Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

, postdenominationalism is the attitude that the Body of Christ extends to born again

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

in other denominations (including those who are non-denominational), and is not limited just to one's own

religious Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...

group. Its focus on doctrine distinguishes it from ecumenism. Many of the fastest growing

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...

churches in the world do not belong to any "established" denomination, though the tendency is that over time the larger ones form their own organization (typically without calling it a "denomination"). According to David Barrett,, there are an additional 60 million

Americans Americans are the citizens and nationals of the United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many dual citizens, expatriates, and permanent residents could also legally claim Ame ...

who are born again believers and do not attend any church. Though this is often due to faults in the church (some cite visionless leadership, unresolved sin issues amongst church bodies, lax morals in the

pew A pew () is a long bench seat or enclosed box, used for seating members of a congregation or choir in a church, synagogue or sometimes a courtroom. Overview The first backless stone benches began to appear in English churches in the thirt ...

s, money mishandling, etc. in their reasons for not attending), postdenominationalists consider that the Church is at the center of

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

's plan for the world.

Common doctrinal points

The following doctrinal points are shared by many who consider themselves postdenominational (Bible references in parentheses): *"Church" is the convocation, assembly, or congregation of persons, disciples of

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

, saved by faith (not by works nor by membership in a religion), regenerated by the working of the Holy Spirit, who obey the commandments of Jesus Christ and are His Body on

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

. (Ephesians 5:23) *The true Church, which is One, is composed of many congregations or local churches throughout the world. (I Corinthians 1:2; Acts 9:31, 15:41; 16:5; Romans 16:16) *The message of the true Church is always Christ-centered. **The true Church does not preach itself. **The true Church does not preach a person. (Acts 19:13-16) **The true Church does not preach a denomination. (Acts 5:42) **The true Church does not teach doctrines and traditions of humans. (Matthew 15:3-9; Mark 7:8; Colossians 2:8) *The true Church preaches only the Word of God, the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

and preaches it in its totality. (Mark 2:2; 16:15; Romans 15:20; II Corinthians 4:5; I Thessalonians 2:9; II Timothy 4:2) *One should distrust anyone who adds to or takes away from the Word of God. (Revelation 22:18-19) *The true Church is the Body of Christ on Earth (I Corinthians 12:12-27; Ephesians 5:23, 29-30) **The members of a body do not choose their position in that body. **If a member becomes separated from the body that it is attached to, it will die, as it has no life in and of itself. The body can continue to function, but with some limitation. **Where one part of the body is, the rest of the body is also. (Acts 10:24, 25) *The true Church is a group of people who know how to praise and worship God in Spirit and in truth. (John 4:23, 24; Acts 2:46, 47) *The true Church is a group of people who know how to pray. (Acts 2:42) *The true Church is a group of persons who love God and others. (I Corinthians 12:26; 13:2)

References

* Patterson, Eric; Rybarczyk, Edmund J. ''The Future of Pentecostalism in the United States'', Rowman & Littlefield, 2007, {{ISBN, 0-7391-2103-0 Ecclesiology Evangelicalism