I am amazed when I drive to church at the number of different churches I pass on the way there. By my count, there are 12 churches, mostly different denominations but a couple of the same. This is an amazing site to me. Not because I think we should have this many churches within an 8 mile stretch. I am more amazed at the reason we have so many different churches. Not just religions, but denominations within the same "Christian" religion.I would venture to say that over 80% of all new church starts are because of a problem between people of a different church. I know that my home church split because of a conflict with insurance money they received. Out of one church, came two and not for the right reasons.
Even within the Nazarene church, we are prone to starting new churches just because of a conflict within one church, or a group of people not liking what another group of people are doing. Now, I know that there are some real theological issues to different denominations and there is no way that I could go into that on this blog. I know about some but not all and I wouldn't do any justice to it. One of the other things I have been thinking about lately is how much the people of a specific church, know about the history of the denomination they are in...
I know in my own church that they would be a very low percentage of people who could tell me how the Nazarene church started and why. I know I couldn't give a very detailed beginning but I have a good idea.
What does it mean to be in a certain denomination? What made you choose that denomination?
I know for me, I am a Nazarene because that is where I started. I began church at the age of 5 because of a bus ministry. Could that have been another denom? Probably. Would my viewpoints be different than they are now? Maybe. It is hard to say. I know in my search for a full-time position, I have looked into other denom's that hold a similar view to the Nazarene church. I follow what the Nazarene Church teaches now, because I have looked, studied and researched their beliefs and our history. I have look at other groups and seen and disagreed with some of what they have said.
To me, the Bible is fully true and fully God. If at any point a denomination tries to take away from the Bible, then they lose me. One of the interesting connecting points to most denom's is the Apostle's Creed. Many churches believe and recite this ancient creed. I believe it is a sounding point for many Christians...
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
the Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:
Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into hell.
The third day He arose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty,
whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.
Amen.
If you look closely at all denom's, our basic belief is the same. Jesus is the message of all of us. Leave Him out, and you have lost me. Jesus is the central figure of the Bible and to dismiss Him, is to dismiss the Word of God. Argue with me or not but that is my belief.
2 comments:
I would like for you to read the "Church of the Nazarene's" "NewStart Mission Statement"
"NewStart is an intentional effort to equip and resource the Church of the Nazarene for starting new churches. It's built on the New Testament strategy of starting strong new churches to reach people for Christ. NewStart is created to empower established churches to sponsor strong new ones."
It's not because of church splits. If you look on the NewStart website, it says "NewStart is founded on a passion to win the lost. Studies indicate that starting new churches is the best way of winning new people to Christ". check out the website www.nazarenenewchurches.org
The East Tenn district is getting ready to launch a New Start in Lebanon, not because of a split.
I never said all new churches were because of splits. But I also know that there are many new starts that happen because other churches in the area are ineffective at what they do, so therefore instead of going in and recreating that church, we find it easier to just start a new one a little distance away.
I am excited for the new start in Lebanon and believe that it will be well worth it. The area is growing and the church should fill that need.
But how many churches in the Nazarene denom has less than 20 members, and only a few miles from another Naz church? How many churches are created each year, not to reach out to a new group of people, but because of some issues that have happened in the church?
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