When it comes to the gospel and scattering the seeds of God’s love, grace and message of salvation, we have an enemy. The problem is, we often think that enemy is the church across town or across the street. Too many Christian churches and ministries feel a sense of competition with other Bible-believing and Jesus-loving congregations. We forget that our battle is not against flesh and blood, but spiritual forces in the heavenly places (Eph. 6:12).
The only way we will move forward as a powerful force for the gospel in our world is together. When I say together, I mean all believers in Jesus praying, serving and reaching out in partnership. This does not mean tossing out denominational- or church-distinctive or stylistic preferences. There is something beautiful about the diverse styles and unique characteristics of different churches. We should not lose this. But we are family. We are the body of Christ. We are still one church.
I grew up in a loving, relatively healthy, pagan home. I had no meaningful connection with any church until I was almost 16 years old. But when I became a follower of Jesus, I was amazed at the beauty of the local church. I was also captured by the idea that God could change this world if churches would stand together rather than nitpick and quibble with each other. As the years have passed, my conviction that we need to scatter the seed of the gospel in partnership with other believers in Jesus continues to deepen and grow. Here are some ideas to help us walk this road together. Read More
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