THE CHURCH IS A FRANCHISE, NOT AN EXCLUSIVE CLUB

Luke 9:49-50

Luk 9:49 John answered, “Master, we saw someone expelling demons in your name, and we tried to stop him because he is not a disciple along with us.”
Luk 9:50 But Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him, because whoever is not against you is for you.”

rival respect

The disciples were called by Jesus and actually being taught by him personally — so they had assumed that they would have exclusive rights to his name. Not so. Jesus had many followers, and he made no attempt to set aside the twelve as an exclusive club. There would be many others in the franchise.

In the same way, it is wrong to assume that other Christians and other churches are illegitimate since they do not follow our strategies, or come from our traditions.

LORD, show us how to respect and appreciate other Christians from other backgrounds than our own.