Jesus’ disciples had already experienced many miracles that proved He was the Messiah. He showed them His Lordship over nature by changing water into wine, feeding the 5,000, and walking on water. They saw Him cast out evil spirits. They watched as He healed the lepers, the blind, the lame, and the woman with the hemorrhage. They saw Him raise Jairus’s little daughter from the dead. They heard His teaching about sowing seed, about the greatest in the kingdom being the servant of all, and his challenge to take up the cross and follow Him.
Then came this exchange:
“Jesus, we saw someone using Your name to cast out demons, but we told him to stop because he wasn’t in our group” (Mark 9:38).
He wasn’t in their group.
Have you heard that before? I have. Too many times.
“He’s not a part of our denomination … He’s not a part of our church movement … He doesn’t do it like we do … He’s operating outside our structure.”
One of the greatest blessings in my ministry was leading the Hope for the City movement in Detroit. People from many backgrounds came together in unity to advance the cause of reaching our city. The name of their church didn’t matter. Their liturgy and forms of worship didn’t matter. Their geographic location or economic status didn’t matter. The color of their skin and their accents didn’t matter.
What mattered was that we all saw the desperate needs in our city. We knew Christ was the only answer. We were bound together to bring hope to some of the darkest places in our city, and no one was concerned whatsoever about receiving any glory or gratitude for it. “We are unworthy servants who have simply done our duty” (Luke 17:10). Only One would receive the glory. And He did, as thousands heard the Gospel and hundreds came to freedom through faith in Jesus Christ.
Unfortunately, it is not always that way. Ungodly walls have been erected by human flesh to keep us from uniting together to advance the cause of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Why does this happen?
It is outside of our comfort zone. Good. We need to be stretched.
They don’t do it the way we do. Good. We need to grow and expand our understanding and appreciation of the unique work of the Holy Spirit among others in the body of Christ.
We fear being influenced by others. You need to be influenced by the Holy Spirit, and that will happen through others. It will enhance your ministry.
We are concerned that we won’t get the glory if someone else is doing it. You are focused on building your own kingdom. Repent of your pride. God opposes the proud. God alone is to receive the glory. “He must increase, and I [WE!] must decrease” (John 3:30).
“He isn’t in our group” is something I have seen in my ministry travels around the world, not only in my home nation. Sadly, we have experienced this in countries with very small percentages of Christian witness, where the body of Christ should unite and throw down church labels to reach their nations.
I have observed too many leaders and organizations refusing to partner with others, mostly out of fear of losing recognition and ownership over a place or a particular group of people. In a country bound in darkness and desperate for the hope of the Gospel, a leader rebuked me when I was invited to visit a village, saying, “That is a (his denomination’s name) village,” making clear his presumed authority over ministry in that village. Sadly, his tight grip has prevented the potential of ministry from being reached. In a European country, we observed how American denominations come not to serve those already there and doing the work, but to plant and build in competition with established ministries.
These things stain our witness. They impede the work of Christ. They are hatched by prideful human flesh and become a deterrent to building the kingdom of God. “Two are better than one…” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12). This is certainly true in reaching lost places with the Gospel.
There are servant leaders in our ministry with whom I worked for months and, on one occasion, more than a year, without knowing their denominational background. It was not relevant. What was relevant was what I observed in them: their hunger for God, their teachable spirit, their passion for the lost, their love for the Word, and their desire to build unto the glory of God alone. That was all I needed to know.
I am thankful God taught us differently. We do not go to build unto ourselves, but to serve those who are already there doing His work. Where there are no workers, we plant fresh seed, but we also network with those around us, sharing what God has taught us in serving the unreached. Some small basic truths hold a firm grip on our partnerships: Belief in God’s infallible Word, belief in the crucified and resurrected Christ as the only source of salvation, belief that the only hope for the lost and hopeless is Jesus Christ, and the commitment to work for His glory alone.
These things have bound us together in transformational partnerships that are changing the world around us. How we worship, our liturgy, our church affiliations … none of these things have deterred us from uniting with like-minded servants to bring the Gospel to those who are desperately in need of eternal hope.
“Jesus, we saw someone using Your name to cast out demons, but we told him to stop because he wasn’t in our group.”
Jesus’ answer: “Anyone who is not against us is for us” (Mark 9:40).
We need to tear down the walls that separate us in the body of Christ. There is a great work yet to be done. Millions around us need to hear the truth, the hope, and the unconditional love they can only find in Jesus Christ.
So, someone is not part of your group? Bless him. Pray for him. Find ways to serve him. And build not for yourself but for the glory of God alone.
