Beliefs

Once I was a denomination. My beliefs had been carefully decided on by the Big Guys in the church, and listed in a nicely-ordered list of 27 fundamentals. If asked what I believed, I could hand the asker a nice colour brochure with each point supported by Bible verses and a picture of The Good Shepherd on the front. I didn't have to do any hard work on my beliefs. They were there, and all of us had them. Don't question, or you're not a True Sheep in This Flock.

But if you're not a denomination, it's not that easy. You gotta find beliefs for yourself and test them out to see if they're true for you, or just inherited / assumed. You have to dig through the Bible, through the thoughts of others, through your own heart, to discover what forms your beliefs.

If you've stepped out of a denomination, you may still have some of the same beliefs, but it may only be 12 instead of 27 of them that you agree with completely. You may have found others to add, and chucked a few of those if they didn't stand up to testing. Your beliefs may change dramatically over the course of a year, with just the few core ones surviving intact.

You might be tempted to borrow beliefs you know aren't solid, just because they look or feel good. You might wander a bit in unknown territory until you find a direction that your heart says yes to.

When someone asks what you believe it's no longer as simple as having a brochure handy. It takes a few hours to explain, especially if some of them aren't regularly-accepted thoughts. It may involve a few cups of coffee and some serious talk-time. And in the process you might find out that you've just lost or gained some more beliefs.

It isn't easy. It's a constant struggle! But it's better than blindly following. Especially in the long(eternal)-run!