“…by this all men will know you are My disciples IF you have love toward one another.” – John 13:35
Recently at a Men’s Group I attend there were quite a few men that expressed their frustration with the number of churches and denominations in the world. The frustration was along the line, “Why can’t all the churches get along?”
I was reminded of a quote from Tony Campolo that really got me thinking about this matter:
“Christianity was born in Palestine, they took it to Greece and turned it into a philosophy, they took it to Rome and turned it into an institution, they took it to the America and turned it into a business enterprise, and they took it to England and turned it into a tourist attraction” – Tony Campolo
If we don’t want Christianity to turn into a tourist attraction we need to learn to get along and work together in what God has called us to do.
I am NOT against denominations, but I am against denominations that are more into themselves… than the Body of Christ. I’ve seen it in almost every denomination where a person sees themselves as more of a “United Methodist,” or, “Southern Baptist,” or, “____________,” than a follower of Jesus Christ.
Denominations serve a purpose. They give the Faith distinct flavors which can complement the Body of Christ … but too often we allow them to do the opposite. We fight and squabble over our differences when what we agree on (The life changing power of Jesus Christ) can CHANGE THE WORLD.
John Wesley would often quote Rupertus Maldenius, “In Essentials… UNITY, in Nonessentials… LIBERTY, in all things… CHARITY.” (Often falsely attributed to Augustine)
Too often we allow the nonessentials to divide and fragment the Body of Christ when we ought to be allowing the essential things (the things that the Bible speak clearly and loudly on) unite us.