(quoted as received via email... couldn't have said it better myself... so here ya go)
What's on the label isn't as important as what's on the inside.
A teacher was teaching Sunday school one morning and asked the children if any of them could think of any names that the early Christians were called before they were Christians. The teacher was looking for answers like, followers, believers, apostles, or disciples. One of the young children raised his hand and said, "I know......Lutherans!".
Now, you can substitute Lutherans in that joke for Baptist, Catholic, Methodist, or any other denomination. That young boy spoke volumes in that 3-word statement! Are we Lutherans, or are we Christian? Are we Baptist, or are we Christian? Are we Catholic, or are we Christian? The different denominations were created because someone didn't agree with someone else about something, so they went off and started their own church. Denominational labels I think puts the focus on pointing out our differences rather than pointing out what we have in common. Whether we are Lutheran, Baptist, Methodist, or Assembly of God, we are all Christian. We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He is our Lord and Savior! That is what we ought to be focusing on! Some in the non-denominational churches might say, "that's why we call ourselves non-denominational", but I say that is even shifting the focus because that's saying "we're different from the denominational churches".
When we start to focus on how we worship instead of who and why we worship, we lose the impact of worship. God doesn't want to be put in a box. I think the Bible demonstrates that in many different ways. One example is the different ways that Jesus healed people. Look at the times that he healed blind people. One time he spit on a man's eyes and put His hands on him and asked if he could see, after the man said he basically saw shapes, Jesus put His hands on his eyes again and the man could see (Mark 8:22-26). Another time Jesus took some dirt and spit in it and made mud and put that on the man's eyes, He then told the man to go and wash his eyes 7 times in the pool of Siloam and he would receive his sight (John 9:1-7). And when Paul was healed from his blindness, Jesus used Ananias to heal Paul by just laying his hands on him (Acts 9:10-18). In the first one, Jesus spit on the man's eyes and laid His hands on him twice. In the second one, Jesus made mud and had the man wash his eyes 7 times. And in the third one, Jesus used someone else to just lay hands on them. Same result, three different ways. Jesus could have just spoken each time and they would have been healed. He could have just laid his hands on them and they would have been healed. But I think that He did it different each time because He didn't want us to think that there is some "formula" for doing things. He was trying to say that the way we do things isn't as important as why we are doing it. He healed these people to show God's glory and so that would be the focus, not putting the emphasis on how He did it.
Instead of saying, "I don't agree with the Baptists because......, The Lutherans are wrong because they..........", let's say "We are all Christians and let's work together to further the kingdom of God by focusing on our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and do what He has called us to do".
And instead of focusing on the style of worship.... whether we take communion at the rail, walk up to take it, or sit in our pews as it's passed around, whether we sing hymns or contemporary music, whether we have to be in suits or robes, or whether we have to worship on Sundays, let's focus on why we worship and know that God is more interested in what's on the inside of us than what we are showing on the outside. And let what we do, however we do it, be done to bring glory and honor to God.
In Christ,
Rik (Walgrave)
