When I take my eyes away from facebook or my TV screen for one second and look at Jesus, my heart completely changes. 

Song of Solomon 4:9
You have captivated my heart, my sister, my bride;
you have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes,
with one jewel of your necklace.

The Ephesians 4 Project

            For so long, the beautiful bride of Christ has had internal battles, cruel and deadly.  Churches split off because of disputes, theological interpretation widens, and denominations form all the time.  However, God’s will for us from the beginning was that we would be united in love and conviction (1 Corinthians 1:10 - 10 I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.).  Division comes straight from the pit of hell (1 Corinthians 13:8 - The enemy’s plan is to get us into strife ensuring that we not walk in love for love never fails). 

I am a Christian.  Depending on the circumstance some might call me a non-denominational.  Others would call me an evangelical.  Others, a charismatic.  And others, a fanatic radical.  To me, Christ, and the ones who know and love me, I am simply a Christ follower who has experienced firsthand the passionate zealous love of God and in response I passionately and zealously love my Savior. 

As a passionate truth-seeker and Christ-lover, I never want to be bigoted or biased towards my own perspective.  I believe in absolute truth – that Jesus is God and that God is love and that all who call on the name of Jesus will be saved from the due punishment of their sins, etc.   However, I recognize that in religion and faith, especially within Christianity, truth can get mixed with personal conviction.  I think personal conviction is great.  I think that there are certain things we learn from God and His Word that are not to be tossed to the wind just because someone thinks differently.  However, I also believe we must all be open to the reality that God’s word is true and even though we may have different convictions on minor details, the entirety of the Bible must be treated as the inerrant word of God and nothing less.  Therefore we can’t hold to our denominations more than we hold to the Bible.  (1 Corinthians 3:3-5 - ³ You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? ⁴ For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings? ⁵ What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task.)

Where I personally can often become biased is my practice of God’s word and my own personal convictions.  Worse is where I am prejudice – where I have false misconceptions about what certain people believe and judge them accordingly.

I refuse to be another close-minded Christian, holding faster to my denomination than the inerrant word of God and the Holy Spirit.  I refuse to judge others just because they worship differently than me and have different convictions – politically, theologically, etc.  And I refuse to be ignorant to the reality and truth of what it really is some people believe.  That is why I am going to several Christian ministers, pastors, and priests to understand their denominations and debunk some of the many misconceptions that are made about them.  I don’t want to just ask another peer because to really get down to the bottom of things, who better to ask than the leader of the church? 

I am going to be sitting down with a Roman Catholic, a Southern Baptist, an Episcopalian/Anglican, a Lutheran, a Methodist, a conservative Pentecostal, and a Presbyterian (PCUSA) – the largest and more theologically liberal of the Presbyterian denominations.  These are the denominations I have had the least contact with (besides SB) and the least understanding (I really and honestly just don’t get why they believe certain things).  But hopefully the outcome of this research project will grant me better understanding (Proverbs 2:6: For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.)  and most of all love for my fellow Christian brothers and sisters (Colossians 3:14 - And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity).

I’m calling this the Ephesians 4 Project because this chapter is devoted to unity and peace in the Bride of Christ and living out this love like Christ.  I encourage reading it: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=ephesians%204&version=ESV.  As I start on this exciting journey, pray that I have the courage and favor to see this through, God-willing.  But most of all that we as the body of Christ become to convicted to live an Ephesians 4 lifestyle.

Excited and not sure what to expect, but stepping out in faith,

Katrina Doyle