josh whitehead

This morning I was doing my daily reading on You Version in the Contemporary English Version. There is very fresh insight into Romans 14 – they made it very applicable for today. Take a look at it here.

Each of our ministries is an expression of Christ (or at least it should be). We focus on different things and highlight different areas of the walk with Christ that are unique and that’s a great. What we have messed up is that some point along the way we decided that we would criticize other ministries that have Christ as their central focus with a different expression of Him.  So, what am I saying?

• We need different types of churches. Whether you are traditional or contemporary, you can make an impact for the Kingdom. More than every before our culture is different.  But, make an impact!
• We need churches centered on Christ. We knock each other doctrinally, but each church probably errs somewhere. Take the big 8 – God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, Scripture, Human Beings, Salvation, Eternal Security & Salvation – and focus on them.
• We need churches that judge themselves, not others. Evaluate the spiritual growth of your church, the number of people you are reaching, baptizing, etc. Honestly, in the judgment God will not say that you judged others correctly – He’ll be looking at you.
• We need churches that focus on “peace and the building up of one another (v. 19).” That may make a difference in the Kingdom – something that we are not doing very well today.

You really need to read the passage if you haven’t and make the appropriate application. We’re all in it and we need each other. I wonder what would happen if we were known for love and building each other up?