An honest question
Why are there so many kinds of churches?
Key points
- Short answer: Because Christians have disagreed, sometimes about important things and sometimes about smaller ones, and have split rather than stayed together.
- What Jesus did: The night before he died, Jesus prayed for everyone who would follow him “that they may all be one… that the world may believe.”
- The Lutheran view: Luther didn’t set out to start a new church; he wanted to reform the one he had.
The short answer
Because Christians have disagreed, sometimes about important things and sometimes about smaller ones, and have split rather than stayed together. Most still agree on the center: Jesus, the cross and the resurrection.
What Jesus said and did
The night before he died, Jesus prayed for everyone who would follow him “that they may all be one… that the world may believe.” Division among Christians goes against his prayer, and most churches admit it.
When his disciples tried to stop someone healing in his name because he wasn’t one of their group, Jesus told them not to: “Whoever is not against us is on our side.”
A little longer
The big splits: in 1054, East and West parted, giving us the Orthodox and Catholic churches. In the 1500s the Reformation began, out of which came Lutherans, Anglicans, Reformed and Presbyterian churches, and the Anabaptists. Baptists, Methodists, Pentecostals and many independent churches followed later.
The disagreements are usually about authority, baptism, communion, and how a church is run, plus language, culture and history. Some splits were about deep questions; some were about politics and pride.
In the last century many churches have moved closer. Lutherans and Catholics signed a joint statement on how people are saved in 1999, and the ELCA shares communion with several other churches.
Where Christians disagree
Christians disagree about which differences really matter. Some think the divisions are a scandal to be healed; others think different traditions are a gift, like different families in one household. Most hope for more unity than there is.
How Lutherans see it
Luther didn’t set out to start a new church; he wanted to reform the one he had. Lutherans still see themselves as part of the one church Jesus started. The ELCA shares communion and pastors with the Episcopal Church, several Reformed churches, the Moravians and the United Methodist Church.
Where it is in the Bible
-
John 17:20–23 Jesus prays that his followers may all be one.
Read John 17:20–23
20 Not for these only do I pray, but for those also who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that you sent me. 22 The glory which 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 be perfected into one; that the world may know that you sent me and loved them, even as you loved me.
World English Bible, public domain. The whole chapter on Free Scripture → · Read in the NRSVue, the ELCA’s standard translation →
-
Mark 9:38–41 “Whoever is not against us is on our side.”
Read Mark 9:38–41
38 John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone who doesn’t follow us casting out demons in your name; and we forbade him, because he doesn’t follow us.” 39 But Jesus said, “Don’t forbid him, for there is no one who will do a mighty work in my name, and be able quickly to speak evil of me. 40 For whoever is not against us is on our side. 41 For whoever will give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because you are Christ’s, most certainly I tell you, he will in no way lose his reward.
World English Bible, public domain. The whole chapter on Free Scripture → · Read in the NRSVue, the ELCA’s standard translation →
-
Ephesians 4:1–6 One body, one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism.
Read Ephesians 4:1–6
1 I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to walk worthily of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and humility, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 being eager to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, even as you also were called in one hope of your calling, 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all, and in us all.
World English Bible, public domain. The whole chapter on Free Scripture → · Read in the NRSVue, the ELCA’s standard translation →
What do these words mean?
| The word | It means |
|---|---|
| The cross | Where Jesus was put to death. Christians see God’s love most clearly there. |
| Resurrection | Jesus rising from death to new life on the third day. |
| Disciples | Jesus’ closest followers and friends. |
| Baptism | Washing with water, with God’s promise, that makes someone part of the church. |
| Communion | The meal of bread and wine that Jesus gave his followers to share. |
| Pastor | A church leader who preaches, teaches and cares for people. |
Tap a word for more. All 228 church words: the glossary, A to Z
Where to go next
Other questions people ask
Written by Digital Lutheran Church, a small, free website from the nonprofit Hope for Americans, in the tradition of the ELCA. Bible passages are from the World English Bible.