Denominations

A Church Divided Over Leaders

10 I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. 11 My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. 12 What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.”
13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so no one can say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

1 Corinthians 1:10-17


I read this passage a little while ago, and it struck me that we do this everyday.

Think, Denominations. First thing people ask when you say you're a Christian, and go to such and such a church is "What denomination is it?" they want to know if you are Lutheran, Wesleyan, Baptist, etc. But recently I've started hearing about people that consider themselves non-denominational. I kind of like that idea. We divide ourselves up and say, "I believe in the Bible, I believe in Jesus, but I don't believe that. I've heard of people that have disputes about their beliefs and what is better because one is this denomination and one is that denomination.

Is this what God wanted? For us to believe in Jesus, and argue with one another over weather Martin Luther or John Wesley more correct in his interpretation of the bible? I think even if we are all, say, Wesleyan, we are going to interpret things a little differently. God wants us to just love one another, and teach others about him. He doesn't want us to say, "I follow John Wesley" or "I follow Martin Luther" or "I follow so and so." No, He wants us to say "I follow Jesus." and leave it at that.

(Don't take this as me bashing on denominations completely. I still consider myself Wesleyan at this point and have some very close Lutheran friends. I'm just saying think about it. Why do you believe what you believe? Is it for the right reasons, or the wrong ones? If you disagree with my thoughts, I respect that. But please, comment.)

Hero

This song has really hit me today. We don't have to start big. We can start small and Make a big difference.


HERO (Red Pill Mix)


No one sits with him, he doesn’t fit in
But we feel like we do when we make fun of him
‘Cause you want to belong, do you go along?
‘Cause his pain is the price paid for you to belong
It’s not like you hate him or want him to die
But maybe he goes home and thinks suicide
Or he comes back to school with a gun at his side
Any kindness from you might have saved his life…

Heroes are made when you make a choice.

You could be a hero,
Heroes do what’s right
You could be a hero
You might save a life
You could be a hero, you could join the fight
For what’s right, for what’s right, for what’s right…

No one talks to her, she feels so alone
She’s in too much pain to survive on her own
The hurt she can’t handle overflows to a knife
She writes on her arm, wants to give up her life
Each day she goes on is a day that she’s brave
Fighting the lie that giving up is the way
Each moment of courage her own life she saves
When she throws the pills out a hero is made…

Heroes are made when you make a choice.

No one talks to him about how he lives
He thinks that the choices he makes are just his
Doesn’t know he’s a leader with the way he behaves
And others will follow the choices he’s made
He lives on the edge, he’s old enough to decide
His brother who wants to be him is just nine
He can do what he wants because it’s his right
The choices he makes change a nine-year-old’s life…

Heroes are made when you make a choice.

Little Mikey D was the one in class
Who every day got brutally harassed
This went on for years until he decided
That never again would he shed another tear
So he walked through the door
Grabbed the .44 out of his father’s dresser drawer
And said, “I can’t take life no more!”
And like that, life can be lost
But this ain’t even about that
All of us just sat back and watched it happen
Thinkin’, “It’s not my responsibility
To solve a problem that isn’t even about me.”
This is our problem
This is just one of them daily scenarios
In which we choose to close our eyes
Instead of doing the right thing
If we make a choice
To be the voice
For those who won’t speak up for themselves
How many lives would be saved, changed, rearranged?
Now it’s our time to pick a side
So don’t keep walking by, not wanting to intervene
‘Cause you just wanna exist and never be seen
So let’s wake up,
Change the world,
Our time is now…

~Lyrics and Music by Superchick

Watch a great fan video of it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VodcMOx_QHk