I have a ten year old friend who is like a niece as her family are dear friends. Those friends are committed Presbyterians, and the ten year old is likewise committed to her church community. She and I were talking about her Presbyterian church in past months, and my ten year old friend, who knows I do not normally worship at a Presbyterian church, asked me, "What kind of Christian are you?" I tried to explain to her I am not in a specific denomination, and that I chose my church based more on the merit and blessings of the church as an individual church. My explanation was probably not clear enough, and my persistent friend asked again a few months later, "What kind of Christian are you?" I really tried to explain how I am "non-denominational." Then last evening, I called my friends since it was Easter. When I talked with my super ten year old friend, I told her that I had worshiped at a Presbyterian church on Thursday evening. Her response: "Did you like it better than whatever church it is that you go to?"
Something tells me it is going to be a serious conversation when she is old enough for us to discuss why I am all for the doctrine of penal substitution which John Calvin advocated, yet why I am completely against his doctrine of predestination and limited atonement. My loving friend will hold her own.
I add that when it comes to my friends, I work to maintain genuine respect for his or her church commitment, even if I disagree with their doctrinal convictions. In fact, I try to rely on God to respect the church attendance of anyone. Yet if a person is willing to talk, I always am willing to share my doctrinal convictions, in love.
Back to my ten year old friend, if she becomes a pastor, I will not be surprised!
I am searching right now for a youth pastor job, and a discouraging aspect is realizing there are such intense divisions between so many Christian churches. Certain issues, praise be to God, are steadfast among many Christian churches of various denominations and non-denominational, such as:
+ The Triune nature God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
+ The nature of Jesus in the world, fully God and fully human.
+ The identity of Jesus as the Anointed One.
(The Hebrew word is Messiah, and the Greek word is Christ.)
+ The atonement of Jesus on the Cross.
+ The resurrection of Jesus.
Indeed yesterday many Christian churches throughout the world proclaimed the resurrection of Jesus!
On the flip side, disagreement continues among many Christian churches on issues such as:
* How the atonement of Christ on the cross is received.
* Free-will versus "predestination."
* The authority of the Bible.
* The proper manner to carry out baptism.
* The nature of the Lord's supper.
* The appropriate church government.
* The nature of hell.
These are a few issues in which various Christians, and various Christian church communities, have various convictions and practices based on their Biblical interpretations.
Taking "The History of Christianity" at CCU under the incredible teaching of Dr. Megan DeVore, I learned of the historical reasons for various denominational convictions, which helps me to understand why certain practices are so engrained in certain communities, even when they drastically differ with other Christian communities.
I think Christians benefit when they learn more about Christian history, accurate Christian history taught by such an expert as Dr. DeVore.
Even more so, Christians benefit when they study theological issues. I recall John Stott saying once, paraphrased, that Christian faith is not "blind faith," rather it is faith rooted in the reality of what God has done. I think many problems in churches are a result of people following practices of which they have not even considered the conviction behind the practice. So where do we Christians turn to study theology? The sacred Scriptures.
When I was a student at Virginia Tech, I had a "History of Communications" class my sophomore year with a professor who had studied at Ohio State. In the midst of a lecture one class, he made the statement that the Bible is the most published book in history, yet that it is the least read book in history. As someone who was not a Christian, yet who had a private belief in the existence of God, I was curious as to why there would be such a dichotomy. We Christians need to commit to studying the Bible, because it contains revelations from God, and the center of revelation is that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ.
Here on this Monday after Easter, I give thanks to God that we who believe in Jesus can truly celebrate Easter every day. And if you are not a Christian, please know that Jesus invites you to join Him, the One who paid a debt we people could not pay. That debt: Jesus endured death, physical and spiritual, in the place of us people who would have all spiritually died because of our wrongdoings. He was the atoning sacrifice! Then Jesus was resurrected. If you believe in Jesus, you will have eternal life.
Happy Easter, Hunter
Happy Easter, Hunter
