October I had the privilege to attend an annual meeting for a denomination my church is connected with. This seemed odd as I’ve been non-denominational for 12 years. It’s freeing. Less drama. Can focus on the Gospel. But, not as many people to have your back when you need it or to celebrate with when you have something to praise God for. And then it hit me…

We leave people, not drama

There will be always be drama. It’s a feature designed by God for our growth and development. So many of us in the non-denom world love the freedom from the meetings and drama that ensues from them. Our congregants love it for the same reason. “We get to just focus on Jesus.” You know, the Jesus whose prayer for us is that we would be one as he and the father are one. And that’s what hit me, we don’t leave drama, we leave people whom Jesus loves, redeemed, and wants us to be one with. I had a problem. 

Pay raise dispute

The members of our convention didn’t like the idea of no cost of living increases for top staff. Why? Because they were the ones who have our back. Who care for us. Who ask us tough questions. Who wipe away tears and push us to get back on the saddle. Reality of inflation and all has hit church finances hard. If income is good, those great men can be given a bonus. Crisis averted. But it dawned on me, without them lots of pastors would be in the weeds, and their churches along with them. It’s not about the money, it’s about the relationship. People were metaphorically fighting for the relationship. Annoying and awkward meeting, yes. Worth it? Absolutely Some of those men helped me. 

The others no longer homeless

I bumped into a few other pastors who are new to this thing called SBC. We don’t speak the language yet and didn’t have the T-shirt. (Well, we do now as we have a churches planting churches one.) I asked them what kind of church they were before, all the same, non-denom. We all agreed the drama was a small price to pay for godly men to have your back. Duh, I thought. It’s always about the people. 

Jesus cares about unity

The SBC world is known for its fights. A big reason I avoided such. But they’re in there shoveling the ox left overs so people can know and grow in Jesus. A healthy church isn’t drama free. Drama is a feature, not an error. It means working through things so we can be more like Jesus. It’s Jesus who unites us, and his prayer heart throb is for us to be one. It’s really a big deal, not an after thought. Drama is an assignment from God to be embraced, not avoided. 

Repented and Refreshed

My attitude about going to this meeting stunk. My attitude leaving the meeting was one of gratitude. Church Forward is part of my one big happy dysfunctional family we call church. Why? Because given all their and my quirks, we love Jesus and care deeply about the Bible he gave us. We love the Bible. We love seeing people changed by the Spirit. We love that Jesus rose victorious for us. We are not perfect, but Jesus died for us anyway. 

Right or wrong?

I am not weighing in if non-denom is right or wrong. I am saying much of what drives the non-denom mindset is sin. It violates Jesus commands of love and his prayer for unity. I was spiritually lazy or apathetic because of the drama. I sinned.  Truth be told, we need one another. And with that comes drama. And with that comes Christ likeness. And with that comes something to sing about. I cannot say I love Jesus and write off my denominational family. A friend asked why Christians divide so much? He made a good point. I don’t love the drama, meetings annoy me, but I love the people Jesus died for. They’re family. I love them. Not perfect, but neither am I. SBC is a force for good.