“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”  he second is this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these (Mark 12:30-31).

One of the purposes of The Shepherd’s Voice is to build bridges between various groups in the church. As mentioned in a previous post (“One Body, Many Parts”), the church is under the same Lord, though made up of many different groups. Often, we forget that. In the 21st century, that has continued to manifest in a highly fractured church. One of the most divisive trends in the church is what we might call the battle between passionate faith and doctrinal orthodoxy.

We’ve all probably run across such differences. On one side we have those folks that believe that the death of the apostles and the closing of the canon of Scripture ended the period of healing, signs, and miracles. For the most part, they rely on the Bible to such an extent that it seems (practically speaking) they do not believe in the Holy Spirit at all.  To such people, correct doctrine is all-important. They are quick to correct what they perceive as even the slightest deviation from orthodoxy—but even then this group is fractured, especially when they can’t agree on the correct translation of the Bible.

On the other hand, we have the large segment of the church that has embraced passionate faith, focusing on the Holy Spirit’s continuing work. Like the other side, we also see the extremists. Some well-known churches in the charismatic movement have begun teaching that it’s not necessary to believe in a literal resurrection, that Jesus was not God during His time on earth, and that God is obligated to provide healing and what we ask for as a result of the atonement. People on this side of the spiritual aisle are usually the most socially engaged, believing that love is the key and that the church is here to change the world.

And then…. there are the folks in the middle who waver back and forth between the two camps, or are just plain confused and become disillusioned with the church in general. There’s also the world, watching the church squabble and stay divided. It brings to mind a time in college, when some Christian friends and I were “discussing” some doctrines of the faith at a Wendy’s. It got a little heated at times. Another friend came from another table and quietly suggested that we consider the possibility that an unbeliever might be present and listening. Speaking only for myself, I can say that statement had a profound effect on me.

What is the solution then? Can the church truly come together in more than a paper-thin unity, covering up the deep divisions within? This and future posts will explore that question.

First, one important rule, however:  This is not about name-calling or naming specific people or groups (hence why no churches or people were mentioned in the above paragraphs).

In looking at Mark 12:30-31, it’s clear that Jesus intended to include every part of us. He essentially said, “Love God with all you have and with all you are.” That certainly includes the mind (correct doctrine) and the emotions (passionate faith). So, we must conclude that the answer to the question is, “Yes, it is possible to have both.” The obvious next question one might ask is, “How?”

The short answer to that question is this: There is a third element that is missing, which must inform our doctrine, experience, and emotions. Sound doctrine cannot (or should not) come from passion alone. Likewise, sound doctrine alone cannot produce the passionate faith necessary to spread the Gospel. Like many two-sided issues in the Bible, both are taught and expected. A quest for “balance” often means sacrificing one at the expense of the other.

That third element from which the other two must come is a changed heart. This isn’t referring the heart as the seat of emotion. Rather, the heart is the seat of being. When one is saved, he receives a new heart (Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek. 36:25-29). A saved person is a different person. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the heart longs to know and obey God in every way. Thus, the heart finds guidance in illuminated study of Scripture and an outlet for expressions of gratitude and love.

In the next two posts, we’ll look at how this might look in the life of the believer.