Faithful

Let no debt remain outstanding except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. [Romans 13:8] Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. [Romans 14:1, 4] For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. [Romans 14:7, 8] We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.” For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. [ Romans 15:1-7]

One of the difficulties I’ve been facing here in Uganda is trying to explain my denominational background. The majority of Christians here are Catholic, followed by Protestant or Anglican. There is also reference here to “Born-Again” churches, which seem to have a slight bad connotation associated, at least as far as Catholics and Protestants are concerned. “Born-Again” worship services that I’ve ridden past seem to be more charismatic in nature, and are said to be more about getting people’s money than anything else. I still have some uncertainty about trying to understand it all.

As I begin explaining to people that I’m not Catholic, I usually hear a response similar to, “Oh, so you are a Protestant?” I reply with a response along the lines of, “Well, sort of. I believe my church denomination comes out of the Protestant Reformation.” Beyond that, any further explanation I could offer would most likely just turn out to be a complicated mess. I sometimes try to explain that I used to attend a Baptist church, as there are some Baptist churches here.

But how do I explain my personal history of being “churched?” That as an infant and toddler, my family attended a United Methodist church…then began going to a United Church of Christ, which ended up breaking away from the United Church of Christ denomination (then, technically, making it a reformed church)…then, during university studies I attended an Assembly of God Church which is Pentecostal in nature…then, attended an American Baptist church…and most recently, attending an instrumental Church of Christ/Christian Church?

I’ve tried giving a response that a mentor of mine is known to give: “I’m a Christian.”

“But what kind of a Christian?”

“A Christian, Christian.”

“No, but exactly what kind of a Christian? What is your denomination?”

“I’m a CHRISTIAN. I believe in the teachings of Jesus. That he is Savior, Messiah. I believe in the virgin birth. I believe in God the Father, Almighty. And the power of the Holy Spirit.” Still, that response never seems to be good enough or acceptable enough.

The best I can sometimes explain is to just say “Faithful.” I like to believe I am faithful to my God Almighty. Creator of the universe and everything within it. The one who grants mercy and forgiveness. The one who grants me strength and wisdom. The one who allows me to struggle from time to time so that I may learn the greatest meaning and importance of value, of virtue. The one who sent his only son as Savior for me and everyone else. The one whose Holy Spirit guides me in the ways of wisdom, patience, and understanding. The one who gives me confidence to speak out against what is wrong and not pursue evil things that can be so tempting.

Faithful. [Some days are better than others.]

It can frustrate me when my response does not seem good enough for man, so I try to remind myself of the above Scripture. Don’t lose sight of what’s important. Obey the greatest commandment: L-O-V-E.

So many denominations. So overwhelming to try to understand why. Jesus wasn’t Catholic. Jesus wasn’t Methodist. Jesus wasn’t Protestant. Jesus wasn’t American Baptist. Jesus wasn’t United Church of Christ. Jesus wasn’t Assembly of God. Jesus wasn’t a “Born-Again.” Jesus was Jewish. No wonder so many people don’t believe in Christianity. Somehow we’ve managed to screw up the greatest commandment. We fail insight from Scripture, such as the writings of the apostle Paul.

I pray for friends here and back in the states who believe that God is real. That God exists. But they refuse to go to church. Church is too corrupt. Churches just want money. Church leaders just want high status. Ministry leaders argue among themselves, or behind each other’s backs. I can’t say that I blame them for thinking these things, or for not wanting to go to church. But I pray that someday “church” is no longer seen as an institution. That it can be valued as a living body as it was intended (1 Corinthians 12:12 – 13:13). That worship service is not just a man-made mandate as a weekly opportunity to collect our money or publicly proclaim our struggles as petitions to God. But that a weekly worship service can be a social expression of our appreciation of God Almighty…TO God Almighty. That we can actually be encouraged by one another by worshipping alongside one another, rather than bored to tears listening to God’s message being preached only hearing what may sound like “Blah, blah, blah.”

I pray for my friends and the people who will be God’s messengers to reach their hearts. I pray that God will find them faithful.