Walking in the Valley A weekly column for those who live and walk in Silicon Valley by Barbara Dahlgren

Unity of the Faith Column for the week of May 16-22, 2004

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After attending the Women of Faith Conference last weekend I came away feeling hopeful which was good because that was the theme. 18,000 women crowded together at the San Jose arena to praise God and learn at the feet of some outstanding examples of Christian womanhood. Women like Sheila Walsh, Luci Swindol, Chonda Pierce, and Patsy Clairmont shared funny, poignant, uplifting, significant stories about their Christian walk. Helpful? Yes! Hopeful? Definitely. But for me personally, the most impact came from staring at those thousands of women and realizing they all represented different denominations. Ladies from Protestant to Church of the Nazarene to Methodist to Lutheran to Catholic to Seventh Day Adventist to you name it, were there. All put aside beliefs that separate Christians to focus on what they all have in common...Jesus Christ.

The idea of Christian denominations is an interesting one. Some ask, “If God is so intent on unity of the faith (Ephesians 4:13), why are there so many denominations?” I must admit I used to find that puzzling. How can all these denominations be right? How can all these denominations be wrong? It is an enigma.

There are certain Biblical beliefs we might call core values. Some of these would be believing there is one God, Jesus is His Son, Jesus came to earth, Jesus died for our sins, and Jesus rose again. However, there is much in other areas left up to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. If the Holy Spirit is guiding people who are seeking to serve God and worship Him in spirit and truth, then we must assume there are a variety of ways to do so since there are so many denominations. This shouldn’t be hard to accept since God loves variety and diversity.

There is a vast difference between unity and diversity. Christian unity involves core values and beliefs, the trunk of the tree so to speak. Diversity on the other hand is how we choose to worship, trust, obey, believe, and have faith, the limbs and twigs of the tree so to speak. Some call the Bible the instruction book for the saints. In that book, God has made certain instructions plain and simple but in other areas He has left much room for spirit led interpretation. To be on safe ground one must be praying, studying that Biblical guide, doing the best he can to follow it, and not condemning others who may not see eye to eye on with him on everything.

Ah, therein lies the danger! Condemnation! (Romans 2:1; 14:9-11) In the past some denominations have been presumptuous enough to claim they are the “one” true church and judge others who do not agree with them in these diverse areas. However, God seems to give quite a bit of latitude in many areas even if man does not. Jesus, himself, defied traditions and looked not to pomp and circumstance but to a person’s heart.

Believe it or not, when “church” is mentioned in the Bible it is not referring to a denomination. In the Greek it is “ecclesia” meaning “those who have been called out.” They have been “called out” of a world that rejects God and “into” a fellowship with God and others who believe in Him. These “ecclesia” could very well be found in every denomination. You might recognize them because they won’t be condemning others who believe in Jesus but have a slightly different way of serving Him. They will be focused on the trunk of the tree, not the twigs.

The trend in Christendom where churches, yeah verily, denominations are actually trying to focus on what they have in common not what separates them excites me. I found this so refreshing at the Women of Faith Conference. Chonda Pierce gave a presentation where she actually had women laughing at the diversity in their denominations. We weren’t laughing at each other. We were laughing with one another. We all laughed together at diversities that tend to separate us but we all cried together over the death of the one who unites us...Jesus Christ.

Some would use Amos 3:3 to say that we can’t walk together with people unless we agree 100% with what they have to say. That would be one lonely walk because you would be hard pressed to find someone to agree with everything you believe. The correct interpretation may be let’s agree to walk together even though we might not agree on everything. One might go so far as to say, “even though we are diversified, let’s have a spirit of unity of the faith.”

Be sure to visit this page every week to read the next edition of Walking in the Valley. You can write to the author at bdahlgren@wcgsouthbay.org.