Worship Should Never Divide Us

I attended mass the other morning. I know, WHAT?! Our youngest was doing the morning prayer and I definitely wanted to support him on this important day. He and I have had some chats about things like why we don't attend a Catholic church and why I don't talk to saints; but immediately upon leaving the church, I began researching some other Catholic doctrines. If he's going to attend Catholic school for the next few years (which seems to be the case), and if he's the type of child who doesn't miss a thing (which is definitely the case), I need to get my ducks in a row when it comes to the whys. And maybe, if possible, attend mass now and then. Religion is a big part of our young man's life. Prior to his coming to be with us, he had been in, at least, one Christian home. He had attended Protestant services and participated in activities run by Protestant organizations. I am certain he was not placed there or with us by chance. And given everything he has been through in his tumultuous life, knowing he was created by an omniscient and loving God, born for a purpose, and redeem to an eternal life, is critical to creating an environment in which he can now thrive. (That's actually true of all of us, no matter how stable our upbringing.)

The various denominations associated with Protestantism have varying degrees of formality. Some perform the oldest of hymns and liturgies, some serve coffee in the foyer and welcome shorts and flip-flops, some allow for open testimony and spontaneous worship, while others carefully vet prophetic speakers and call people by their various titles within the congregation. Styles, nothing more, and certainly not reason for splits and arguments. So, explaining now to our youngest why we worship as we do and ensuring our style is beneficial to his spiritual growth is important. What else is important, is showing a united front. To pontificate on what we believe in contrast to what he is being taught in school could not only make for some embarrassing encounters at parent-teacher conferences, but it extinguishes the opportunity to experience how others worship our Savior. Watching this young man throughout the past year, I have noticed how important structure is to him. It just may be that a more liturgical means of worship does more for his spiritual engagement.

I say all of this because I grew up within a denomination. I went to a school that was structured in the teachings of another denomination. I was even led to believe, from time to time, that one denomination was "better" or "more saved" than another. What a thoroughly anti-Christ perspective! What an abomination within the body of Christ! If there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, if we are all one in Christ Jesus, (Galatians 3:28); if there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all (Ephesians 4:4-6); if this is true of all who believe, what are we doing passing judgment on one another? If the fruit of the Holy Spirit is present in an individual, does it matter if they stand or sit, sprinkle or dunk? Likewise, I fear there are too many sitting within good Bible-believing, Gospel-preaching churches who are not truly part of the body; they are not children of God. What bearing does transubstantiation or belief in the rapture have on that issue? Did Jesus ever intend His disciples to be divided over such things?  

To be clear, examine everything you hear from the pulpit. Examine the whys when it comes to traditions and liturgies. Use the Scriptures as your guidepost. Do not be casual about what you believe and why you believe it, and do not be casual about the truth. But when it comes to how folks worship, we need to be very careful how willing we are to be divisive in our assessment. Are we willing to acknowledge the many methods of worship in the body of Christ and discern the hearts of the faithful?