I'm not sure if I've mentioned before, but I'm a christian. If asked what denomination (or sect, or flavour) of Christianity I follow, then I give a very weird answer - 'non-denominational charismatic'.
What does that mean. Let me give you a glimpse of my life as a christian so far.
Until the age of 12 my family worshiped at a Baptist church. Then we moved to one of the new "house churches." We termed ourselves a Community Church, but since then the term House Church has come to be what covers the vast number of congregations who chose not to follow one of the main sections of Christianity, but instead have their own form of mainly local leadership. The church we were in was a congregation which was part of what was termed the North London Community Church. There were about 6-ish different churches who all worshipped in slightly different ways, but who shared a common leadership team.
After that period I went to University. I went to a 'house church' there, until I realised that I could get an extra 30 minutes in bed by just wandering down the hall to the chapel in the same building where I was housed.
I also fell away a bit at this point. Just no longer having my parents there to drive me into the church, or even having them there to tell me what to do.
So, I went to the local chapel, which was a Church of England (CofE). After I had my first major psychotic episode, and totally destroyed any chance of a degree from there, I returned home and went back to the fold of the community church.
Then my sister had her second child...
My sister had her first child by IVF, specifically by ICSI. This caused a problem, one of his parents is a carrier of a rather rare condition, Edwards Syndrome. Andrew, who is a really happy child, is currently over 10. He has only said 1 word in his life, he is bi-laterally deaf, he can't sit up without assistance, and he doesn't eat, rather he is fed via a tube which goes directly into his stomach. He also has epilepsy. Obviously this means he needs 24 hours a day care, and that's a lot to put on any family.
Then she had Amy. Amy is not disabled, she's not even a carrier. Instead she's a bright, curious, and happy child as well (my sister appears to be a very good mother, something of a shock to both me and mum I think). So, all of a sudden my sister had this very disabled son, and a baby, to look after. Me, mum and dad up-rooted ourselves and moved to Cranfield to be close to them.
There were a number of churches in Cranfield, but we moved to go to the CofE there. A nice church with lovely people in it.
Then I met my husband for the second time (I've so got to put that story up at some point). He lived in Manchester, I lived in Cranfield and worked in London. I loved him, I moved.
I was very ill when I moved, in the middle of a Bi-Polar mixed episode, not fun to watch. I ended up going to a very close Methodist church (it's at the end of our road). Then when I got a bit better I went to a CofE (nice building, average age of congregation probably over 60). That suited me while I got better, then I left.
I tried the local house church. They suffered from the "let's welcome the visitors by giving them a round of applause" syndrome. Nothing makes me want to cringe and run away more.
Then I went to St Johns in Flixton. From the moment I went through the door I felt good. The service was something I was used to, the people are lovely, and the vicar is quite happy to cut out pieces of the CofE official service because they are contrary to the bible. My kind of guy.
I then felt (and still feel) that I needed to get close to understanding what the Catholic Church is all about. I knew that they do not accept the communion of non Catholics, and that you had to join them to be able to take communion with them. I had heard of their other practices (worship of Mary & saints...) but I wanted to know the truth about them.
So I started going to morning mass at a local Catholic Church. There are some nice people there, and they really have made me feel welcome, though I'm not sure whether they are rubbing their hands and saying "great, one more got" (apologies to any Catholics for that comment).
It was while I was there that I saw a notice for a position opening in the local Methodist circuit, which I applied for and got. So now I am a member of a CofE church, I join in morning mass (going up for a blessing) at a Catholic Church, and work at a Methodist Church.
That's how I got to where I am, now what do I believe.
Firstly, I believe that the Holy Bible, in the original language, is the divine word of God. I believe in the priesthood of all believers, (baptist roots showing through there I think). I believe in one advocate, Jesus Christ. I accept the doctrine of fallen humanity, the sinful nature of humanity, the redeeming work of Jesus as both a living example, as well as an acceptable sacrifice for sin. I believe in the resurrection of the dead, the physical return of Jesus to the earth, and the eventual destruction of the universe to create a new heaven and earth. (Sorry for only certain links there.)
How do I feel my faith should be put into practice? Firstly I am very against any forms of representation of Christ. He wasn't a nice tall blond haired blue eyed boy; he was a Jew. He probably had a crooked nose, coloured skin, dark hair, and dark eyes. I'm not sure what he actually looked like, but that's the whole point of not having a representation of him. Any ones we have will probably be wrong, and this will lead us to have a wrong understanding of who he is.
The picture "Light of the World" casts him in a similar vein to Florence Nightingale (though perhaps she got the name form the painting and not vice-versa given the relative ages). But my point is that the picture gives us an idea of what Jesus looks like, and what he does. And I can guarantee that although that may well be part of what he does, it is probably nothing like what he looks, and only a small part of what he does.
This is the same with whatever representations you have. If you have him on a crucifix, you only see him as being on the cross - although that was the crux of his ministry on earth - you miss out on all his other ministries. If you see him in the sermon on the mount - which contains a large proportion of his teaching - you lose perspective about his eventual death. And if you see him in the cradle (don't get me started) you only see the beginning of the story. So, I'm against any form of representation of Christ in a church.
I don't like the stained glass window which only portray the saints as well, or the icons and statues of saints. They can mislead the worshipper to worship the created rather than the creator, they can turn into graven images (although there are enough of those around outside the church).
In the way I try to live my life, I try (and don't always succeed) in making the lives of other people easier. I try to be a friend to all, and to help those in need. I fail miserably at almost all of this, but then I'm a member of fallen humanity. I do the best I can, and trust the rest to God.
I suppose I'm very puritanical in my beliefs. I especially feel the concept of having a defined vicar/preacher should only be there for the purposes of orderly worship. I feel that anyone should be allowed to, and in fact encouraged to, find a way of sharing their faith as part of a service, whether this is by the telling of a story about how God helped in their everyday life, up-to creating and sharing a sermon.
I'm not sure how I feel about the Calvinistic teaching of the predestination and the elect. Sometimes it frightens me. What happens if I spend all of my life, and give all of my love, strength, hope, desires, abilities etc. in the service of God, only to be told at the end that I wasn't actually chosen. Sometimes it comforts me - that despite the fact that my spending all my love, strength... in the service of God, and fail, then it doesn't matter because I've already been chosen, and my failings are taken into account. I know that I don't understand the full doctrine behind it. I also know that God is a God who does change his mind when it comes to grace and forgiveness. See the stories of Jonah in Nineveh and Lot in Sodom for times when this has happened (along with several times when the Israelites were wandering in the desert).
What about denominations? Well, I feel that they do serve one very useful purpose - that of having different ways of worship. Some people feel that a heavily structured service, where there are bells and smells, is the right way to serve God, and feel comfortable in that structure (I don't). Others feel that a much more relaxed formula should be used, and there should be the maximum allowance for God to move in the service. For each of these views, and for almost all of the other ones, there is a denomination which will welcome them in, and they will find a good route to worship God in them.
However, they also divide people. There is an old baptist joke about it. (I hope that link stays good). This shows how denominations can cause schisms. I've gone through one situation where the Church where I worshipped split into two based on the actions of one man. It was really hard for me to cope with.
I heard a great sermon once, whose message was it doesn't matter where you draw the line between good people and bad people, Jesus is always on the other side.
So, I feel that when it comes to Christianity, although I'm puritanically in beliefs, I feel able to worship at any church, and try to work to being in unity with my fellow believers in Christ.
So, how do I draw the line about who is and who isn't a Christian according to my beliefs? Very carefully.
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