It is one of the realities of the Christian faith that skeptics love to criticize—the reality that there are a host of different denominations and a multitude of different expressions of Christian worship. But while believers have become accustomed to responding to this criticism with a sense of shame, I choose to see it in a different light. I choose to see each tradition as highlighting different aspects of God’s purpose for the local church. As a prism refracts the light and separates it into its component colors, the differing traditions refract the Bible’s varying commands and emphases. And this is why I feel at home in so many different churches.
I feel at home in a Brethren church. I feel at home because of its commitment to simplicity in worship and to the necessity of celebrating the Lord’s Supper on a weekly basis. Such churches are meek and humble and committed to honoring the Lord in ways that may be unflashy but are faithful to the Scriptures. They look with longing and pleading for the return of Jesus Christ. I always count it a joy to break bread with the Brethren.
I feel at home in an Anglican church. It feels familiar because its worship is so thoroughly steeped in Word and prayer. While there is always a sermon (though probably one shorter than I am accustomed to) and while there is always song (though often fewer than I am accustomed to) the service is structured around reading the Word and both corporate and private prayers. I love to participate in those readings and prayers knowing that as I do so, I am engaged in a tradition that wraps the world and spans the centuries.
I feel at home in a Presbyterian church because of its commitment to sound doctrine and expositional preaching. Few traditions have raised up as many powerful preachers as the Presbyterians or created as many resources to assist them. Few traditions have thought as deeply about what they believe and described it as thoroughly as Presbyterians have done through their catechisms and confessions. Few documents in the history of the Christian church surpass the Shorter Catechism and the Westminster Confession for depth and beauty.
I feel at home also in those Presbyterian churches that hold to a strict interpretation of the regulative principle. Such churches will only worship in ways the Bible explicitly commands. I admire them for their commitment to principle even as it extends all the way to singing only the Psalms and singing them without instrumentation. Where so many other traditions neglect the psalms, this tradition sings them exclusively and joyfully. I feel at home among them.
I feel at home in a Dutch Reformed church because it values simple, formal worship followed by warm and charitable hospitality. I admire the way they give such care to catechizing their children and often to building and supporting schools to educate them. Plus, almost no church sings louder or stronger than a Dutch Reformed church. (If you want to find men who still sing with confidence and gusto, this is where you will find them.)
I love to learn from them, I love to observe what they do so well, and I love to see how God blesses their labors to build his kingdom and declare his glory.Share
I feel at home in many non-denominational churches as well, though most fit at least one of the descriptions above or below. Every church has its reasons to formally associate with other churches or to remain independent, and I respect those who choose to persist outside a denominational structure.
Of course, I feel at home in a Baptist church, for I myself am Baptist. As I search the Scriptures for its instructions on what a local church ought to be and how it ought to worship, I see it describing something very much like a church structured around the London Baptist Confession. I love the emphasis on evangelism. I love the emphasis on celebrating the baptism of one who has professed faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And I love the balance of structure and freedom that permeates its worship services.
And while I am confidently and convictionally Baptist, I do love to experience other churches and consider it a blessing to worship among other traditions that teach the same Scriptures and preach the same gospel. I have worshipped in a host of churches spanning every continent and have found that I love to learn from them all, I love to observe what they do so well, and I love to see how God blesses their labors to build his kingdom and declare his glory.

This week Free Stuff Friday is sponsored by Thomas Nelson Bibles. They are giving away five copies of the Timeless Truths Bible.
About the Timeless Truths Bible:
The Christian faith is founded upon unchanging, timeless truth. From the days of the early church until the day of Christ’s return, all of Christianity proclaims that “Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:11). This is our unchanging and unceasing confession upon which all our hope and all our joy rests.
The Timeless Truths Bible encourages you through the always timely wisdom of those who came before us. Devotional notes and commentary from trusted theologians and pastors from the second century up to the twentieth will stir your affections. The ancient creeds and confessions of the faith will grow your understanding of what we believe—and have always believed. And artwork created throughout the history of Christianity will deepen your worship of the one we call Lord.
Features include:

Devotional and theological commentary for every chapter of the Bible from notable figures throughout church history including Irenaeus, Augustine, Martin Luther, Charles Spurgeon, and John Calvin
46 full-page biographies of church leaders
Text from some of the creeds and confessions of the Christian faith that have shaped our beliefs for generations, including the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Athanasian Creed, and the Westminster Catechism
Full-color tip-in pages of artwork from the history of Christianity

Experience timeless wisdom for life today that is entrusted to you for tomorrow.
Enter for your chance to win one of five copies here.
Entries accepted from February 2, 2024, at 9 AM Eastern until February 9, 2024, at 11:59 PM Eastern. Open to US residents only. Visit thomasnelsonbibles.com/challies-sweepstakes to enter and read all sweepstakes rules.  

Good morning. Grace and peace to you.

There are some interesting new Kindle deals to look at today.
(Yesterday on the blog: Talk About Jesus, Not Celebrities)
Jordan Peterson and His Useful God
Dani Treweek unexpectedly found herself at a Jordan Peterson event and records some interesting reflections on it.
Social Anxiety and the God who Held Mary
Lara d’Entremont: “Over the years, I’ve struggled through intense bouts of social anxiety. These seasons seem to attack me out of nowhere; months will go by where it takes every bit of willpower I possess to leave the house or have guests come to ours. What makes these seasons so hard is looking back and knowing how easy it used to be to leave the house and having no idea when or if that normalcy will ever return.”
Sometimes Efficiency Is Overrated
“Efficiency is great when you need to make thousands of cars or grow acres of food. But sometimes efficiency gets in the way of the greater mission.”
How the Manger Mocks Death
This is wonderful to contemplate. “Christ’s treading over death turned the once feared enemy into an object of jeering. As Christ rose from the dead, so every dying believer, in their resurrection, proclaims his overwhelming victory.”
The Light That Overcomes
“In George Lucas’s Star War universe, the Light and Dark sides of the force vie for power. The forces are equal in power, and the outcome is in jeopardy. There is no guaranteed victor. Good thing we live in God’s universe and not Lucas’s!”
5 Stats for Parents to Know About Teen Digital Media Use
This is no great surprise. “There’s a statistical connection between the things you do with your kids, their level of digital media use, and their mental and emotional health.”
Flashback: The Legend of the Battle-Weary Crusader
Each of us has the joy and the sacred responsibility of displaying the beauty, the glory, of a foreign land here in this broken world.

When Judgment Day comes, we will regret the waste of a single moment not used for the glory of Christ. We will, however, not regret one moment we spent diligently studying God’s Word and hiding it in our heart. We will only wish we’d spent more time doing this. —Andrew Davis