On Thursday, I met with three people over breakfast. They were all from churches in Oakville but all different denominations: Christian Reformed Church (CRC), Pentecostal, and Anglican. Myself and one other were from the United Church. We were all there as people who work with children, youth, and families in our churches.
It's not often that I have a chance to rub shoulders with people from other denominations. Mostly, we tend to stick to our own "kind." The unfortunate fact is that most churches view other churches with suspicion. When it comes to other churches within one denomination, there is some cooperation, but there is also competitiveness, mostly around the numbers of people, numbers of children, financial successes, etc. When it comes to working with other denominations (other Christian churches that are not part of the United Church), we tend to get suspicious about their theology and structure. The minister's qualifications are questioned, political suspicions are aroused around a denomination being conservative, liberal, or progressive, and theology is highly under suspicion when it comes to how the bible is read, how the death of Jesus is interpreted, how we evangelize and do mission, and how we talk about God.
All this being said, when I sat around that table, with people from denominations very different from my own, it felt like we all had the same common goals. In talking about our children's programs, we all wanted to provide a safe and inclusive space for children where they can feel loved and accepted, teach them about Jesus and how we are the hands and feet of Christ to the world, and to let them know that God loves them no matter what. When it comes right down to it, I think this is what all Christians want to do.
When we work together, we can learn from one another. The United Church tends to be a church that focuses on the mind. We want our ministers to have MDivs, we want strong preaching and bible studies, and we tend to be highly attuned to words, interpretation, exegesis, and hermeneutics. I think this might be true of many mainline denominations (Presbyterian, Methodist, etc.) I think we also tend to focus on the life of Jesus, rather than his death and resurrection.
Other churches that are more pentecostal or evangelical, tend to focus on the heart. Rituals, music, and small groups tend to be inspirational and moving. There is less focus what is being said than in how it is said, how it can move you and inspire you. These churches focus on how the death of Jesus affects people and the power behind his sacrifice on the cross.
These are generalizations, of course, but I have heard people who attend mainline denominations criticize it's traditionalist worship and hymns and preaching that seemed designed to instil boredom and from others attending more pentecostal churches that the preaching doesn't go deep enough or they are only hearing concepts that focus on the individual's own salvation and Jesus' death rather than his ministry.
How might we be stronger and inspire more people if we were focusing on both the mind and the heart? What change might occur if there were more sharing and more cooperation between denominations?
Jesus said, "Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all." (Mark 10:15) Maybe we need to start listening to those people who work with our children. How might the church look if we paid more attention to our young people and those who work with them? In my own experience in the United Church, it's the children's workers who are the first to go when finances get tight, and the last to be heard when making changes and visioning a future.
I am looking forward to doing more work with people from other churches in Oakville. I have a vision of more partnership between churches, more cooperation in our programs, more sharing in what we do. Maybe, in our work with the children of Oakville, we can bring a little of the kingdom of God to the here and now.
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