Denominational Gauntlet

"Teacher," said John, "we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us."
"Do not stop him," Jesus said. "No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us. I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward.”
-Mark 9:38-40 NIV

Last week, I was having a conversation with my mentor about this passage. It was so good and it has been sticking with me all week. She told me a story about an acquaintance of her that was seeking Christian counseling from someone that was not in our church or denominational circle. She had to struggle with her first reaction of disappointment that this person was not seeking the counseling from one of our church leaders. She knew it wasn’t right, but she saw the other counselor as not doing as good of job. She had to stop and remind herself that God is bigger then that and he does his work wherever he sees fit.

I think we Christians all have to fight that attitude at one point. We see “God’s work” being done by others and we can have this initial judgment of them not doing it right. In my past, I have literally run the “denominational gauntlet”. I was raised in a Pentecostal church, then moved to an Evangelical church, went to a Baptist church in college and now attend a reformed Presbyterian church. More and more, I believe that I am not yet finished either! I believe God has given me these experiences because he knows my natural sinful inclination to be closed minded about certain things. When I find myself hiding away in my little denomination niche and judging others, I have to remind myself that he has used each and every church I have attended to teach me and grow me in unique and mind-bending ways. It has broadened my view of God and makes me stand in awe of his true sovereign plan and his ability to use us in any way he sees fit. I just hope and pray that God continues to widen my focus and to grow bigger in my eyes…