Christian Labels... This Camp or That Camp?

I am often astonished at the propensity of Christian people to identify themselves with a certain “camp of theology” or denomination believing such a group best represents the mind of God. I must admit, I too, once struggled with this, identifying myself with (what I thought was) the elite.

There are 33,000 protestant denominations in America. Is God really that confused? Which one do I have to belong to so I can go to heaven or be a better believer? Do I have to be a Baptist? A Pentecostal? A Charismatic? A Lutheran? A Presbyterian? Who do I have to be a follower of? Do I have to belong to the Emergent Church? The Reformed Church? This camp or that camp?

Why do we think that aligning ourselves with a certain view or camp of theology will make us better believers, bring us closer to God, or better represents truth?

This was the very reason Paul wrote the book of Galatians. He said, “You fools! You have left the simplicity of Christ and thought you could perfect yourselves by some other means” (Galatians 1:6; 3:1,3).

I figured it out a few years ago. I don’t have to belong to any of those groups. All I have to be is a Christ-follower. Pretty simple, isn’t it?