What’s that?  Oh, that isn’t Biblical? I thought that must be true, based on the extent that so many people get wrapped up in denominations and denominational differences.  Surely that creative pronouncement is tucked away somewhere in Genesis and I just missed it.

Why is it that man so loves to differentiate and/or divide? We take something as seemingly pure as “The Way”, which is what they called the earliest followers of Christ, and somehow that’s shaped and melded and fermented over the years to become modern day “denominations”.

Let’s see:  Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, Episcopal, Pentecostal, Presbyterian.  How many have I left out and offended?  I think that covers most of the biggies.

Did you ever wonder why there are so many different denominations?

It’s human nature. If we grow tired of others on our team, or eventually find that we can’t play nice together any longer, what do we do?  We form a new team; one that suits our needs and desires better than the other.

I find it fascinating. But while I don’t find anything necessarily inherently wrong with denominations, I believe they can at times cloud our vision of God. It’s too easy to get wrapped up in the trappings or comforts of our particular denomination. And that can possibly hinder our relationship with Jesus.

Denominations provide comfort zones.  You know what I mean.  You’re brought up in a particular denomination and that’s a major influence and factor in shaping your personal walk of faith.  Again, not necessarily anything wrong with that.

Take Roman Catholics for example.  I can speak to that with some degree of knowledge and experience since that’s my personal faith background. Catholics are big time fans of ritual.  The sacraments.  First Communion, Confirmation, Confession.  All are significant milestones in the life of a Catholic.  I embraced the faith, the religion and yes, the ritual.  I found Jesus Christ in the Catholic Church.  And I didn’t have to look too hard.

That may sound funny to my Baptist or Methodist or Pentecostal friends.  You found Jesus in the Catholic Church?  Of course I did.  The very presence of Christ is a central part of Catholicism.  We celebrated the Lord’s Supper (communion) each and every Sunday.  Christ’s very presence in the body and blood; the bread and wine.

You would really have to be asleep all the time, or simply not paying attention at all to miss Jesus in the Catholic Church.

I found early on that Catholicism breeds discomfort among non-Catholics. They are confused by all the ritual; some even frightened by it.  It’s that fear of the unknown.  The most common complaint I heard from my Protestant visitors was the fact they didn’t know whether to sit or stand or kneel. (and you Catholics sure kneel a lot!)

Imagine my own confusion when, I think it may have been middle school, I got into a discussion of faith with some Baptist friends.  No discussion of ritual there. They wanted to know “where were you saved?”.   Say what?  They actually want a specific date when I “gave my heart” to Jesus my Lord and Savior.  Sorry, the nuns didn’t cover that one in my Catechism.  I can talk all day about what you tell the priest “in the box” or how to make a good “Act of Contrition”, but this business about me being “saved” is out of my league.

I think you get the idea.  Take your denomination and simply fill in the blank with your rituals, sacraments, traditions, expectations, rules, order of worship or whatever. We get too wrapped up in denominations when we start doubting or judging the faith walk of our brother, just because he doesn’t fit the mold that molded us.

This old Catholic boy joined the United Methodist melting pot after his daughter was born.  I wanted our family to attend church together and my Methodist wife wasn’t about to convert to Catholicism.  Can’t blame her, we Catholics weren’t exactly the most welcoming bunch back then.  I think they’ve eased up and reached out a bit since then.

Funny thing, when I started attending the Methodist church, I wasn’t struck by the stark differences.  I was struck by the similarities. Many of the prayers and portions of the worship were the same or very close to what I was used to in the Catholic church.  Strange, isn’t it?

Denominations are nothing new you know.  Take a look at the Jews in Jesus’ day.  You might have been a Pharisee, Sadducee, Zealot or Essene.  Which one do you think Jesus belonged to?  Funny, I don’t recall him talking much about that.

I think it’s more simple and straightforward than we tend to make it with our divisions and denominations and discourse.

Faith like that of a child.  Didn’t Jesus say something about that?

Now there’s a model for denominations to consider.

- Steve
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