When I was a child, everyone around me was a Roman Catholic. As a teen, I was into the Beatles, who were interested in transcendental meditation. That triggered an interest in other religions and other Christian denominations. I wasn’t happy in Roman Catholicism. Most of my friends went to Mass because it was expected of them, but my impression was that most people were agnostic and had little faith in the church. Those who were religious were into Mary, Saints, and rituals – something that always seemed a little strange to me. This was particularly so, when I started reading the New Testament – which focused on having a personal relationship with Jesus. And that was very much the focus of the evangelical Christians that I met in the streets of Cork back in late late 1970s. When I reached 18, I became an evangelical Christian.
Even within evangelicalism, there are many different movements and outlooks. Various forms of the Pentecostal/charismatic movement were big in my circles back in the 1980s. I met a lot of nice people, but I was a little suspicious of the silly and sinister extremes of the movement. As time went on, I started to align myself with reformed movement, who were more conservative. Some of us were very suspicious of modern evangelical movements. Because you’d hear about a scandal or a silly or sinister belief, you’d steer clear of everything and everyone that you thought might be associated with a movement.
If I had a time machine, I’d probably tell myself to focus on Jesus and don’t get too muddled trying to decide which movement to align to. It’s perfectly fine to take an interest in a movement that you’re impressed with – and to avoid one that has silly or sinister elements to it. But movements should never be the main focus.
I like what Paul said in 1 Corinthians:
1 Corinthians 1:11-13
11 My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. 12 What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?
Why does he complain about those who say “I follow Christ”. Well, some say it as if they’re the only ones who follow Christ – or at least their movement is. And they might dismiss and despise everyone else.
When I was a child, I used to follow Mancheter United. I knew nothing about Manchester. I just chose it. So, I’d want them to win and others to lose. Then, in my mid-teens, I was into punk rock. If Abba released a single, such as “Name of the Game” (1977), I might secretly like it, but I wouldn’t want anyone to think that I liked Abba. I wanted everyone to think that I was a pure punk rocker 😀.
And now I think that aspects of that mentality carried over into my Christian life. I was always aware that I should be open-minded. But these days, I’m more inclined to listen to different opinions – even to those I don’t agree with.
For example, I often listen to the Ask NT Wright podcast. I would disagree with him on a lot of things, but I enjoy being provoked to think.
,I remember meeting an older friend back in 1998. He was one of the people who was into the reformed movement, particularly Martyn Lloyd Jones. I hadn’t met him for some years, and I was keen to know what he was currently reading or listening to. He said that these days, He likes to focus on God Himself rather than movements. And I feel more like that myself nowadays.
Yet I have found movements and very opinionated preachers or theologians very helpful over the years. I just regret being prejudiced against people who were into other movements. For example, I disliked the charismatic/pentocostal scene because of its extremes, but much of it simply encouraged people to have a high level of expectancy with regard to the Holy Spirit’s work. And the movements are responsible for much Christian growth throughout the world. And, of course, much of the modern worship music stems from such movements. Some in my circles despise all that, and I used to despise it too, but I’m trying to be more open to all Christian music these days.
I see all sorts of debates on YouTube. Some are quite hateful. There’s a dog next door to my house that spends most of the day looking out the gate barking at people. That’s how I see the hateful YouTube videos 😀.
I do enjoy friendly debates, but nothing should distract me from focusing on Jesus Himself.
Hibernia Gospel 