Labels. They are thrown around so much any more. Especially around those in Christianity. And they’re never thrown around in a good way. Yeah, sometimes people will choose to identify with one, but unless they’re talking about the one they identify with, it’s going to be in a negative way.
Growing up I was probably in what you would call somewhere in between fundamentalism and evangelicalism. But that’s just me looking back right now and trying to guess. I have no idea what you would call it. And I certainly had no idea what either of those meant at the time. It wasn’t until I came to Bible College and had a class that traced these “labels” to see how they have affected modern Christianity in America that I learned what they meant. And now it seems like almost anything I read has all of those labels within it, and at least 95% of the time they are used in a negative sense.
What I remember growing up is that non of that mattered to me. The first church I went to was a “Bible Church” (that’s how the name of the church ended). I didn’t know the heritage of it, or it’s technical theology (and I still don’t). All I knew was that the Bible was God’s word and that it had the gospel story, there was a God (and only one), and Jesus came to die for our sins.
The second church I attended was a Free-Methodist Church. I had no idea what it meant at the time. I used to think it had something to do with being free from the Methodist church. I had no knowledge of what it really meant. It wasn’t until I heard about Free-Will Baptists that I put it all together to understand what the free means. As a kid (I attended that church until I was about 12 or so) I basically equated that church as being basically the same as the first church. I don’t remember learning anything drastically different. It was all the same to me. I learned about the Bible, about God, and about Jesus, and that was all that mattered. I was baptized while attending that church (though not actually at the church, but in our local river, which I find much more appropriate than actually being in the church, but that’s just me) when I was about 9 1/2.
The third church I went to is what can be classified as a mega-church (though it’s barely there, having very close to 2000 people attend). It was a “Christian Church.” I didn’t realize there was much history behind it when I went there, I just liked the name of it because it didn’t go along with the denominations, but said it like it was, it was a church for Christians. Yet again, I saw no real difference between this church and my other churches. I was 12 or 13 when I first started attending there, but I didn’t know much about denominations or these other “labels.” About all I knew was that there were Christian churches, Catholic churches (I’m not going into the debate of whether or not they are “Christian,” but they’re just a major church), and Mormon churches (and lots of them, living in southern Idaho this is very common), even a Mormon temple. There is actually also a mosque, a Jewish synagogue and one (or maybe even a few) Eastern Orthodox Church(es) in the area, but I’ve just more recently learned that.
The church I now attend is also a Christian church. However, it’s not a mega-church, at all, considering it only has about 200 people who attend. Again, for the most part the same basic things are taught. I know a little more of the difference now, going to Bible College, as well as being close to some of the leadership at this church and knowing what they believe, but there is still a common thread that runs through it all: the Bible is God’s Word, God created everything, we sinned, Jesus died to save us. That is the gospel message.
As children we don’t understand all this religious jargon. We also don’t care. It doesn’t matter to us. All we care about is that God created us, He loves us, and Jesus came and died for us. That’s what matters. That is the essence of the gospel story in which all Christian churches should be unified on. It’s that simple.
Going to Bible College, we have people from all different backgrounds. I would guess probably the highest percentage would be “Christian Churches” since it is the heritage of the school (at least now, though it was started in connection with a Church of Christ church of the area, which is actually similar anyways), and many of the churches that have connections with the school are as well. But there are people who come from different backgrounds as well.
The background of the “Christian Church” is the Restoration Movement, which when it began it had the intentions of unifying, basically on the gospel story in which I said. The wanted to go by the Bible and the gospel message of Jesus. However, in the early 1800s, when this was starting, no one would join them. They started out in Methodist, Presbyterian, and Baptist churches and tried to get them to united and use the Bible as the creed instead of some church creed, which basically was for the purpose of separating them form the other church, but they got kicked out eventually for trying this. They found each other, and this movement began. Now it’s basically it’s own denomination, but I know some of the churches, as well as the Bible College are trying to go back to what the movement began as, and obtain this unity.
Anyways, my point is that as children, we see things in much plainer terms. We see the concept, and if other people believe that, we go to them. It reminds me of something I’ve hear before: When two girls see each other wearing the same thing, they get upset and both want to change. When two guys are wearing the same thing, they’ll go up to each other and become best friends.
Of course, I’m not saying we can only talk to people who believe the same thing, but I’m saying we need to redefine what is the same thing. It needs to become less. It needs to become the simply gospel that was first preached. Like what Peter (in Acts 2 & 4) or Steven (in Acts 7) preached. It’s basically the Bible story, culminating in what Jesus did on the cross. That’s the gospel story, and believing that is what makes us Christians, nothing more, nothing less.
Children don’t tend to discriminate against people. I mean there is obviously bullying, but for the most part if they can find some common ground, no matter how small, they’ll likely become best friends. That’s the type of unity we need. Going up to a person who believes the gospel story, and basically becoming best friends. Because we are in fact, brothers and sisters in Christ.
We need to become like children, as Jesus did say (and this may be a terrible place to apply that, as being interpreted wrong and out of context, but I think it still fits), and get rid of these labels and political jargon and just be Christians. Nothing more, nothing less. Just Christians. Let’s live out the Bible. So what if he or she does some thing a little differently, it’s not necessarily wrong. So what if their interpretation doesn’t fit with ours, that doesn’t mean it has to be wrong. I’m not saying we shouldn’t try to find the right interpretation for everything, but it should be secondary 99% of the time to doing what God has called us to do, which is share the gospel, and that is something upon which we can all agree.
Stuck In Between 