What's in a denomination?

When Jesus says, "Come to me," He doesn't say come to religion, come to a system or denomination, or come to someone's specific doctrine. Jesus offers a very personal invitation to a very personal God, a very personal Savior and a very personal Holy Spirit-filled relationship.

In essence, Christianity is nothing more, nothing less, than a desire and an effort to see, hear and become closely united with our Lord. It's about relationship, not religion. It's about us trying to catch a vision, feel a touch and personally know our creator, Savior and comforter who made the first step to be in fellowship with us. We should not be following after a program, a system or a structure made by humans.

God is not aloof. He's not distant. He's not far away. He came to walk this earth with us, fully human and fully divine. He's a Savior who came down and lived and worked with people.

Everywhere He went, the crowds were mixed, wonderfully flavored with religious experts, sinners and society's outcasts. People of all walks of life, nationalities and backgrounds followed.

Among Christian churches we have denominations such as Baptists, Episcopalians, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians and the like. We have affiliated, connected churches which shy away from being called a denomination yet have much the same similarities of denominations. And then we have "nondenominational" churches.

During my Master of Divinity program, I was fortunate enough to have a class with a well-known professor and writer on church growth, who suggested we avoid calling these newer churches "nondenominational." He offered that "non" sounded like a negative and was not inclusive with the other churches. He suggested "post-denominational."

Revealing God's "mystery" in Ephesians 3:9, Paul says the church is to be the central part of God's plan for this world " His world. I don't believe it's to be a church with separations. All the churches are to be one denomination. And we are. We all belong to the church of Jesus Christ, the founder and head. We are to be "one Lord, one faith, one baptism," Ephesians 4:5. For us, "there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live," 1 Corinthians 8:6.

The Life of Jesus Christ is a message of hope, a message of mercy and a message of light in a world that can often seem dark. It's also a message of unity among all. Paul says there is to be, "neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus," Galatians 3:28.

Lampe Park last weekend displayed this wonderful kind of unity and hope. As I spent many hours enjoying the spirit in that place, I couldn't tell one church from the other. Spirit Fest truly displayed its theme, "Many churches ... one Lord," all serving together side-by-side. I hope you had a chance to visit and see the thousands of people gathering together for the one purpose we are all called, to "go out into the world, and share the good news," Mark 16:15.

n The Rev. Bill Baltz of Christ Presbyterian Church, 1436 Industrial Way in Gardnerville, is a member of the Carson Valley Ministers' Association.