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I love denominations! At their best, they are groups of people working together to extend the kingdom of God into all the earth. Unfortunately, denominations can also be self-absorbed, blind, and heavy on bureaucracy. Many of us received Christ in denominational churches and should be ever grateful for the faithfulness of the men and women who stayed true to the gospel that brought us salvation. For many of us, denominations have raised us like mothers, and we should be careful of how we speak of them. But tragically, many have found the denomination in which they were raised as abusive, legalistic, and exploitive—and these were the nicer ones! Others found their denominational churches to be irrelevant and liberal—believing in nothing of consequence. The Good News, which brings salvation, was not to be found within. Now some of you reading this may be part of an independent church. Don't be tempted to smugness. Independent churches have no corner on kindness, truth, and Christ-like character. Some independent churches could easily be named “The Attila Fellowship” or “Loose Cannon Ministries.” At the risk of shocking some, denominations are not the same as the kingdom of God. And He—Christ Jesus—is not exclusively working in your small group or mine. God is greater and His work is much larger than that. So don't lose perspective. Here are 10 things you ought to know about denominations that will help you keep a kingdom perspective: (1) There is no mention of denominations in the Scriptures. Yet, according to a recent poll, there are 33,800 denominations worldwide. (2) There are no denominations in China. There are none in heaven. (3) Some denominations are prefaced with the word, “historical.” This can be interpreted that the Holy Spirit is history and the presence of God is long gone. (4) It has been said that the definition of a denomination is “a group effort to keep the unexpected from happening.” Unfortunately, this is true for many. (5) Denominations, movements, and churches (like believers) die. Ephesus died. Philadelphia died. Sardis died. See Rev 3:1-6. (6) Noah Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language defines denomination as “a class, society, or collection of individuals called by the same name. All men fall under the denomination of sinners.” Now there's a denomination we all belong to! (7) Some good counsel comes from Thomas Merton: “But the scaffolding (denominational organizing) must not be mistaken for the actual building.” Thomas Merton / p. 56 Life and Holiness (8) “The whole earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord” See Hab. 2:14. Note that it does not state, “The whole earth will be filled with denominations and religion.” (9) Christianity isn’t a world religion, philosophy, denomination or social movement. It is simply good news. (10) The historical path of all denominations is: man ® men® movement® machine®monument. Where is the group I'm affiliated with on this continuum?
There are no references in scripture to “denomination.” The Bible speaks only in terms of the church. The following notes from Derek Prince are helpful: 1) “Church” (singular) occurs 35 times in the New Testament
(See 1 Cor. 1:2 & Acts 11:22). Reproduction of this article for resale is strictly prohibited.
NOT FOR RESALE. © 2004 by Tom Gaddis
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