What if every Catholic isn't going to hell? What if Southern Baptist churches allow women to have a voice of conviction and truth? What if all Pentecostals don't pass around snakes? What if Presbyterians aren't cold and heartless, and instead, they find grace in predestination theology?
I was born and bred in the deep traditions of a Georgia Southern Baptist culture—not First Baptist or Second Baptist, but Southern Baptist. This denomination offers the South's best hospitality with warm greetings from deacons and the stern prodding of older church ladies who believe it's a sin if you don't stay after church and try their fried chicken. Yet, in my Southern Baptist church, women weren't allowed to do much more than cook... except to lead children's activities.
In fact, if I had questions about how the church was spending the money I tithed, I couldn't ask. It wasn't a woman's place to speak in church. By their standards, I must make my concerns known to a man and allow him to address my issues to church leaders.
I was led to believe that my voice didn't matter as much as a man's, that God only allowed men to make bold moves for the Gospel. Yet, the more I grew, the deeper I studied the nature of God, the more I questioned the concept that women were meant to keep quiet. Needless to say, at twenty-three years old, I left the Southern Baptist church.
However, this doesn't mean every Southern Baptist church functions as my childhood church did. Like any organization or business, leaders can stray away from the original purpose and mission of the group. After years of feeling fury towards the Southern Baptist church, humility has caught up with me. The Holy Spirit has nudged me into the truth that flawed people will flaw beautiful systems. Though leadership was more dogmatic in that little brick-and-mortar church I grew up in, it's unfair and cruel to make assumptions regarding all Southern Baptist churches and their members.
Leaving bitterness behind, I'm led to ask: what are the true doctrines of a healthy, God-glorifying Southern Baptist church?
On the flipside of denominations, I married a man whose family comes from New York City (Brooklyn and the Bronx to be exact). In their urban region of the United States, most people were either Jewish or Roman Catholic. My husband's family the latter. Their Sunday practices mirror nothing of my Southern Baptist culture. In fact, I was told countless times growing up that "all Catholics were going to hell," so am I equally yoked? This man, my husband, embodies Christ's love, loyalty, and sacrifice better than any man I have ever met, but could he still not know the very God he humbly imitates simply because he was raised Catholic?
Leaving stereotypes and judgments behind, I'm led to ask: what are the true doctrines of a healthy, God-glorifying Catholic church?
My husband and I now attend a Non-denominational church. It seems we met right in the middle of our family's traditional church cultures, and yet, we have both found God's presence loud and clear.
Perhaps you are like me, letting go of a past that centers on unhealthy church practices, or maybe you've caught wind of assumptions regarding another denomination and treat them as lepers. Maybe you don't judge by means of ill-will, but has it ever been our place to discern the eternal home of a man's soul? After all:
What if every Catholic isn't going to hell?
What if Southern Baptist churches allow women to have a voice of conviction and truth?
What if all Pentecostals don't pass around snakes?
What if Presbyterians aren't cold and heartless, and instead, they find grace in predestination theology?
What if we understood their root of worship, the reason they show up to their church each Sunday? After all, we all show up for Jesus, and I'm not sure there's anything on earth more grounding and unifying than that.
Over the next several days, we will dive into a new series: Two Truths and a Lie. We have a phenomenal team of writers with experience in these church cultures, whether they were raised in them, joined them later in life, or are leading them as pastors. They will highlight two truths about their denomination and debunk one lie, typically a misconception that causes judgment, harsh accusations, and divisiveness.
I pray you will consider this series as an avenue to better understand other believers. This series isn't meant to instill fear that you are in the wrong denomination. Instead, it allows you to see the different, enriching ways others worship God.
Though Southern Baptists and Non-denominationals don't practice Lent, I implement this practice into my Easter preparation and find it to be a rewarding sacrifice that draws me closer to the meaning of God's gift of salvation.
While I don't pray to church saints, my Green Orthodox friend taught me the importance of understanding the stories of these saints, recognizing their wild, desperate pursuit of God's holiness above all else. Now, each St. Patrick's Day, I'm less focused on wearing green, and instead, I actively recall the bravery of St. Patrick and his determination to bring the Gospel to Ireland—despite blood-thirsty Vikings always on his heels.
We can't limit a limitless God to our confined, finite understanding of worship and faith-based practice. If we assume our denomination has all of the Bible's biggest mysteries solved and lived out, we are blindly mistaken. Worse, we are practicing unrecognized idolatry, worshipping our "rightness" over another believer's "wrongness."
Heaven forbid Catholics drink real wine at Communion... while I sing the lyrics to every Luke Bryan song about drinking beer on my way home from my grape-juice church.
How dare that "progressive church" let her come to worship service dressed like that... when Jesus stopped the religious crowds in the streets to save the soul of a naked adultress.
Per our usual sin nature, we have a knack for blurring our wants with God's requirements. It's easier to avoid the conviction that way, no? The more I'm convinced I am right, the less room I create to allow the Holy Spirit to chip at the hard parts of my heart.
Yet, here's the harder truth: we can duck and dodge our God-given calling to love others who worship differently than us. We can avoid dropping all pride to find joy and contentment in discovering a variety of ways to honor God on this earth. Or, we can owe God a hefty explanation for our harshness once we leave this earth... and still be ushered into heaven filled with people who don't worship like us.
And guess what?
In heaven, there's only one church: the church of those who adore Christ.
So if you aren't sure you're a fan of Southern Baptists, or you can't wrap your head around the notion that not all Catholics are going to hell, or maybe you believe Non-denominations are too lazy and wishy-washy to take a stand on anything, this series is for you.
This series is for me.
This series is for each of us because, like it or not, our sin nature wires us to break into factions and groupies that support our views and condemn others who disagree.
Let's take the next few days to deny judgment and embrace the truth that Christ's ultimate command for the Church was to love Him, then love others, with our whole hearts.
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