It's hard to dance when you're marching lock step

Several people from Chloe's family have already reported to me that you keep arguing with each other. They have said that some of you claim to follow me, while others claim to follow Apollos or Peter or Christ. Has Christ been divided up? Was I nailed to a cross for you? Were you baptized in my name? - 1 Corinthians 1:11-13
The church is divided. It always has been, to some extent, even in the earliest days. I think one of the problems, maybe one of the prime problems, is education.

Actually, it's lack of education.

I think we Sunday school teachers often imagine that we are molding you into our image, theologically at least. Especially when it comes to teenagers, we want you to make the decisions we made, or the ones we wish we made. We have the best of intentions, but we do the church no good. We end up making camps.

For example, I think it is theologically NECESSARY (and Biblically mandated) that we ordain and install women as elders and ministers. The Sunday school teacher down the way (let's call him Jack) thinks that obedience to Christ means that women should not under any circumstance be ordained or installed as elders or ministers. Jack teaches his kids his side of the story, and if I'm not very careful, I end up teaching you only mine. We make you disciples of Jack or disciples of Tim, or, if we're really full of ourselves, we tell you that when you are a disciple of Jack or Tim, that you're really a disciple of Christ.

But you see, I didn't die for you, and even if I did, my death wouldn't save you. And I'm sure Jack's a nice guy, but he didn't die for his students either, and even if he did, his death wouldn't save them either.

It has been the history of the church to confuse "education" and "indoctrination." The difference is enormous: Indoctrination creates minions; education creates apostles (meaning one who is "sent out"). Education attempts to give you the best tools you can get to make up your own mind, hear the Holy Spirit in your own feelings and thoughts, even if they disagree with mine. Indoctrination simply bludgeons you with my ideas at the expense of your own.

Indoctrination tends to gather big crowds. Lots of people want to be told what to believe, and don't want the responsibility God gave them to carry Christ's blood in their own hearts. Superficially, things are easier when everybody believes the same thing.

The problem is, that no minister has ever died for your sins. You were not baptized in the name of any minister or Sunday school teacher or seminary professor. The Christ of the Bible often, even usually, challenges us and commands us to live with, work with, listen to, and even love people who do not agree with us, who do not act as we act, who do not care about what we care about. We need to be humble about our own theology, no matter how convincing it might be to us. We need to open our hearts, because we just might learn something.

There are many who think that folks like me are too "liberal" to be a serious Christian. There are many who think that folks like me are too "conservative" to be a serious Christian. There will probably be folks who think the same about you.

Don't let these goofballs deter you from being the apostle of Christ you are called to be. You're too well educated for that.

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