Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Church Denominations- Are They Really Necessary?

During my years as a born again believer, I've been exposed to many different denominations. Some just as a one time visitor, others were visits several visits, when in the area and others I stayed longer.

When I first got saved I attended my mothers church. It was a African-American
Pentecostal/Holiness  congregation and oh was the worship lively! The pastor was Bishop Robert W. McMurray and you knew you had been to "chuch" after one of his sermons and wow could he sing.
I eventually left that church because I wasn't sure what I believed being a new Christian. I was getting confused by the "dancing" that some of the members were doing when they were "hit by the spirit". They believed you have to speak in  tongues to be saved considered saved. I can remember staying after church Sunday after Sunday  waiting to be "filled with the Spirit with evidence of  speaking in tongues".  Well nothing ever happened and I was getting rather bored with the church so I left.

So the next several years I found myself at differing denominations not really paying that close attention to what each one believed because I was never taught to check my Bible against what the churches believed. There was the Foursquare Church I attended before moving out of the L.A. area.
Then there was the Baptist church, a Calvary Chapel type church and back to Foursquare church after I married my husband.
When we moved to Santa Barbara started attending a Vineyard church and witnessed that whole "Toronto Blessing" thing and people claiming to have miraculously received gold fillings which to this day, I don't know what to make of it. Actually I was suspicious about it but I kept it to myself.

It was around 2005 I started to get curious about the women's headcovering. I had been following a CaringBridge page by a woman and her daughters who wore headcoverings. I remembered there was a woman and her daughters who attended the Above Rubies family camp who wore veils. I thought it was a cultural thing because she was from the Phillipines. I had no idea it was Biblical.  After much study, I became convicted and started to cover. I will share more about that in a future post.

We eventually left Vineyard and went to a Baptist Church where we stayed for a few years before leaving to go to a former Baptist church that became a Community Church.
During our time at these various churches we had the opportunity to make the long drive to visit our friends at a Mennonite church.( More about that in a minute)
So here we are in AZ at a Baptist church.

 So I find myself wondering why are there so many denominations? Did Christians get mad at each other and said "You're not my friend and I'm not playing with you anymore"?
I feel like somewhere along the line the Christian church has become focused on "denominationism" (is that even a word?) and claiming theirs is the better one instead of focusing on Jesus and His teachings.  Listen up, the New Testament teachings still apply today and it doesn't matter if you are part of a Baptist church, Lutheran, Catholic or Mennonite.

And speaking of Mennonite, I love visiting the Mennonite church. I really feel comfortable amongst the ladies with their headcoverings, the singing of hymns without any instruments and the clear Biblical teachings.
Also love our Baptist church. I love all the people there, our pastor is a wonderful speaker and a sweetheart of a pastor.

So honestly, I don't know if denominations are necessary because when we get to heaven, we going to all be together.  That Methodist church down the street you use at frown at on your way to your nondenominational church will be there in heaven too.


I would say though regardless of what you label yourself, make sure you always check your Bible to make sure what is being taught is Biblical.

Oh and I apologize for the many posts. I'm in a talkative mood right now, probably from too much tea and cookies. And cookies. And more cookies. Did I say I ate too many cookies?











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