Denominations...

Denominations...there are a lot of them in the Christian community.  Each has their own way of looking at the who, what, when and where stuff in the bible and the relationship between God, Jesus and man (and women of course!).

However, have you noticed that the really big churches are non-denominational?  Or is it just me?

Well I could be wrong and I don't really feel like doing the research, but the point I am getting at is this:  When Jesus did what he did so long ago, he took what was primarily a social function of religion and changed it to a personal function.  In doing so, he made it possible for anyone to be saved, not just the Jews.  The evidence is in both the growth and power of the early church.

Then something happened that really sucked.  The role of the church took on a political feature and became organized to the point that what was making the early church move and shake became drenched in ritual.  Of course, for those who may not clearly understand what I am talking about here, I am referring to the Catholic church.  Now, I am not going to bash the Church for this, everything happened a long time ago and what's done is done.

I am trying not to digress here, but my point is if we all are guided by the Holy Spirit, and all are believers, what is the point of different denominations?  Had we simply accepted variations in our beliefs, yet retained our Christianity as a unifying point, how much stronger would the Body of Christ be.  Instead we have people floating from church to church, finally accepting non-denominational churches for whatever reasons. 

What I am picking on (sort of) is the fact that we have had a full blown Reformation and failed to bring the church (the BODY of Christ, that is) back to the basics that were so wonderful in the beginning. So that leaves me wondering if we should have a church on every corner, or should we have communities built around a central structure used for all the purposes of the body of believers.  These centers could accommodate for worship services, social gatherings, outreach and other activities and services that a community might need.

Now I am getting a little personal here and too bad if you don't like it, but this might eliminate the division of the Body of Christ and at the same time allow for people to follow what God is placing in their hearts instead of dealing with condemnation from fellow believers.  However the only way that all this would work is if everyone involved accept that there will be different forms of worship and different levels of contribution to the activities, trusting that the Spirit is moving in all who are involved and leave it at that.  But I wonder how well that would actually fly in the face of reality and all those wonderful people out there that must have their drama?

Still it would be nice...