I don't recall ever being outright told that Pentecostals were better Christians than the Christians from other denominations but it always felt like an unspoken acknowledgement between the Pentecostals and it has likely been the same within other denominations. "Those Pentecostals are a little crazy"..."Those Baptists are too conservative"..."Those Catholics are too religious"..."Obviously the (insert your denomination here) church has gotten it right and everybody else should learn from us!" While the branches of the church can be divided into four main groups (Orthodox, Catholic, Anglican and Protestant), these four main branches branch out further into an estimated 44,000 different denominations worldwide today, in 2013. That is up from an estimated 500 different denominations around the year 1800.(1) Some of these denominations get along well with each other and share very similar beliefs. Some do not at all. At some point, some Christians stood up and said "Hey, this division by denomination is not healthy for the church as a whole and isn't the way Jesus intended for His followers to behave!" Cue the end of denominational affiliations...
I'm not sure when the whole "Interdenominational" and "Nondenominational" church movement started but I'm quite certain that it was started by those who were tired of being placed within a specific bubble of Christianity. The problem that has arisen from the lack of official denominational affiliations is that you often end up with a church full of people who came from different denominational backgrounds and therefore have slightly different beliefs. These differences in beliefs eventually pop up and create challenging times for a church body. The biggest problem is that "Interdenominational" and "Nondenominational" have become their own category. All the denominations look at the non-denominated thinking "they don't even know what they believe!"
It almost brings me to tears to think about how divided we have become. We are meant to be unified in bringing the good news of the Gospel of Jesus to those who need it and we are often too busy disagreeing over our differences. I'm not sure what the solution is to bring healing to the body of believers that we call the church. I do know that we need to focus on that one aspect that ties all Christians together. Jesus. Every single one of us that has heard and accepted the truth of Jesus Christ as our Lord and saviour can be tied back to one simple charge given to the eleven disciples by Christ Himself:
Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. (Matthew 28:16-20 NKJV)
Every one of us can trace back our relationship with Christ from today all the way back to the day that Jesus gave this command to His own disciples . The disciples went and made more disciples, who went and made more disciples, who went and made more disciples. You may be wondering, what is a disciple? The term "disciple" is derived from the Koine Greek word mathetes, which means a pupil (of a teacher) or an apprentice (to a master craftsman) The Latin word is discipulus meaning a learner. I choose to devote my life to being a student of the teachings of Jesus. I want to learn His ways and follow in His footsteps.
I am not a Pentecostal
I am not a Baptist
I am not a Methodist
I am not an Anglican
I am not a Catholic
I am not a Lutheran
I am not a Calvinist
I am not an Armenian
I am not a Reformist
I am not a Protestant...
I am a DISCIPLE and
I am affiliated with JESUS
I choose to leave it at that!
Much Love,
Mike
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