The Word of God and the Church

Narrow-minded could be an adjective used to describe me. I'd like to think it's just the way I view things and that I have my own ideas of what is and what should be, but I do believe those things aren't as broad as they could be. Kind of funny considering that I grew up overseas and should have a healthy respect for opinions and conclusions that differ from my own. And maybe it is that I am just confident in what I believe, but I can't help but assume I haven't moderated enough.

I do not like the church as an institution. I love the Church as the body of believers. I don't understand what the big deal is about different denominations. To me that's humanizing something that should be comfortable to everyone; its putting restrictions on following Christ and setting up fences to inhibit complete fellowship and worship. I do not agree with the majority of what the various denominations stand for. It seems to me to be man-made and not how I see heaven being. I imagine a world where anyone and everyone can worship God as they feel "led" to, come dressed as they want, lift their hands or not as they choose, sing out loud or simply feel the lyrics of adoration. I see a healthy dose of both hymns and worship songs. I see the focus being on Jesus not on what another church is doing, impressing some far off council, or constantly worrying about numbers in the pews/chairs/cushions on the floor/etc. I see accountability still in place. I see encouragement without condemnation. I see honest, genuine love practiced. I see a pastor who is so filled with a burden for his flock that he is on his knees before their Creator. I see the beauty of God being expressed in every body. I see meetings held out in the open. I see church building becoming a thing of the past. I see the believers acceptance, not mocking others and their different takes on the Bible. I see loving correction being carried out- not a hierarchy of self-righteous individuals who do not take the time to earnestly get to know the individual in error. I see a determined effort to understand one another.

The Word of God has been put into many different translations. From the pulpit, one translation is disparaged while another one is lifted up as the "true Word of God". How can they know? How can one person be so sure that their version is the correct one? Why can we not take the Bible as a whole and learn from it instead of spending our time picking it apart, keeping what we like and throwing away what we don't?

Do I think the body of believers need to meet together? Absolutely. Do I believe one denomination is higher than another? No. Do I think some denominations have serious errors in their theology? Yes. I wish the church was more open. I wish the Word of God was preached without added commentaries to the disparities of a different denomination or translation. I wish we looked to Jesus instead of to our Bible reference books. I wish we all spent more time digging into whatever translation we happen to own and allowing God to work through that. Who knows what we could do then- when we allow God to work through us.