The Church of Excelsior Springs consists of all those who are a part of the body of Christ who live in Excelsior Springs, Missouri. It’s not about combining all the denominations or pretending that we agree on every little thing. We’re not trying to start something new. For as long as there have been Christians here, there has been a Church of Excelsior Springs.
It’s really very simple, Jesus decides who is His and who isn’t. He stands at the Narrow Gate and let’s through those that are His children. If you made it through the Narrow Gate and I made it through the Narrow Gate – then we’re just ONE whether you like it or not, whether we agree on everything or not. And if we’re going to be together for eternity, maybe we ought to start playing nice with each other now. Or stop praying, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Because there are for sure not denominations in heaven!
In John 17:20-26, Jesus is praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, sweating blood as He prepares for the Cross. He prays for the Disciples and then He prays for us.
20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. 24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. 26 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” (ESV)
The one we all call “Lord” and say that we owe everything to and claim to obey, prayed His last dying wish before going to the Cross – that we would be ONE like He and the Father are one, because THEN the “world” would KNOW that God sent Him and that He was who He said He was. The greatest evangelism method of all is laid out right there. If the Christians were actually ONE – not just in one place, not just in agreement, but ONE like Jesus and the Father are ONE – then they will have to acknowledge that He is the Messiah.
You may think that you “grew up in church” or “joined a church” or even “pastored a church” – but if you really study the Bible, what we’ve been calling “churches” really aren’t that at all. They are mostly “sects” or “factions” or “schools of opinion.”
In 1 Corinthians 3:1-4, Paul says this, “But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human?”
In Galatians 5:19-21, Paul says this, “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do[e] such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
Now you may say that your “church” preaches that all that stuff is bad. But how can you have denominations without “rivalries” and “dissensions” and “divisions”?! Maybe some of the church splits even came about because of “enmity” and “strife” and “rivalries.” Did you know we have over 40,000 denominations in Christianity now? And a new one every 48 hours? It turns out that maybe we have a need to be “right” more then we want to obey Jesus’ command to “love.”
1 Peter 3:8 “Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.”
It’s really very simple, we’re just trying to love like Christ, to be one with all those that are IN Christ, and to do it in a way that the world can see it and glorify God. If Christ is in you and you live in Excelsior Springs then you’re already, and always have been, part of the Church of Excelsior Springs. So how can we bless you? What do you need? Got anything you don’t need? We’ll get it to whoever does need it. When you see God moving anywhere in town, try to help out, even if it’s not your regular crowd. There’s been enough disagreements about theological things between people that say they love Jesus and are saved. If you can’t let that go and just love, then you may not be His after all.
Because Jesus said, “Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.” (1 John 2-9-11)
Tolerating is not love. Polite is not love. Love means family. Love means ALL. Love means unconditional. Love changes the world. Denominations haven’t done anything but make it worse. Maybe we could try something new – like what our Lord/Master/Commander/King Jesus prayed in the Garden and wanted all along.