Twigs
Every church on the planet has twigs of doctrine, ideas formulated since Jesus and the Apostles walked this earth. Whether these ideas were formulated by various church councils, ancient or modern cultures, Protestant Reformers, or popular fads, they must be placed a distant second to New Testament teachings. The problem is that these twigs of doctrine too often become idols which should be discarded entirely, because they block out the Sun of Righteousness, Jesus (Malachi 4:2), or take the focus away from the teachings of Jesus (Matthew 28:20). I dream of a church that would smash the idols of vain traditions and focus so much on the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles, that 2,000 years of doctrinal twigs will fade into insignificance.
Tolerance vs Coercion
One area of frustration for the biblical Christian is the lack of tolerance towards those who actually believe the Bible. How many Christians keep their mouths shut about certain twigs of doctrine that discomfort their faith? How many feel they will be coerced to believe something that neither Jesus nor the Apostles taught if they dare reveal their deepest faith? I dream of a church where the trunk of the tree, the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles, is emphasized, not the twigs, and that tolerance for individual faith within those biblical guidelines is encouraged.
Trunk
Every orthodox (right teaching) church on the planet teaches the essential trunk of the tree doctrines of the faith. If we listen to a sermon by a Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, or Protestant which expounds the Gospels, they sound very similar. The differences will be when people toot their own denominational horn, or spew out their bigotry against one or the other because of disagreements over a plethora of twigs of doctrine. However, the trunk is amazingly the same in all churches, cults excepted. I dream of a church that focuses on the trunk of the tree and lets the twigs fall off and die without lifegiving sap.
Jesus
For 2000 years Jesus has built His Church. It has been far from perfect, not because Jesus failed, but because He is filled with grace towards His often very weak and sinful people. We are not saints, holy people because we are perfect, but because we have asked for and received God’s forgiveness. Let’s not be naïve in thinking that we will begin a new church and succeed where our forebears have failed. We too will introduce silly ideas and faulty theology. I dream of a church where this sifting largely succeeds.
What about those who sincerely desired to go back to the faith once delivered, but ended up introducing 19th century legalism and modern liberalism that neither Jesus nor the Apostles taught? How can we be so arrogant to believe that we will not fail in some similar manner. While the goal remains, so too will we fail at some things. I dream of a church that contends “earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3 NKJV) and eagerly repents of anything that does not fit that description.
On another note, we need to learn the difference between description and prescription. Descriptions of events are not always a prescription as to how we should do things. We must be careful not to discount God’s inspiration or God-given freedom to choose between right alternatives. For instance, Jesus was circumcised, kept Sabbath, walked everywhere and was unmarried. That is a description but not a prescription, because none of that is a command for the church. I dream of a church that encourages freedom of conscience in areas not commanded by Jesus or the Apostles.
Let’s learn to distinguish between clear commands, inspired activity, freedom of choice and church sins. We could also ask ourselves when something was Holy Spirit inspired, whether or not God means that we should always do things that way. So, let’s ask God for discernment in this process, and please feel free to agreeably disagree with this presentation. It is not the infallible word of God, but a contribution to an ongoing discussion. I dream of a church that openly encourages grace in non-essentials.
Jesus said that He will build His church (Matthew 16:18). So, we are not alone. We build with Jesus. Do we build our part on rock or sand (Matthew 7:24-29)? Do we build on another man’s foundation (Romans 15:20)? Like wise master builders (1 Corinthians 3:10) do we use gold, silver and precious stones or wood, hay and stubble (1 Corinthians 3:12)? I dream of a church that does not again build some kind of legalistic bondage like that of religious leaders which Jesus confronted, but exercises the liberty which we have in Christ Jesus (Galatians 2:4, 18-19).
I dream of building a church with Jesus. What would that look like? None of us can wait until we and our theology are perfect, or we will miss the boat. We are all mere human beings trying as best we can, and though we take their advice onboard, we don’t build on fallible ancient fathers, equally faulty Reformation leaders, or questionable modern fads. We build on the original foundation found in the Bible alone, “the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.” (Ephesians 2:20 CEB). It may sound cliché but I dream of a church where the Bible is our guide.
What will we build upon that foundation? Will we always build perfectly or sometimes wrongly and have to fix mistakes? Repentance is supposed to be lifelong. If we are not willing to change some things in 20, 40 or 60 years as we grow in grace and knowledge, we will just turn into modern Pharisees and Sadducees protecting our own vain traditions. Will we build with precious fireproof materials or cheap flammable materials? (1 Corinthians 3:12-13) I dream of a church that honors God by building, as best as humans can, with such precious materials that they will not burn up in times of fiery trial.
