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CHURCH
Why
are there so many types of churches ?
When you boil the Christian faith down to its essential elements it is really very basic and very simple. A religious leader, who was used to crossing the theological "i's" and dotting the "t's" once asked Jesus to summarise the essentials of His message, Jesus' answer was this:
"Love the Lord God with all of your passion, and prayer and intelligence and energy...and love others as well as you love yourself".
Christianity, in its bare bones, is about buying back people who are imprisoned by their own wrongdoing. In Christianity God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit transform rebels and make them worshippers; He is forming a body of people from every part of the globe who love and serve Him and who respond with love to others.
All of this means that there are huge aspects of the church experience which are left up to us to organise as we see fit. The central dynamic of God's plan for men and women and boys and girls is lived out in a context that is heavily influenced by culture, generational attitudes, and personal preferences. The central content of Christianity is the same in Africa, America, Asia and Europe but the form changes in huge ways according to the prevailing culture.
Even within the same town there are different ways of expressing God's central truths which are rooted in individual's ages and preferences. The Bible establishes guidelines that operate in the area of essential motivations and we organise our church life within those guidelines in a way that is most appropriate for our culture and generation. Often there is no "right" or "wrong" way of doing things, just a range of options which can be mixed and matched as we see fit.
There are some who want to emphasise the joy and praise aspect of Christianity; others want to a less emotional but a more teaching orientated worship service. Some want to focus on the majesty and awe of the Creator of the Universe; others want to concentrate on His love and friendship.
There are many different groups and denominations so that everybody can live out his or her faith in a context in which they feel at home.
With this in mind we return to the words of Jesus and focus on the central call to love God with everything that we are and to respect others who love and serve Him by giving them the freedom to do that in an environment of their choosing.
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