Fellowship With... Who?
Should a person only fellowship with Christians of his/her denomination/denomination grouping? Is that the ideal plan of action?
First, one does not have to be an Anabaptist to be a Christian. It is important to search the Scriptures and obey them according to the understanding obtained. However, you and I may arrive at different beliefs following equally sincere searching. If the beliefs are mutually exclusive, one must be wrong -- but we could both still be Christians, and should be willing to fellowship together on some level. (Please don't get me wrong... it is good to be careful about the extent to which we expose ourselves to fallacious doctrines. It is good to worship on a regular basis with likeminded believers. There are limits. But it is also a sin (of pride or something) to not recognize fellow believers for who they are.)
Secondly, where would a stance on Mennonite-only fellowship leave me on the university level? It's nice to fellowship with Christian university-goers. They have similar goals in life and face similar challenges. It's easy to connect with them. But I'm the only Mennonite at the vet school, one of maybe three conservative Mennonites in the entire university, the only female conservative Mennonite in the U. If I chose to fellowship with Mennonites only, where would that leave me? Kinda alone. Faith Builders has only one college retreat/year. I could do my own solitary Christian thing... but where's the balance in that idea? I cannot be my own "multitude of counselors."
So I have been known to attend Campus Ambassadors and Christian veterinary fellowship meetings, and have benefited...
All that said (and I'm finally getting down to the real reason for my post), differences of belief will surface... and should not be shoved under the rug. Actually, one benefit to semi-ecumenical fellowship is the chance to have my beliefs challenged. Such challenge spurs me on to consider the Biblical basis for what I think. The most recent challenge: Once-saved, always-saved doctrine,. Take a look at the next post.
First, one does not have to be an Anabaptist to be a Christian. It is important to search the Scriptures and obey them according to the understanding obtained. However, you and I may arrive at different beliefs following equally sincere searching. If the beliefs are mutually exclusive, one must be wrong -- but we could both still be Christians, and should be willing to fellowship together on some level. (Please don't get me wrong... it is good to be careful about the extent to which we expose ourselves to fallacious doctrines. It is good to worship on a regular basis with likeminded believers. There are limits. But it is also a sin (of pride or something) to not recognize fellow believers for who they are.)
Secondly, where would a stance on Mennonite-only fellowship leave me on the university level? It's nice to fellowship with Christian university-goers. They have similar goals in life and face similar challenges. It's easy to connect with them. But I'm the only Mennonite at the vet school, one of maybe three conservative Mennonites in the entire university, the only female conservative Mennonite in the U. If I chose to fellowship with Mennonites only, where would that leave me? Kinda alone. Faith Builders has only one college retreat/year. I could do my own solitary Christian thing... but where's the balance in that idea? I cannot be my own "multitude of counselors."
So I have been known to attend Campus Ambassadors and Christian veterinary fellowship meetings, and have benefited...
All that said (and I'm finally getting down to the real reason for my post), differences of belief will surface... and should not be shoved under the rug. Actually, one benefit to semi-ecumenical fellowship is the chance to have my beliefs challenged. Such challenge spurs me on to consider the Biblical basis for what I think. The most recent challenge: Once-saved, always-saved doctrine,. Take a look at the next post.
posted by Claire at 14:40
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