Chainlink VS. Bullseye Theology...

How to Compromise with Each Other Without Compromising our Faith Beliefs...

How we view Theology among the brethren will determine how we get along and our effectiveness within our cooperation with each other to get the Mission of the Gospel out. Psalm 133: 1 It is good and pleasant when God’s people live together in peace! 2 It is like perfumed oil poured on the priest’s head and running down his beard. It ran down Aaron’s beard and on to the collar of his robes. 3 It is like the dew of Mount Hermon falling on the hills of Jerusalem. There the Lord gives his blessing of life forever.

There are two basic views on relational Theology between denominations. That view will allow us to work together for the common cause of the Message of the Gospel or it will be the source of constant division and even animosity between churches and severely hamstring the ministry efforts in any community. CHAINLINK Theology: In chainlink Theology our view and belief systems are each hung on one individual LINK which make up the whole chain... "Tis a ponderous chain," heavy, long and complicated... In order to have unity, we MUST stay connected [Amos 3:3 Two people will not walk together unless they have agreed to do so.] The problem with "Chainlink Theology" is that if any one of the links are broken, the whole chain looses it's integrity and whatever you were trying to pull along is now no longer connected and so everything stops moving until it can be replaced or fixed... If it can... [Proverbs 18:19 A brother who has been insulted is harder to win back than a walled city, and arguments separate people like the barred gates of a palace.]

For example, take any point of belief, a link, such as... KJV vs. NKJV or NASB, NIV, NCV or maybe Communion vs. Eucharist or Immersion vs. Sprinkle Sprinkle or JESUS Only vs. Trinity or Belief Only [Confession] vs. Belief & Baptized or Tongues vs. Silence or Women Preachers vs. Silent in the Church... It goes on and on and on and on and on........... Isaiah 1:18-19 The Lord says, “Come, let us talk about these things. Though your sins [missing the mark] are like scarlet, they can be as white as snow. Though your sins are deep red, they can be white like wool. 19 If you become willing and obey me, you will eat good crops from the land.] We usually whip each other with the chain and leave each other bloody! We should never mix the Gospel with other religious forms. We are NOT Wicca, Buddhist, Islamic, Taoist, New Age or any of the like... We are supposed to be JESUS followers... [Allah is NOT YAHWEH] As such, we are admonished to [Romans 12:18 Do your best to live in peace with everyone.] If we are bickering over the various doctrines & dogmas of our Faith, we are loosing the fight and missing the mark [sinning]... All of us are failing.... BULLSEYE Theology; I like "Bullseye" Theology for its concentric approach and condensed focus on the true source of the Message... Namely JESUS! [ I also hunt, so hitting the mark is important to me ] In "Bullseye" Theology, The mark, The Bullseye, Dead Center, is Christ and Him crucified... That is the focal point... The Center... The most [only] important thing. There are many other important points of Theology on the target, but they are NOT as important as this ONE fact! other issues may arise and need to be worked out but if we can agree here, we will be able to lay aside any other differences and so "touch & agree" on this ONE point and bring unity within the whole Body of Christ. LET me be very clear on this one point.. No Jesus, No Salvation... Know Jesus, Know Salvation... [ The reason you aim for the "Bulls Eye" is because it is very difficult to penetrate a bulls hard head... So you shoot it in the eye {it's place of vision} to disrupt its brain and kill what it wants to do or where it wants to go. ] On a typical target, you have a dead center [bullseye] and that is the goal... But the rings extend further and further out of the target until the points are wort less and less. I'm not saying they're not important or worth discussion, I'm saying none of them come close enough to the "Bullseye" to cause any divisions. The issues that cause us to argue are "THE" distraction which prevent us all from getting along and so we all miss the mark in doing the work. [1 Corinthians 9:24 You know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize. So run to win!] [1 Timothy 1:6 Some people have missed [the mark {sin}] these things and turned to useless talk.] If we keep our "eye on the prize" [JESUS] we all have a goal to aim for. So the other issues or belief's are lesser points as the rings spread out further and further. But the integrity of our relationships will remain intact because we are all on the same target... Let's stop being preoccupied with issues that don't mean as much. [Luke 10:42 Only one thing is important. Mary has chosen the better thing, and it will never be taken away from her.”] [1 Corinthians 12:12 A person’s body is one thing, but it has many parts. Though there are many parts to a body, all those parts make only one body. Christ is like that also.] [Hebrews 12:1 12 We are surrounded by a great cloud of people whose lives tell us what faith means. So let us run the race that is before us and never give up. We should remove from our lives anything that would get in the way and the sin that so easily holds us back. ] [Philippians 1:27 Only one thing concerns me: Be sure that you live in a way that brings honor to the Good News of Christ. Then whether I come and visit you or am away from you, I will hear that you are standing strong with one purpose, that you work together as one for the faith of the Good News,] Why the debate?;

Proverbs 27:17

As iron sharpens iron, so people can improve each other.

Proverbs 18:17

The person who tells one side of a story seems right, until someone else comes and asks questions.

Proverbs 9:8-10

8 Do not correct those who make fun of wisdom, or they will hate you. But correct the wise, and they will love you. 9 Teach the wise, and they will become even wiser; teach good people, and they will learn even more. 10 “Wisdom begins with respect for the Lord, and understanding begins with knowing the Holy One.

Ephesians 4:18

They do not understand, and they know nothing, because they refuse to listen. So they cannot have the life that God gives.

KUDOS to an old dear friend and Bible College Professor who initiated this insight. Rev. Al Shewbridge