My church is McDonalds and yours is Burger King
I've been teaching the Wednesday night youth group for a couple of weeks now and this week we're having a discussion on the different Christian denominations. It is interesting to note that I grew up in a non-denominational church and worked for six years in an inter-denominational Christian school. I must admit I have been somewhat anti-denomination for most of my adult life because I have seen so many instances of denominations being divisive to the Body of Christ.
It occurred to me as I was preparing for this week's lesson, though, that denominations are really just a way to classify churches and make them somewhat standardized. You're probably thinking "Uh, no duh..." I decided that denominations are really no different than franchises. If I go to McDonalds in St. Louis my hamburger will taste just the same as it would at a McDonalds in Orlando or London or Tokyo. But my McD's burger won't taste anything like a hamburger at the Burger King franchise in any of those cities. The people who work at the counter at the McDonald's in Tokyo may behave differently than those at my neighborhood McD's in Missouri, but I can rest assured that the food itself will be predictable. I can relax in the knowledge that if the signs says "McDonalds" the food I order will be what I expect.
The same is (mostly) true of denominations. If I go into a Southern Baptist Church while on vacation in Seattle or Honolulu, I can reasonably predict they will teach the same basic doctrine as the Southern Baptist Church down the street from my house. That's not to say, however, that my experience in Honolulu or Seattle won't feel different than my local church. Local customs will drive the behavior of the people I meet there, but I can rest assured that the doctrine I hear should line up with what I expect. Same goes for United Methodist, Evangelical Free Church of America, or any other of Baskin Robbins 31 flavors of churches out there.
It occurred to me as I was preparing for this week's lesson, though, that denominations are really just a way to classify churches and make them somewhat standardized. You're probably thinking "Uh, no duh..." I decided that denominations are really no different than franchises. If I go to McDonalds in St. Louis my hamburger will taste just the same as it would at a McDonalds in Orlando or London or Tokyo. But my McD's burger won't taste anything like a hamburger at the Burger King franchise in any of those cities. The people who work at the counter at the McDonald's in Tokyo may behave differently than those at my neighborhood McD's in Missouri, but I can rest assured that the food itself will be predictable. I can relax in the knowledge that if the signs says "McDonalds" the food I order will be what I expect.
The same is (mostly) true of denominations. If I go into a Southern Baptist Church while on vacation in Seattle or Honolulu, I can reasonably predict they will teach the same basic doctrine as the Southern Baptist Church down the street from my house. That's not to say, however, that my experience in Honolulu or Seattle won't feel different than my local church. Local customs will drive the behavior of the people I meet there, but I can rest assured that the doctrine I hear should line up with what I expect. Same goes for United Methodist, Evangelical Free Church of America, or any other of Baskin Robbins 31 flavors of churches out there.
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