Ps. Lao laying out the vision of our church in 3:30 minutes

FAQ: Why are there different types of Christians?

One of the most frequent questions I am asked by people is why there are so many different types of Christians. What is a Protestant, a Baptist, a Catholic, or Charismatic? What do those labels mean, and how can I know if a belief is truly Christian? What are the essential elements that comprise Christian belief? Let’s tackle those questions briefly.

When Jesus ascended to heaven, He left behind one church. But soon there were disagreements about things like circumcision or what food Christians could eat. In some cases, Christians could agree to disagree, but other times it was clear that certain beliefs were no longer Christian. It is the same today. On many issues, such as worship, spiritual gifts, and church government, Christians disagree but still call each other Christian brothers and sisters. But some issues are so central to Christian belief that they cannot be compromised.

Mostly, what defines Christian belief is about Jesus. Christians disagree about many things, but they all agree about who Jesus is, what He did, and what His death and resurrection means for us. Two-thousand years ago, some people denied Jesus had a physical body or said His death did not pay for all our sins. Peter, John, and Paul rejected these so-called Christians. Today, some of the same issues are around. That is why Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses are not Christian, even though they also read the Bible. These religions do not believe Jesus is the One True God.

A good rule to use to determine Christian belief was created very early in Christian history, as early as the middle of the second century. This confession is called the Apostle’s Creed, and it is the basis for many denominational statements of beliefs, including that of our own church:

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended into hell.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Amen.

Finally, it’s important to note that what a person believes doesn’t make them a Christian. It’s who you believe in. To be a Christian, a correct knowledge about Jesus is not enough—we must have a correct relationship with Jesus!

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Basic Christian Labels
Paul was clear that there is only one body of Christian believers and God doesn’t care about denominational divisions, but definitions to some basic Christian labels are below. Not that labels matter to God, but New Hope International Church is a protestant, evangelical, charismatic, non-denominational church.

• Evangelical: Believes people must make a conscious decision to be “born again.” A conversion experience is necessary for salvation, and people are not born Christians.
• Pentecostal: Believes that the gift of “speaking in tongues” is given to people today.
  
• Charismatic: Not only believes in speaking in tongues, but also all of the miraculous gifts of the Spirit, such as healing and prophesy.
  
• Catholic: Today’s Catholic church is descended from the ancient Roman church established by Peter and Paul. For more than a thousand years, nearly all Christians were part of the Catholic church, except for Christians outside of Western Europe.
  
• Protestant: In 1517, the Catholic priest Martin Luther protested against wrong teachings in the Catholic church. This resulted in many different, independent churches. As a result, all Christians today are either Catholic (Western), Orthodox (Eastern), or Protestant (descended from Luther’s protest, like our church).
  
• Denominations: There are many different types of Protestant churches. Some are in denominations, such as Anglican (Episcopalian, in the United States), Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, and Presbyterian. Denominations are formed based on common beliefs about worship or church government, for example. Other churches independent of denominations are called non-denominational churches.

Our church vision

"To build glorious churches, holy and blameless, in our generation."

This is the vision of our church, given to us by God and put as best we could into words. If I could unpack that sentence, it would go something like this:

"To build ..."
The Apostle Paul uses the words "edify" and "build up" a lot in his exhortations to believers. He urges them to build up each other and also to build up the church. He says that God builds up the church, and that Jesus is like the foundation or cornerstone of the church. Furthermore, the Apostle Peter says we are all living stones in the church and as we come together, each of us obedient to God's role and calling for our lives, we become a holy temple unto Him.

Churches, like individual lives, require care and nuturing to become strong and mature. Building churches is arduous and takes a long time. In fact, the Bible says that the church will not be perfect until Jesus returns, so we can expect to continue building it until He returns.

" ... glorious churches, holy and blameless ..."
Our goal is the same as Paul's was: to present perfect churches to Christ.

Colossians 1:28-29
"We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me."

2 Corinthians 11:2b
"I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him."

We believe that it is impossible to reach this goal perfection by our own effort, and that we must rely entirely on the work of the Holy Spirit to heal, cleanse, teach, and empower individuals and the corporate church body. Yes, we can plan and work hard as co-laborers with God, but in the end we recognize that it is God who makes the work fruitful. That is why we try to yield fully to the Holy Spirit in our ministry and not try to fit God into a marketing plan or our Sunday service schedule.

We consider the fire of God such an essential aspect of church life and we regularly come to receive fresh impartation and cleansing. Through experience, we know that more can be done to break addictions, restore relationships, and kindle passions in one hour of God's presence than in years of counseling or sitting under the most eloquent preaching.

God is giving our senior pastor, Ps. Lao, tremendous opportunities to spread His fire to other churches and thereby help them reach the fullness of Christ. Like Antioch served as a base for Paul and Barnabas, our church in Seattle sends Ps. Lao out as an apostle (literally, "sent one") to do what God has called him to do.

"... in our generation."
This speaks to the urgency of our work. We want to live purposefully, with a clear aim at the highest goal. We not only want to build a few glorious churches, or many churches that are somewhat glorious, we want to build many churches that are full of the fire of God, completely obedient to Him, and ready to hasten His return. Like Peter, we want to look forward to Jesus' return and speed His coming by making disciples and planting churches. By God's grace, we aim to do it in our generation. We want to turn the world upside down by living fully to do God's will.

So, this is our church vision, brothers and sisters. Take it and make it your own vision!