The 9th characteristic of a healthy church might surprise you (or it may not). A healthy church reaches out to others in the body of Christ to minister together, share resources, learning opportunities and participates together in celebrations of worship.
Here's what I know. God is not exclusively the God of the Assemblies of God, or the Baptist, or the Methodists or the Catholics or non-denominational churches. We all serve the same God.
While each church and each denomination serves its own purpose and has its own direction from God, we are all called to work together as a unified family.
Territorialism must be abandoned.
Unity must be strived for.
Working together is the order of the day.
Could it be that we must focus in on what we do agree on instead of what we don't agree on?
What are some of the bullet points that we all agree on:
We agree that cultural pluralism is bad news for the church.
We agree that Christianity is not to be reduced to the level of a "me only" faith.
We agree that all religions are not the same.
We agree that tolerance and endorsement are not the same.
We agree that connecting with Christ is at the heart of the Christian faith.
Our unity is not only in relationship (and that is a huge step in and of itself) and common beliefs and practices, but in a mutual commitment to take a stand against the rising tide of pluralism in our culture.
What are some ways that we can accomplish this?
We can pray together.
We can pray for one another.
We can share resources.
As Jesus said, "May they (the church) be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." John 17:23
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