A couple years ago, I first began noticing that certain Christian denominations have stigmas attached to them. For example: Baptists being particularly strict and and Pentecostals being “too charismatic.” At first this realization bother me, after all, most of the stigmas have truth to them. Baptists do tend to have much stricter guidelines, and Pentecostals can get pretty charismatic. Every denomination has its own preferred style of worship; no big deal, right?
But then things changed. At a particular church service I happened to attend the pastor said something along the lines of “Such and such churches don’t honor God. They don’t worship like we do…we do it right, how God wants.”
The statement caught me off guard. I don’t think I heard anything else he said because my mind was so wrapped up in trying to decide if that particular statement was correct. I decided he was wrong… And from then on I stopped associating myself with any particular denomination.
That is not to say that I do not still attend churches that claim a denomination. It only means that I, personally, do not ascribe to one. I was recently discussing this with a friend and she said to me “Well…then what are you? What do you believe then?” It took me a second to figure out how to answer her, because all my life when asked those questions I would say something like "Well I go to a Baptist church.” Within Christian settings, that seemed to answer the question; my denominational preference defined me. But I finally answered her question with “Well…I am a follower of Jesus. I just believe what He said.”
I don’t believe that claiming a denomination is inherently wrong, but I do believe that there could be dangers in being a “die hard fundamental Baptist” or an “unwaveringly committed Pentecostal.” (Side note: I am not picking on these two particular denominations; they are just the two I have the most experience with. Everything I am saying can be applied to any Christian sect: LDS, Jehovah’s Witness, Unitarian Church, etc.) I believe that it is dangerous because we can, as I once was, become defined by them. Our identity is not in a denomination, standard, or method of worship. It is in Christ alone.
The one simple conclusion that I have come to, the concept that prompted me to write this is: Denominations create divisions. Let me share with you the analogy Holy Spirit gave me a few days ago. Often, in Christian culture, we refer to certain struggles or temptations as chains – the “chains of addiction,” “shackled in shame,” and “breaking free of…” You get the idea. Well I believe that there are also church chains. But they aren’t the big heavy metal ones like addictions and such, they are more like those paper chains we used to make as kids. Remember? With strips of colorful construction paper? They were pretty. They weren’t scary. We even used them as decorations.
Church chains are paper chains. Here’s what I mean: They are pretty and they seem safe. But they are chains nonetheless. They are weak, though; with a light tug you could break free from them. So why don’t we? Because they give us a sense of security – and maybe even superiority. We are afraid to venture outside of the denomination that we were raised in and explore the idea that, just maybe, there could be more…maybe that church down the street that looks and worships different actually isn’t so different from us. When we allow a denomination’s standards, preferences, and interpretations to completely dictate how we live and what we think, we run the risk of judging others and assuming we are the only ones that are “right.” This creates division among the People of God and births senseless arguments. I honestly believe that Satan laughs in our faces when we waste time arguing over preferences and proving each other “wrong.” He laughs because we become our own distractions… Why are we making it easy for our enemy to prevail?
All those who accept the forgiveness of the Messiah, obey His teaching, and give their life to Him are our brothers and sisters. We must treat them as such. Too much time is wasted making sure we stay within our denomination. Rip off your paper chains, Believer. Venture out and learn why someone practices their faith differently, they might be able to teach you something.
"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not yourselves be burdened again by any yoke of slavery." - Galatians 5:1
