So in addition to being Halloween, it is, of course, Reformation Day. It's always cool when it falls on a Sunday! On this day in 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg. The Protestant Reformation was born. There have been times in my life when I've felt bad about all of the divisions in Christianity. One Sunday that all changed for me though, when Rev. Dr. Timothy Spring, a dear friend and the man with whom I served at North Hills Community Baptist Church until 2001, gave a sermon that really made me feel ok about the "differences" as I call them now, rather than "divisions" in the faith.
Pastor Tim contended that why shouldn't the Christian faith be diverse, as we are all diverse people. And if one way of worshiping Christ as Lord fits a group of people better than another, what does it matter, as long as Christ is the center. If you think about it, too, a split in Christianity started back with the Roman Catholics, when the split came between East and West. This was the original East Coast-West Coast Drama!
I didn't think about that until I saw a bumper sticker in the seminary parking lot when I was a student there. It said, "Orthodoxy: Proclaiming the truth since 32 A.D.".
Today we celebrate diversity in our faith in Christ!
God bless us all!
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