (well LaTeeDahhh!). It seems that more notoriety or credence was given to believers who could lay claim to the “super-apostles” or Christ himself. As if one’s position on the family tree in relationship to the Lord or his closest followers had anything to do with the work that Christ did on the cross.

Christ crucified is exactly the issue at stake here and Paul makes that abundantly clear (1:18ff). We are not baptized in the name of Paul or of Peter…nor in the name of Luther, Calvin, Arminius, Baptists, Presbyterians, IFCAs, Anglicans or Emergents. We were baptized in Christ and our baptism is only effective because he died and rose again. It is interesting that boasting because of a direct link to Christ is even a dividing line according to Paul (1:12-13). It does not matter who shared the gospel with you or who discipled you. What matters is that you believe in Christ crucified, risen and coming again. All else pales in comparison.

One thing I can appreciate about a number of denominations is that they have been around the block a lot longer than I’ve been alive. They have a formed system of beliefs that was not produced over night or even in my lifetime. Mature believers are often in positions of leadership and much wisdom can be had by serving under their guidance. Common mistakes by young Christians can be avoided simply by being a part of a stable organization that looks after its own and warns them of potential dangers that others have experienced in the past. The name of many denominations carry with them a sense of respect because they are founded on biblical principles or developed from the sound teachings of heroes of our faith.

The problem is that I’ve yet to find a denomination that doesn’t have its own agenda of some sort. Usually the agenda is carried out at the expense of relationships with other denominations. I’m not saying those agendas aren’t at least partly valid, but the agendas are carried out in such a way that it is impossible to work alongside brothers and sisters in other denominations. I’m being intentionally vague because I don’t want to be the one casting judgment. I have specific personal experiences in mind, but pointing fingers does little to promote unity given that most denominations are guilty of the same problems (never mind the fact that I also tend to be guilty of the same offence!). Let’s suffice it to say that when one plants a church through a denomination, most will frown upon you planting churches of other denominations. It goes with the territory. If one picks sides, he better be certain he picked the only right side or you are instantly drawing dividing lines instead of seeking unity.

Some might argue that being non-denominational is a denomination or at the very least will deteriorate into a denomination at some point down the road. I both agree and disagree with that claim. I mostly disagree with the first part of the claim. Being non-denominational to me is stating that I refuse to “pick sides” with other Christian brothers and sisters. My faith is no more valid than a Lutheran’s (which synod?) faith…or a Baptist (name your flavor), or a Presbyterian (way liberal or way conservative?), or a Methodist, or the list could (and should) go on. Please note, this does not mean I don’t have very specific core doctrinal beliefs, because I do. Choosing what I believe, however, does not mean I have to pick a denominational boundary. I have to imagine that Luther would have had a hissy fit if he knew a denomination with his name would develop in the years following his death. I think he would have had a heart attack if he thought his 95 theses would eventually lead to 100s of denominations worldwide. The 95 theses themselves make it very clear that Luther wanted to reconcile with the Catholic Church and its Pope (though he later realized it impossible to do so on the basis of incorrect core doctrine). Calvin and Arminius believed much closer to the same thing than their namesakes’ polar opposite theological camps would lead you to believe these days. Too many of our denominations believe much the same down the line in terms of orthodoxy, but are split on matters of practice and minor theological points.

To return more specifically to the point of 1 Cor. 1, the rallying point for Christians is not a certain position on some debated theological topic, a matter of preferred practice in worship or who can lay claim to the richest Christian tradition with the deepest roots. Our rallying point is a certain Person named Jesus Christ who died on the cross for our sins. More importantly, he’s alive today because he defeated sin and death in his own body and will one day defeat death on our behalf (see 1 Cor 15). In spite of that monumental rallying point, we insist on nitpicking at one another and pointing fingers about things that are not important. Paul clearly lays out in 1 Corinthians that everything pales in comparison to the message of the cross and the reality of our risen Lord. Our practice or lack thereof of certain religious traditions is not as important as the fact that Christ was crucified, he rose again on the third day and he’s coming back. Nothing we do or don’t do should detract from that message…a message we want everyone to hear and believe.

For this very reason, I will not choose sides. The very word “denomination” smacks of the exact opposite of what Paul was trying to communicate when he said “end your divisions.” From my limited experience seeking out denominations, I’ve discovered that much too much time is spent pressing the denominational agenda and name. That’s a waste of time. Their name, as respected as it might be, can’t save me. Their history, as rich as it might be can’t save me. Their doctrine, as correct as it might be, can’t save me. Only the grace of Jesus who died for me and rose again on the third day can save me. That is the dividing line. If you don’t believe that, then you are not a Christian. If you do, then you are…and you are my brother or sister in Christ. Therefore we are one, and I will not intentionally draw a line between you and me in the sand.

A look at Revelation 21:22-22:7 will reveal the “final” word on unity (i.e. what we can expect when all is said and done). Keep checking back for more posts on this matter. The next one should come within the next few days.

Book Review – “The Divine Conspiracy” – by Dallas Willard

The Divine Conspiracy can be described in one word: WOW! What the Purpose Driven Life lacks in substance, this book by Willard more than makes up in depth. It would be impossible to give an accurate summary of this nearly 400 page masterpiece, but I’ll try in the most brief of terms. Willard contends that our Christian life in the present is only an extension of eternity in Christ’s Kingdom. The more we realize and understand that fact, the more we will be ready and willing to live life according to Christ’s commands. Seriously, that brief summary falls so far short of doing this book justice. You absolutely must read it yourself if you are at all serious about your Christian walk. Be warned it is deep. It took me the better part of a year to finish it myself and I need to read it again! I’m slow though, so you might finish it much more quickly.

I would echo the assessment of Richard Foster in his forward to this book:

“A masterpiece and a wonder…the book I have been searching for all my life…I would place The Divine Conspiracy in rare company indeed: alongside the writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and John Wesley, John Calvin and Martin Luther, Teresa of Avila and Hildegard of Bingen, and perhaps even Thomas Aquinas and Augustine of Hippo. If the parousia tarries, this is a book for the next millennium.” – Richard J. Foster

Buy it and read it. You won’t be disappointed that you did.

Denominations – Necessary Evil or Necessarily Evil? – Part 2

First, we need look no further than Christ’s own desire for the church. In John 17 Jesus prays for the church. One of his major requests of the Father was for the unity of all believers (see 17:11, 21, 22). Jesus was not asking for a loosely held unity, but a very specific and tight unity. We know this because every time Jesus mentions this unity in his prayer he qualifies the unity with “so that they may be one just as we are one” or a very similar phrase (again 17:11, 21, 22). If God’s Son petitioned his Father repeatedly that we be one just as the Trinity is one, then we are not talking about simple run of the mill, loosely held community. We are talking about being entirely united with no divisions whatsoever. This prayer of Jesus will ultimately be realized when he comes again to put an end to sin and death, but it is clear Jesus did not have only the end times in mind. He was concerned about their unity while still in the world (see 17:14-16).

Jesus gives two almost identical and very important reasons for the unity of all believers: “so that the world will believe that you sent me,” (v 21) and “so that the world will know that you sent me and you have loved them just as you have loved me.” (v 23) Thus it is necessary for us as believers to pursue the kind of unity for which Jesus was petitioning the Father, even if said unity is very difficult in a fallen world. Unity isn’t simply a matter of beliefs, practice or strategy. Though certainly one’s beliefs and therefore practices have much in every way influence unity. Unity is a matter of correctly bearing witness of our Triune God and his love before the world.

The reasons often cited by those who argue for the necessity of denominations are not ill-founded. They exist for a reason and have at their heart (usually) the desire to provide structure for young believers and mature believers alike. Some of these reasons make it extremely difficult to decide to steer away from joining a denomination. The following weighed most heavily on me personally:

1. The need for mature guidance to tackle a calling that is not for loners. The Christian life is difficult enough to live in this sinful world. Being a Christian in the position of leadership is even more difficult. The better denominations out there would certainly provide a maturity and experience in the Christian life and in leadership that I just do not have at this point.
2. To resist the temptation to “reinvent the wheel.” My desire is not to be a lone ranger. I truly wish I knew someone who was already doing what God has called me to do and that they would give me spiritual and practical guidance in doing so. The fact is I don’t know anyone like that, but our task is still very important and needed in the church in 21^st century America.
3. It would give us credibility in the eyes of people. Sometimes, especially in fund-raising, this is helpful. Though I’d give almost anything for people to think I’m not crazy, I’m not willing to sacrifice my convictions or calling for the approval of people (or an easier time raising money). I’m more concerned about what God thinks and his opinion of my actions and intentions.
4. Denominations have established, accepted and orthodox doctrine (many of them). If people (Christians mostly) identified us with a specific denomination, they would have a good sense of where we stand on specific doctrinal issues without having to guess or even ask. This of course assumes that the average Christian knows the distinctive beliefs of each denomination…a rather large assumption indeed. Personally, I think it beneficial if we talked about what we believe more than just assuming. Besides, I believe it is much more beneficial to point to common creeds that all believers can hold in common.

This list of reasons why denominations can be beneficial is by no means complete. Feel free to make comments to add to the list or to engage in what has been said so far either in agreement or disagreement. My main point in all of this is that there is nothing that can be included on the above list that warrants disunity among believers. Jesus prayed for unity that mirrors the unity of the Trinity. Our denominations (read divisions…because that IS what they are) do not accomplish this unity. The next post will be on 1 Corinthians 1. Please check back soon. It should be posted within a few days.

*Note: All quotes taken from the NET Bible. See previous posts in this series here: Intro and Part 1 – Ephesians 4.

Denominations – Necessary Evil or Necessarily Evil? – Part 1

Unity is essential for the body of Christ. Paul, in Ephesians 4, speaks of a unity that goes beyond the unity found among a close knit group of Christian friends who associate with one another on the basis of common interest.

Paul is crystal clear about the expected unity of believers and the basis upon which that unity is expected. “Making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (4:3) is part of Paul’s instructions to “live worthily of the calling with which you have been called” (4:1). Paul goes on to explain the basis of these instructions: “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you too were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (4:4-6).

We have every reason to be unified among believers and every reason to avoid disunity at all costs. Disunity is always the result of selfishness and immaturity (4:14), yet somehow we sanctify divisions in the church as necessary. As believers, regardless of our denomination, race, language or personal preferences, we need to unify around the basics of the faith. We place our hope in one living God who alone has power over sin and death. There is only one means of salvation and our Christian life is all about him. Certainly we can find every reason to be unified around those central truths!

The unity of the body is crucial to the life of the church. When one part of the body is living in sin (i.e. not using their God given spiritual gifts to their potential) then the whole body suffers. “As each one does its part, the body grows in love” (4:16). Christ is the head of the body and he is the one who equips various parts of the body to do their part in building it up. Would Christ give spiritual gifts to various parts of the body in order to create disunity? It would be absurd to give gifts whose purpose is to create disunity. In fact his ultimate aim is to build up his body to complete unity (4:15-16).

Paul’s instruction to live in holiness is only possible within the context of a unified body (4:17-31). He includes these instructions immediately after teaching on the importance of unity. Our faithful obedience is meant to spur others on to maturity. Our sin causes disunity and therefore dysfunction in the church, “for we are members of one another” (4:25). Living as the world does is an indication that we are cut off from the life of God (4:18). What a desperate situation it is when the church looks as though it has been cut off from the very Life it proclaims!

Much distracts us from unity. Our immediate context is complex enough. We often fail to realize the significance of our actions on a global and an eternal scale. Adding language, cultural, economic, racial and geographical barriers to our inability to process much more than what is currently in front of us, and we have a recipe for serious disunity. Restoring unity is an enormous task, but our One God has the whole world in his hands. He is building his church. Jesus is the head of that church and he desires to equip the body to be unified down to the last supporting ligament (4:16).

Our choosing to live in sin hurts not just the people immediately around us, but it hurts the entire body of Christ. Our choosing to not fellowship with believers of other denominations or local churches simply on the merit that they are not our personal preference hurts the entire body of Christ. Please understand I am not saying there are not legitimate reasons for breaking fellowship with an individual or even a group of people. However, we draw divisive lines where divisive lines should not be drawn. In my view those lines include matters of preference in practice that are not mandated by Scripture and particularly denominational lines that refuse to work in unity with other denominations that hold orthodox beliefs in the essentials of our faith.

In closing, Paul’s words in 4:4-6 again form both the reasons for unity and the boundaries for disunity: “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you too were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” Those that believe these words find unity with me and all believers based upon a common faith in our Trinitarian God. I will not let our differences otherwise divide us within that framework. Are you with me? More importantly, are you with US?

* Note: all scripture quotes come from the NET Bible (www.bible.org).

Does God Exist?

I’m already on a rabbit trail from my series on unity in the church. I came across this blog post (http://veronicaromm.wordpress.com/2008/03/16/a-question-for-all-faiths/#comment-362) and couldn’t help but read it and all 38 comments. I also couldn’t help posting a comment that was probably way too long. Once I was done, I figured that because of its length and possibly because of its content that it might not get approved (it is currently under moderation, so we’ll see). Anyway, I figured it was worth posting here. Looking back, I’m not sure I directly answered her specific question (Does God have a god?), but hopefully it was helpful to her anyway as I attempted to answer in a very round about way. Btw, my answer to the question, as I hope you can assume from the following, is “no.”

This is a question that everyone asks themselves, even if they are unwilling to admit their preoccupation with the notion of God. I’m a Christian and while I can attempt to approach this concept from a philosophical/theoretical standpoint, it is impossible to do so without reflecting the teachings of the Bible…which I hold to be the ultimate source of truth, because it is in essence God’s revelation of himself to us.

A few purely (I hope) philosophical points that have already been touched on by others:

1) It is interesting that some people say it is arrogant to assume we can know God (originalthinker) while others think it is arrogant to think we decide for ourselves who God is and what our relationship with him should look like (Philip Brookes)…or his relationship other possible deities. Neither of the cited individuals was alone in their assertions. I’m merely using them as representatives for their respective opinions.

2) Personally, I find it somewhat amusing that we all think that we each get to formulate our own personal concept of God as if our concept will then become true in reality. I’m really not trying to be sarcastic in that statement, but I’m sure it comes across that way. Please forgive me if anything in this comment comes off that way. It is not my intention. I’m just trying to state the obvious. However, there is just no way that our universe would operate on a system of truth that is subjective to what each individual thinks is true. A few comments have included the concept of God’s god being mathematics. The assumption therein (I’m assuming anyway) is that mathematics is an agreed upon system of truth that can be proven. Of course there are still concepts that exist in theory, but we are still under the assumption that one day those theories will be solved and the truth will become more obvious. In no way does that mean we are currently making up the truth behind the math as we go. The truth of the solution to various mathematical equations is true whether or not we currently have known solutions to those equations. All that to say, truth about God, who he is and how he relates to us as individuals does not change depending on what I think, feel, sense or know about him. He, I believe, exists independently of my or your knowledge or concept of him. We may think whatever we want, but that doesn’t change what is true about God no more than a renegade mathematician coming up with the wrong solution to an equation simply because he wants to think outside the box. I’m all for thinking outside the box or even having my own assumptions about God challenged, but to assume that I get to develop my own system of truth and you get to decide what is true for you is a foolish notion in my opinion.

3) It would honestly take more faith for me to believe that the universe in all its complexity and wonder could just happen (even over the course of billions of years), than to believe that an intelligent being created it all. The question of our origin is the question that most settles my mind on the existence of God and the truth of the Bible. I know there is a God simply by looking around me at his amazing creation. I cannot bring myself to assume that it all just happened at random. That assumption leads me to believe that there is not only a God, but that he created all there is. Because he created all that exists, we are subject to him and his system of truth. Our task then becomes discovering what he has defined as truth. Lucky for us he revealed truth in the Bible!

Some observations that are philosophical in nature, but clearly driven by my belief in Scripture:

1) In Romans 1, Paul says that we are able to tell from the universe around us that there is indeed a God, but that is not enough to know him personally. No amount of inner searching is going to get us to the point where we know him. We will not find him within us if we just search deeper or look more intently within our innermost being. In fact God cannot reside within us because: A) we are not God in and of ourselves and B) God cannot dwell within us because we are sinners. In fact Romans also tells us that no one seeks after God. We all seek after our own desires. God has to seek us out…and he did by sending his Son, Jesus Christ, to die on our behalf and by raising him from the dead so that we also might have the hope of resurrection if we trust in him.

2) In the Gospel of John, Jesus says “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life…no one comes to the Father, but through me.” Jesus wasn’t just a good man. If he was, then he was a crazy man, because he claimed to be not only the Way to God, but he claimed to be the standard of Truth and the source of Life. Only one who is God himself can claim these things. Jesus was not willing to share these traits with anyone. A quick reading of the Gospels will clarify that point easily.

3) Jesus’ claim to be “Life” is significant. Other religions claim their god’s were good people, but only Jesus claims to hold the solution to death…that inevitable event which we will all face. Every other religious founder or prophet is dead. They lived, they died and they stayed dead. Jesus not only claims to be “Life” he actually backed up that claim. He was crucified, buried and rose again on the third day according to the Bible. He did this to conquer sin which causes our death and death itself. Personally, I must trust the only one who has ever defeated death. That’s the only hope this world has. I’m sure, at this point, most will question the validity of the claims of Jesus and his followers concerning his resurrection. Of such questioning there is no end. Suffice it to say for this already very long comment’s purposes that Jesus’ claims are historically well founded. Might I suggest this article (http://mommiedaze.wordpress.com/2008/03/18/did-the-resurrection-really-happen) for a good starter discussion on this topic?

For those who made it this far, I apologize for the length. I started writing and got on a roll…obviously. Hopefully it was of benefit to someone out there.