There's an old playground game that is popular with kids. A game that as a smaller kid, quite frankly, terrified me. "Red Rover, Red Rover, Send (insert name here) Right Over." and then someone would come barreling your way, and you would lock arms as tightly as possible with the person to the right or left of you, in hopes to keep them from breaking the grip.
I'm a little concerned at the lack of Red Rover the church seems to be playing today. See that game held onto a scientific and spiritual truth. (Yep, I combined the two.)The fact that if you grip something tight enough and create a barrier, the force of the barrier could actually keep out the thing that was barreling at you. Occassionally, someone would have enough momentum to actually break the barrier...then you would rearrange, reassess the line; create a stronger barrier, and try again.
"I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build MY church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it." Matthew 16:18, NASB (bold and underline added)
After asking Peter who HE thought that He (Jesus) was...and Peter proclaimed who He was, Jesus made this statement. He asserted His dominance and sacrifice for something He believes the greatest hope for...the church. Not the institution of the church, but the Kingdom of the church! There's a difference.
We have so institutionalized the church, that we are now divided against each other with the hope of adding more credibility to our denomination than the denomination down the road. Each denomination fights to show that it's "THE" denomination that actually has it all together, and that the church searching for covering should join their allegiance. The "unchurched" that I come into contact with are consistently talking with me about the feeling that they seem to see Christians arguing more, and being more unloving than those that don't believe Jesus.
I'm not against denominations, I'm against allowing something...anything...to break the barrier that Jesus said Himself wouldn't be broken. I believe what Jesus was discussing in Matthew 16 is simple: He would build His church on the revelation of who He is...Jesus, the Son of God, and love of our Savior!And that when the church is built on that, it would be so unified, that no matter who would "come on over" the it wouldn't overpower the church!
The key to doing more in the Kingdom, in your church, and in your life with God is simple: UNITY OF WHO HE IS! It's not about the promotion of my denomination, it's about the promotion of my God.
So, the question is simple: What are you doing (personally and corporately) to ensure that the barrier you're creating can't be overpowered?
Think on this:
"When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting." (Acts 2:1-2)
