Church Experience #27 – July 10, 2011

Journey Church – Hixson, TN

Many Questions

The non-denominational Christian church movement in recent years is a curious thing to me.  I always wonder how each of these churches came into existence.  Some of these churches meet in people’s homes, in rented or shared commercial space, in re-purposed abandoned buildings, in church buildings of disbanded churches, the list goes on and on.  How they came into being is a whole other story.  They may have split from another church, they may have been a church plant from some organization, they may have started as a Bible study group that grew into a church, and I am sure there are countless other ways in which non-denominational churches continue to pop up.  For some reason I find it very interesting to think about these things…about how churches get formed, grow, and become a part of the community and have an impact on society.  I have done very little research about individual church origins, but I bet there are some great stories out there.  A completely separate rabbit trail of thought is how and why the non-denominational church movement itself began.  Was there too little flexibility within denominations for different styles of worship and self-expression?  Were there doctrinal issues that denominations were unwilling to budge on?  One big question I often ponder is whether it is a good or bad thing that the Christian church continues to fracture and divide into more denominations and also unconnected non-denominational churches, or whether it has any consequence at all.  I may not receive a definitive answer to these questions during my lifetime, but it does not mean I should stop considering them…or the question of what I can do to try to bring unconnected churches together.  The one thing I do feel sure about is that God would rather see his followers united than divided.  We, as the Church (big “C”) need to have a heart for each other, no matter what, and find a way to work together to serve our Lord, Jesus Christ.  These are all things that have been on my mind since my visit to Journey Church, a non-denominational church in Hixson, TN.  Here is how my experience went…  Read more...