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Part 2, Fragmentation

The following joke was voted the funniest religious joke of all time in a survey.

Once I saw this guy on a bridge about to jump. I said, “Don’t do it!”

He said, “Nobody loves me.”

I said, “God loves you. Do you believe in God?”

He said, “Yes.”

I said, “Are you a Christian or a Jew?”

He said, “A Christian.”

I said, “Me, too! Protestant or Catholic?”

He said, “Protestant.”

I said, “Me, too! What denomination?”

He said, “Baptist.”

I said, “Me, too! Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?”

He said, “Northern Baptist.”

I said, “Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist or Northern Liberal Baptist?”

He said, “Northern Conservative Baptist.”

I said, “Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region, or Northern Conservative Baptist Eastern Region?”

He said, “Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region.”

I said, “Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1879, or Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912?”

He said, “Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912.”

I said, “Die, heretic!” And I pushed him over.

It’s funny because it’s true! In all seriousness, here’s the question: When Jesus prayed for unity for His followers, do you think He had in mind what we have today?

John 17:20-21

“I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.”

I don’t think so.

This truth has bothered me for many, many years. I just figured that there was nothing to be done. The genie was out of the bottle, Pandora’s box was opened, and we were stuck with what we had.

Currently, there are around 200 Protestant denominations, according to several sources (here and here). The Department of Defense recognizes about 200 Protestant religious groups as well (if you are interested in seeing that list, let me know and I will gladly share the memo with you). Truthfully, though, this only scratches the surface. There are 3,142 counties and county-type areas in the United States alone. It seems reasonable to assume that there’s at least one independent or non-denominational church in each of those on average. Each of those churches basically represent their own denomination because they each decide for themselves what they believe. I know there are FAR more than that. Now we’re up to tens of thousands “denominations”. In addition, there are many denominations, like Southern Baptist, where each church is independent. Although they have a core set of common beliefs, there is wide divergence from one to another. Now we’re getting into the hundreds of thousands.

I could expand that to other areas in other countries, but the point is that the number is staggering. In the hours before His death as Jesus looked down the ages and prayed for unity among His followers, is this what He had in mind? Was His great hope as He was tortured on the cross that His followers would fragment beyond any recognition? I cannot believe that is the case. He prayed that we would be one as He and the Father are one. Does the Protestant movement represent the unity within the Trinity?

The practical results of this extreme fragmentation are evident:

  • There are extreme differences in theology, some bordering on heresy.
  • There is often extreme strife or at the least, cold indifference to followers of Jesus from other churches.
  • It has created a consumer mentality in the minds of followers of Jesus. Rather than us being a part of the body of Christ in order to serve, we jump from one church to another trying to find that perfect church that makes us happy.

There has only been one time where I felt “one-ness” among Protestants. I was in Dodge City, Kansas and there was only one of each type of church in the town. I was the youth and worship pastor at the SBC church. There were seven youth pastors among the other churches, and we began to meet together for prayer and to do events. We had myself, the Methodist, the American Baptist, the Missionary Church, the PCUSA, the ELCA, and the non-denominational. Instead of seven different youth ministries, it felt like one giant youth ministry with seven pastors. It was amazing. I had never experienced that before and I’ve never been able to replicate it since. Even when we give lip service to unity, there is little unity in practice.

Jesus established ONE church. “There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all.” (Ephesians 4:5-6) Paul’s calls for unity came at a time where there was a movement toward fragmentation. So what can we do?

The Celtic Catholic Church returns to a time prior to the supremacy of Rome when there was ONE church that had different flavors depending on the region in which it was situated. The various bishops leading each region would come together on an equal basis to make decisions on doctrine and practice that were binding to all churches and believers everywhere. This model of unity most closely reflects the practice throughout the Bible, and that is one of the reasons I chose the Celtic Catholic Church.