Three Minute Theology is a series of blog posts, each designed to offer a quick but meaningful look at a subject related to God and faith – something you can read in just a few minutes but reflect on for much longer. Think of this as a starting point, not the full journey. My hope is that these snapshots will spark your curiosity and challenge you to dig deeper, open your Bible, ask questions, and explore how these truths about faith in Jesus shape your everyday life.
Have you ever stood in the cereal aisle at the grocery store and wondered, “Why are there 37 kinds of Cheerios?” Welcome to the world of church denominations. There’s a flavor for everyone.
The question though, is why are there so many denominations? Where did they come from? Shouldn’t Christians all be one big happy church family, holding hands and singing the same songs in the same key? Ideally, yes. Jesus actually prayed for that. But as expected, we couldn’t hold it together for very long, and next thing you know we have different kinds of churches all over the place. Here’s the story in three quick movements:
It Started With Unity… Then We Got Complicated.
The early church, back in the book of Acts, was unified in its mission: proclaim Jesus as Lord and make disciples (Acts 2:42-27; 4:32-37). But as the church grew and expanded out across cultures, languages, and continents, it also rapidly increased in complexity. Sprinkle in governments and politics, power struggles, and doctrinal debates (for example, the Council of Nicaea), and it was only a matter of time before unity got a little nuanced.
The Reformation Changed Everything.
Fast forward to the 1500s. A German monk named Martin Luther nailed a list of his frustrations to a church door. I like to think this is where Jerry Stiller got the idea for the Festivus “Airing of Grievances,” but I digress. The important thing is, Luther wasn’t trying to start a new movement; he just wanted to fix some things. But his “95 Theses” sparked the Protestant Reformation, and suddenly people realized they didn’t have to follow one centralized church authority. It was the great theological “unfollow” button. With that, denominations were born. Lutheran, Reformed, Anglican, and on and on.
Why So Many Now?
Since then, denominations have continued to multiply, not always out of division, but often from distinction. Different views on things like baptism, communion, church leadership, worship style, social issues, or even how long the sermon should be (seriously) all played a role. Now there are even subdivisions within denominations.
You might think this is a bad thing, but to a point, denominations can reflect the beautiful diversity of how people live out their faith. It’s when that diversity turns into division or pride that we are in dangerous territory.
Jesus prayed that we’d be one – not identical, but united in mission, in purpose, and in love for each other (John 17:21).
So yes, there are a lot of “brands” of Church. But there is one God, one Savior, one Spirit, one gospel, and one hope. Jesus is THE way to the Father. Christ crucified. Christ risen. Christ coming again. As long as we agree on that, we’re on the same team.
The church I lead, First Christian Church, is non-denominational. I guess we’re sort of like the cereal box on the endcap of the aisle in the grocery store. A post for another day… But anyway, one of the old Restoration Movement “mantras” says it well: “We are not the only Christians, but we are Christians only.”
Denominations can be helpful labels, but they should never be barriers. Let’s keep the main thing the main thing, and strive not necessarily for uniformity, but absolutely for unity.
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