Romans 15

5May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, 6so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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Psalm 133/ Psalm 133
A song of ascents. Of David.
1 How good and pleasant it is
when brothers live together in unity!

2 It is like precious oil poured on the head,
running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron’s beard,
down upon the collar of his robes.

3 It is as if the dew of Hermon
were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the LORD bestows his blessing,
even life forevermore.

Additionally, it was a relief seeing in them a heart for accuracy that many others may not have—living in honor of the WORD’s admonition to check every word against the Word of God, accepting what is true, and rejecting what is false—-take the Good, reject the bad (, 1 Thessalonians 5:18-22, Hebrews 5:11-17, Proverbs 14:15, Proverbs 19:2, Proverbs 18:13, Proverbs 18:15, Proverbs 18:17 ), and do as the Bereans did with Paul(Acts 17:10-11)…

Prayerfully, people will begin seeking to KEEP THE MAIN THING THE MAIN THING—-WHICH IS CHRIST and the GOSPEL ( Ephesians 4:8 /1 Corinthians 12:10 ).

I still attend the church I grew up in , which is a Traditional Style Church I’ve gone to since I was 12 and that the Lord has greatly used to impact/shape me for His purposes. The main reasons, however, for my still attending are largely due to my work there in Youth Ministry ( http://www.5979.net ) as a Youth Deacon/Youth Worker…and my working in ChildCare as well—and though there’s much I disagree with in the church, I can make peace with it due to how it’s the Gospel of Christ that’s central. When I leave there pernamently, I can have freedom to do things differently as I think is the most Biblically COnsistent…but till then, as long as I’m there, I can roll with some things. And to others at the church, I’ve made clear where I stand…

Thankfully, I’m involved in other fellowships as well….and Currently, the other fellowship I’m moreso associated with/in agreement on is a Messianic Jewish Fellowship called Congregation Mishkan David . From there, I’m also deeply involved with a smaller branch (small group, if one so wishes to call it) known as The Root —–which is a weekly fellowship of Christians in the Anglican tradition that is dedicated to the study of the Jewish or Hebraic Roots and practices of the Early Church..and which is also commited to studying and teaching the contemplative practices of the Church that have enriched the spiritual lives of Christians for centuries and simply sharing the Word/Encouraging others in the Lord. It’s pretty small, but close-knit and all have been blessed by it (And sometimes, it’s hilarious seeing the dominant people in the room are some Black Folks/Brothes whereas the Rabbi isn’t….but he’s cool enough to roll with it since he interacts with people of many kinds since he’s the manager at a local Starbucks store—and his heart is for multi-culturalism/The UNITY found in the Gospel, just as it was for Christ with the Woman at the Well or the Phonecian WOman and a host of others). The Bible Study fellowship and the Church I go to is also a part of a group known as the Convergence Movement —which is a meeting of the 4 Streams of the Church: Liturgical, Evangelical, Spirit-filled, and Hebraic.

Each stream is a historic style that was a part of the Early Church and is now flowing together again in these present days. One can go to Wikipedia to get more information on the issue…but for For more basic info,

Of course, each of those streams have other rivers that branch off from them—and sometimes, those same branches/rivers tie into other streams. In example, the CHarismatic Stream has a myriad of branches–whether Word of Faith, Apostolic/Prophetic and 3RD Wave, Pentecostal, and various other groups. And yet, even with the Charismatic Stream, people forget that even the Charismatic Stream has tied in with other streams…such as those who’re CHARISMATIC Catholics…or those who’re Messianic Jewish and yet learn from/associate with those who’re in the Charismatic movement (while also teaching Charismatics as well about Hebraic Culture and how the gifts would’ve been practiced from a Jewish Perspective).

The same occures with streams such as Emerging/Missional Camps regarding truths learned in their circles that other denominations/streams merge with…or other camps similar to Emerging/Emergent Circles such as movements like the “Radical Orthodoxy” movement (with notable leaders such as James K. A. Smith )—as the Radical Orthodoxy Camps is a post-modern Christian Movement including theologians from a number of church traditions.

It all connects…..and I’ve been reminded more than ever before how most Believers live their entire lives in a particular box (church or denomination) and do not even know that the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) flows from box to box to box and so on. He will not be restrained nor contained within a single box.