Some have said that why bother going to our church if we are like all the other churches. "I might, as well, go to a neighborhood church and have a shorter commute."
While it is permissible to switch to another church home, I believe the above statement reflects more the emotion, i.e. anger, of the person giving the comment than it is the rationality of the comment itself.
The argument assumes that it is beneficial to have particular distinctives that separate us from other churches, or at least make us stand out. What, then, should be those distinctives? Certainly not going back to doctrines and practices that encourage legalism and judgmentalism. Consider this conversation I had with two well-meaning Christians.
Early this week, I entertained two men who came knocking on my door. At first, I thought they were Jehovah's Witnesses or Mormons, but they were from a local church inviting the neighborhood to attend their bible study. I respectfully said that I wasn't interested and that I am a fellow co-believer who also serves as a pastor. I was anticipating a "God bless you," but one of them asked me, "What does your church believe about salvation?"
That set me back a bit, because I know the question wasn't asked as a simple inquiry. It was more like a set-up. So, I answered that we believe that salvation was accomplished only through the person of Christ, and not because of our own works or merits. He agreed with that, then asked, "Do you believe in baptism and how do you do it?". I told him that we baptize believers and we practice baptism by immersion. I was quick to add that, though we practice immersion, we don't believe that other forms of baptism, like pouring or sprinkling of water, are unacceptable.
Well, that got them going. It is as if I said something heretical and out of bounds. It was unbiblical, they said. That is not something we see exemplified in the Bible, they added. Needless to say, I really didn't feel like engaging in a tit-for-tat with Christians who simply wanted to invite me to their bible study, but my teacher juices were flowing and I had to say something.
I told them that the Didache, which was a pastoral manual and a catechism of sorts for the early Christians, allowed for the possibility of pouring water on a convert's head, if there's insufficient water to fully immerse the person. For instance, if you are in a desert, where there are no nearby rivers, streams, or lakes, it would be most prudent to baptize by pouring, so as not to delay baptism.
I also asked them, in a not-so-hypothetical situation, how they would respond to a person who is physically handicapped and would have a major discomfort, even pain, if the baptism were to be conducted by immersion. I had that happen to me. I discussed the options with the family, and we decided to put water in a basin and have the family members sprinkle water on him. It was a most memorable, intimate ceremony, and one that I strongly believe the Lord honors. Well...my guests replied that they would have to counsel with their superiors on this matter.
I'm done with legalism. I'm done with judgmentalism. I'm done with wanting to be right, than doing the right thing. I'm done with fanaticism to forms, rather than sticking to substance. Let's go with Christian freedom. Let's go with acceptance and love. Let's go with valuing our relationships more than having our own way.
Instead of highlighting our differences, let us think about the many things we Christians have in common, and we do have a lot. We love Jesus. We want to express worship to Him and love to others. We believe in baptizing believers. We believe in community we call church. My guests seemed to be somewhat perplexed by this concept. It is, as if, by doing this it somehow waters down the gospel or something. There's no other better gospel than Jesus pouring out His love for us through His death, relating in love to us through reconciliation and friendship, and expressing His love through us towards other people. Ironically, the one way this gospel can be watered down is by insisting you are right and others are wrong, and hurting relationships in so doing.
At the end of our conversation, they still invited me over to their bible study. I can't help but think they must be really wanting me to correct my error in beliefs. I wished them well and success for their study.
If there ought to be a distinctive for our church, it ought to be love. Love towards God and love towards other people, and it His love that enables us to do just that. We love because He first loved us.
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