I am so thankful for the teachers that I sat under during my seminary training and the understanding, that I believe, of how the Body of Christ (The Church Universal) should function in this world. The respect and acceptance of the various “streams” in the Church, that should work together to accomplish our different purposes in His Body.
This understanding made it much easier to minister to all of the different people that God brought into my life as a Hospital Chaplain, who had different theological backgrounds in their Churches.
I want to share that understanding in order help some people to stop judging our differences and to embrace our “essential doctrine” that we do share, which is our Salvation through Jesus Christ. All other doctrines can be debated and can be argued over, but the essential doctrine is what binds us together.
Each “stream” has truth in it and each one has its own purpose.
There have historically been 3 different steams in the Church Universal. The first is the Evangelical, the second is the Charismatic, and the third is the Liturgical.
Evangelical Churches are the Baptists, Methodist, Presbyterian type Churches. They are the ones that focus mainly on the works of Jesus in the God Head. Without these churches most of us wouldn’t have been saved to begin with. They teach about our need for salvation through the perfect sacrifice of Jesus. They focus on Missionary works, and spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Charismatic Churches are the Non Denominational, Church of God, Holiness types of Churches. They too spread the gospel of Jesus but they focus much of their teaching on the works of the Holy Spirit in the God Head. They often emphasize the gifts of The Spirit, such as healing, speaking in tongues, laying on of hands in prayer, etc. They intercede in prayer for the Body and bring to the Church Universal a greater understanding of the power of prayer and spiritual growth through the workings of the Holy Spirit.
The Liturgical Churches are the Lutheran, Episcopal and the Catholic type Churches. These Churches emphasize the reverence towards the Father in the God Head. They are the ones who follow feasts and the liturgy during their services. They are Holy in their Reverence and can be great teachers of the Word, as they follow the liturgy every week.
Every Church is unique and some pull together all three streams but as a general rule, most Churches tend to emphasize one favored stream.
There are good and bad churches in each of these streams but for the most part, they each have a purpose and when the good of each stream is combined and respected, they can work together in a positive way to bring balance for the whole Body of Christ. A person who can learn from all three, while holding firm to the essential doctrine of Salvation, will have a much more balanced walk with God!
The Evangelical emphasizes the Son!
The Charismatic emphasizes the Holy Spirit!
The Liturgical emphasizes the Father!
They are like the three legs on a stool. It’s difficult to have balance with only one or two legs! When you have all three you’re more stable.
I was raised Evangelical and Charismatic. It wasn’t until I began to understand the Holy reverence and the complete love of my Heavenly Father, did my faith become fuller and deeper.
If you were raised in one particular stream, I encourage you to open yourself up to explore the good in the other streams as well. Certainly try not to judge and diminish the value of the differences. Yes, there is good and bad in each but focus on the good, for we are One Body, with different functions, but we have the same ultimate goal. To love God and to love Others! All Others! Even Others in different parts of the Body.
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