The Church of Interfaith Christians has been described as a new progressive and inclusive denomination. Just what does that mean to us? How does it define who we are, what we are?
To be progressive means we have a renewed spiritual vitality, a life force energy emanating from God. We have an open mind and a willingness to question and to learn. I once hear the term used “finding Jesus outside the box” and knew that this phrase applied to us. We respect other faiths and embrace the diversity of God’s faithful. What we seek are the pure and simple teachings of Jesus Christ.
Quoted from Dr. Steadman’s Statement of Faith: The Interfaith Christian embraces all positive (this is a keyword, must be positive not negative) spiritual paths including Shamanism and earth based traditions, often being called upon to heal gaps between the many disparate religious faiths using the original teachings of Jesus Christ, minus convoluted manmade doctrine.
It is important that we not blindly follow the religious teachings that have been passed down to us in this lifetime, nor to fall into their ways of treating God’s children hurtfully. It is for us to seek the truth. We read our Bibles, the inspired word of God, but we know the Bible is not exclusive of all knowledge of Jesus Christ. We seek out other sacred texts and the words of the Bible in their original tongues to determine the true meanings.
I Peter 2:18-25 tells us we should follow Christ’s example. People insulted Christ but he did not insult them in return. Christ suffered but he did not threaten. He let God, the one who judges rightly, take care of him. Many have become disenchanted with traditional churches and have left in search of light and truth, seeking communion with God through the Holy Spirit.
With the founding of CoIC Reverend Steadman created a spiritual home for those seeking an alternative church that is free of the dogma of man that attempts to supersede the word of God. It is a spiritual home that celebrates the Holy Spirit rather than squelches it. We all feel it. We can now come back to the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls. It needs to feel the same for others as well. Each of us must be careful not to judge, not to push our beliefs on others, not to convolute Christ’s teachings ourselves but to understand that we are a church of enlightenment. The Holy Spirit works among us.
Christ was chosen before the world was made. He was the pure and perfect lamb. We were bought with His precious blood. It is through Christ that we have learned of His Father, a Father who raised Christ from the dead and gave Him glory. Our faith and our hope are in God and we can have true love for our brothers and sisters. So let us love each other deeply and with all our heart. Truly we are ‘born again’ through this living message of God that we are able to understand, because of the Holy Spirit reveling the knowledge to us.
What does it mean to be “inclusive”? It means we are a church in which every person is welcomed, seen valued and included, no matter what race, gender, positive faith, or color. We come together in an atmosphere of love, sharing and commitment living by the example of Jesus Christ. Inclusive also refers to Christ being within each of us and being among us.
Reverend Ernest Steadman the founder of our church was a man filled with the Holy Spirit and prodded by the Holy Spirit who constantly sought the wisdom of God. He kept his mind open and simply observed without partiality the nature of man and the effects of the Holy Spirit upon him. Reverend Steadman knew God was a loving, caring God and he witnessed time and time again the miracles the Holy Spirit had brought about in people’s lives. At the same time he was bothered by the hurt and fear and prejudice created by some of the world’s leading religious organizations. He did not approve the atrocious things done in the name of ‘God’ whom he knew to be loving, caring and wanting to be in our lives.
Reverend Steadman witnessed a rising false Christianity that practiced a form of mind control and brain washing using fear and guilt to control and have power over individuals and even governments. From this false Christianity has come a breed of Christians that are aggressive, hostile, closed minded and insensitive to anyone with whom they disagree. (It behooves us not to be among them.) Reverend Steadman himself had experienced the hurt and pain dished out by these so called “men of God” who have oppressed mankind. He became an ‘outspoken supporter of the downtrodden and the disenfranchised.’ He was full of love for his fellowman, God’s children. He learned to love each and every individual as God did. He looked for the good in each of them (us). Like God he often heard words and saw actions that were not positive and that he didn’t agree with, often done out of ignorance or fear or a belief in a ‘convoluted’ doctrine.
It is understandable we are a refreshing ‘new’ denomination. We must be able to embrace Christianity as our Lord and Savior originally intended us to, owing allegiance only to God and our government as long as it is not in conflict with God. It is up to each of us to keep ourselves cleansed and to only allow the positive energy of God into our minds and lives.
On Sunday, November 1, 2009, almost eight months ago, Reverend Steadman was called from this world. He was a great man, motivated by the Holy Spirit, loved by many, respected by all. He was a man of vision dedicated to the service of God and his fellowman. Reverend Steadman has left a huge legacy for the Church of Interfaith Christians to continue on.
Remember Reverend Steadman founded the Church of Interfaith Christians up on the principle of building bridges between the various ‘positive’ religions of the world. Reverend Steadman was a ‘bridge builder’. He built bridges with each of us. We’ve all respected and loved him for it. Now it’s up to us to build the bridges. In this way each one of us can heal, each religion and faith can heal and come together and nationalities and countries can heal and come together. The world can heal. The Church of Interfaith Christians has the vision.
I ask God to give each member of this church an additional measure of the Holy Spirit to prod them and open up their understanding of the ‘TRUE TEACHINGS OF CHRIST’ that he/she may be able to build bridges and do the true work of God. Amen.
Blessings, Paster Sharra