SOME TIME AGO I came upon a fellow on a trip who was carrying a Bible.
" Are you a believer?" I asked him.
" Yes," he said excitedly.
I've learned you can't be too careful.
" Virgin birth?" I asked.
" I accept it."
" Deity of Jesus?"
"No doubt".
" Death of Christ on the cross?"
" He died for all people."
Could it be that I was face to face with a Christian? Perhaps. Nonetheless, I continued my checklist.
" Status of man."
" Sinner in need of grace."
" Definition of grace."
" God doing for man what man can't do."
" Return of Christ?"
" Imminent."
" Bible?"
" Inspired."
" The church?"
" The Body of Christ."
I started getting excited. "Conservative or liberal?"
He was getting interested too. "Conservative."
My heart began to beat faster.
" Heritage?"
" Southern Congregationalist Holy Son of God Dispensationalist Triune Convention."
That was mine!
" Branch?"
" Pre-millennial, post-trib, noncharismatic, King James, one-cup communion."
My eyes misted. I had only one other question.
" Is your pulpit wooden or fiberglass?"
" Fiberglass," he responded.
I withdrew my hand and stiffened my neck. "Heretic!" I said and walked away.

* * *

Far-fetched? If so, only a little. Suspicion and distrust often lurk at God's table. The Baptists distrust the Methodists. The Church of Christ avoids the Presbyterians. The Calvinists scoff at the Armenians. Charasmatics. Immersionists. Patternists. Around the table the siblings squabble, and the Father sighs.

The Father sighs because he has a dream. "I have other sheep that are not in this flock, and I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock and one shepherd" (John 10:16).

God has only one flock. Somehow, we missed that. Religious division is not his idea. Franchises and sectarianism are not if God's plan. God has one flock. The flock has one shepherd. And though we may think there are many, we are wrong. There is only one.

Never in the Bible are we told to create unity. We are simply told to maintain the unity that exists. Paul exhorts us to preserve "the unity which the Spirit gives" (Ephesians. 4:3, NEB). Our task is not to invent unity, but to acknowledge it.

I have two sisters and a brother. We are siblings because we came from the same family. We have the same father and mother. I'm sure there have been times when they didn't want to call me their brother, but they don't have that choice.

Nor do we. When I see someone calling God Father and Jesus Savior, I meet a brother or a sister -- regardless of the name of their church or denomination.

By the way, the church names we banter about? They do not exist in heaven. The Book of Life does not list your denomination next to your name. Why? Because it is not the denomination that saves you. And I wonder, if there are no denominations in heaven, why do we have denominations on earth?

What would happen (I know this is a crazy thought), but what would happen if all churches agreed, on a given day, to change their names to simply "church"? What if any reference to any denomination were removed and we were all just Christians? And then when people chose which church to attend, they wouldn't do so by the sign outside ... they'd do so by the hearts of the people inside. And then when people were asked what church they attended their answer wouldn't be a label but just a location.

And then we Christians wouldn't be known for what divides us; instead we'd be known for what unites us -- our common Father.

Crazy idea? Perhaps.

But I think God would like it. It was his to begin with.

Excerpt taken from the book 'A Gentle Thunder' by Max Lucado. Published by Word Publishing. Used without permission.

Note from web page author:
I personally read this entire book and this chapter really spoke to me. When people ask me what religion I am, or if I fill out a form which asks, I do not put Baptist or Mennonite, I put Christian. I have been doing this for the last few years. Therefore, when I read this book recently, I had to share my thoughts about it with you. I pray that you would read this chapter, and the entire book and consider asking yourself this question... Are you a Christian, or a denomination???

IF YOU PLAN TO FLAME ME, PLEASE GO HERE FIRST.

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