The Same Mission

In Mark 9 the disciples approach Jesus and tattle on a man that was performing miracles in Jesus' name. He was not one of Jesus' disciples, so they expect Him to be a little upset about it, but instead He tells them it's not a big deal.

If we look at the Church today, we see a lot of different flocks of sheep being led in different ways by different dudes, but in the end, every Bible-centered church should have very close to the same mission. So whether you go to the Church of Christ, the Church on the Hill, or the Church of the Saint, we are all working together to bring glory to our Father. We may be under different leadership and we may be taught in different ways, but if the final product is leading people into a relationship with Christ... it doesn't matter what methods or teachings got the person there.

A couple years ago I went to dinner with a friend of mine who had almost gone into the priesthood and we started discussing the differences between my beliefs and his. Specifically, the Eucharist, and whether or not it truly transforms into Christ body when taken in communion. The Eucharist to him is a very important part of his worship because he believes that the connection he has with Christ is very great during that time because of the literal transformation of the elements as they are taken. It's important to me as well, but because I don't believe that the elements transform, some people of the Catholic faith would consider me to not be close to Christ because I am not taking Him into my body through the elements.

We talked a little more and I decided to see if we could agree on Jesus' greatest commandments and expectations for our ministry. We agreed that loving God with all we have and loving our neighbors as ourselves were important teachings, and also that our purpose was to spread the love and news of Christ to all people.

At the end of the day our beliefs on certain elements of the Christian faith may be very different, but we fight for the same cause. We share the same common goal. Someone that learns to love and forgive like Christ and gives their life to Him is accepted by Him whether they are taught by either one of us. As long as Christ and the power of the cross are taught in a Biblical way, He's going to be in the hearts and conversations of the people behind that Kingdom work.