[CS-FSLUG] A couple of thoughts on denominations

[Ed Hurst]

Don Parris wrote:
> While I would disagree with the Lutherans on transubstantiation, I
> also consider myself very much united with them "in Christ".  I tend
> to be a bit more open than you, Ed, probably because of my upbringing.
>  The Christian Church, Disciples of Christ, started out as an attempt
> to "not be a denomination", but a movement to break down
> denominational walls.  My understanding is that a Presbyterian and a
> Methodist started the whole thing.  Their creed is "no creed but
> Christ".  But they didn't throw out the baby with the bathwater,
> either.
> 
> I'm not a part of that denomination now, mainly due to God's calling on my life.

God's calling is precisely the one reason you can give for that.

I was brought up to give folks as much room as they needed to be 
themselves, and work with anyone I could. I've been excluded from a 
half-dozen churches, actually kicked out of two. I've fled at least that 
many. The NATO chapel in the Netherlands was pretty decent, because they 
were tolerant of varied convictions.

Opinions we hold; convictions hold us. They concern things eternal. They 
matter on the ultimate level. If I am wrong on convictions, I am in deep 
trouble, and there is no hope for me, because only God Himself can 
change them.

When I fled a church, it was usually because they demanded I stop doing 
something I was called by God to do. For example, one church demanded I 
stop getting down in the floor and playing with the little kids. Another 
told me I must stop "frightening" the teenagers by directly challenging 
their popular silly notions about life.

Sometimes it was because I dared to teach a conviction. Example: for 
many years, I was eclectic about Bible translations. Then, over the past 
decade, after a lot of study, I was forced to conclude that the KJV and 
NKJV were closer to the orignials. I never once considered any 
"enforcement" of that on others, just dared to teach it.

My personal conversion experience taught me that I could not possibly 
have chosen God; He chose me. I didn't save me, and I'm certain I can't 
lose me. Folks at the NATO chapel with different convictions understood 
that, and went on. OTOH, one church told me I could never, ever teach 
again inside their walls.

This ignores all the silly things like how I dress, or something equally 
superficial. I have a medical condition on my skin, so I refuse to shave 
for anybody. Three churches excluded me. I don't own a suit, because I'm 
extremely hard to fit, and it costs an obscene amount; off-the-rack 
doesn't exist for this body and this budget. God only knows how many 
choked on that.

Organized religion remains a circus. When you get away from 
institutional religion, things are pretty smooth. I fellowship all sorts 
of folks, because that's what matters. As soon as someone attempts to 
organize the activity, rules *must* appear or we can't call it 
"organization." I am always one of the first to suffer from rules. You 
won't see me begging for more rules. My calling is to the oddballs and 
nut cases, the weirdos and flakes. By no means do I present myself as 
any of those things, at least not consciously.

For now, Southern Baptists tolerate me. They ordained me 20 years ago. 
No other group wants me, as far as I know. I assure I've checked often. 
There is a known quantity of issues that confront me in SBC 
congregations, for the most part. I am called by God to change location 
from time to time, and if I had to start from scratch with each location 
because there are no usable labels to save me time, I'd probably suffer 
several false starts after each move. The Lord does not habitually point 
me to this or that place of worship. I check the SBCs firsts, or the 
closest thing in a given area. If they make me feel unwelcome, I have a 
mental list of other labels I can check, because I know what is likely 
under each one.

Without those handy labels, I might waste a year or more looking for a 
congregation that can tolerate me, because the process of meaningful 
acquaintance is rather slow. Because there are labels, I have a chance 
to begin serving rather quickly. I cannot possibly consider simply 
attending without actively leading sometime soon. Passive membership 
would be unfaithfulness to my calling.

-- 
Ed Hurst
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