By: Mike Kelly, Retired Pastor
Bryan, Ohio
Why so many churches? Why don’t they all get along? Why all the disagreements among churches? I hear those questions a lot from unbelievers but also from believers.
And there is a lot of validity in questioning why the Church seems so divided. In a perfect world, there would be no disagreement but, unfortunately, we live in a world made up of broken and sinful beings.
Paul dealt with the same issues in the early church: 1Cor 1:10 “I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.”
Think of it like this: Your family has many members: parents, children, relatives. Are they all part of the family? Yes. But do they all believe the same things? No. Do they all get along? Not generally.
Christ described the Church as his body. 1 Cor 12:12-14 reads “There is one body, but it has many parts. But all its many parts make up one body. It is the same with Christ. We were all baptized by one Holy Spirit.
And so we are formed into one body. It didn’t matter whether we were Jews or Gentiles, slaves or free people. We were all given the same Spirit to drink. So the body is not made up of just one part. It has many parts.’”
Christ’s church is made up of many parts: Baptist, Pentecostals, Catholics, Methodists, Mennonites, Independents, etc.. And, just like a family, they don’t all believe the same things and they don’t always get along. But they are still part of the family.
Donna and I have been married longer than most people have been alive. We live together, eat the same food, sleep in the same bed, and have dealt with the same issues from having children to changing careers to moving 26 times.
Yet, we don’t agree on everything. Then, add in our 3 adult children and more topics become volatile. And, at our stage of life, we have three children-in-law, 10 grandchildren with six spouses, and 4.5 great grandchildren.
That’s almost 30 people without counting siblings, nieces and nephews or cousins. Do we agree on politics? No. Do we all agree on theology? No. Do we all agree on lifestyle? No. But we are family.
If one hurts, we all hurt. If one is attacked, look out for the rest of us to defend them. If one prospers, we all cheer.
When we get together, the predominant experience is laughter. No one is sulking or angry that so-and-so is there. We may talk about our differences, but we do it with a light touch.
One granddaughter believes in reincarnation. Do we agree? No, but we don’t beat on her for her beliefs. But, because we love her, we don’t let her bad theology go unchallenged. We just don’t use a sledgehammer. We respectfully talk about our differences.
I think a healthy family dynamic is what God has in mind for his Church. We should be excited about a new church start-up. We should mourn when a church closes.
We should encourage people who don’t attend church to look for one and help direct them to one that fits their needs. We should encourage churches starting new ministries. I remember when Grace Community first started.
Some of our biggest supporters were other churches. St. Patrick, First Presbyterian, Lockport and Wesley all donated to us because they saw the ministries we were doing and wanted to help.
Our theologies weren’t the same yet they looked past our differences in order to help. That’s what the church ought to look like. And, mostly, I think it does. I recently spoke with a new family in the area.
I suggested New Hope to them since it is similar to what they had been attending. I attend Lockport but it isn’t where they would find the programs they most wanted.
I hope they went to New Hope. The idea was to get them into a good church where they can grow for the Kingdom’s sake.
I love seeing so many churches in Williams County. I pray for all of them to be healthy and grow in numbers and ministry. Each church has its own personality, theology, programs, and ministries.
Each can attract a different kind of person. The one who needs an exegetical preacher or a lively worship band or family atmosphere or whatever, can find what is most comfortable for them when there are a lot of churches to choose from.
So, why so many churches? Why don’t they all get along? Why all the disagreements among churches? I think it is to offer an opportunity for each of us to find a place to worship that we will enjoy, attend, grow and participate in. It is a good thing to have a variety of churches to choose from.
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Mike Kelly is the founding pastor of Bryan’s Grace Community Church (retired) and Board Chairman of Bryan’s Sanctuary Homeless Shelter and Williams County’s Compassion (free) Medical Clinic.