One of the tragedies of the Christian faith is that there are so many different denominations. The witness that this gives to the unbelievers in this world is that the Christian church is not clear about what it truly teachers. This is compounded by denominational leaders and pastors who implicitly if not explicitly claim, to be the one true church. The arrogance of these claims must bring tears to the eyes of Jesus himself. For in fact there can be only one church and that is the church of Jesus Christ. For Jesus is the head of the body of Christ and all churches need to acknowledge his Lordship. When churches play the denominational superiority game, they dishonor Christ and diminish the Christian Church for all who are seeking to know the truth that God sent his Son to reveal.
There are many reasons for there being so many different denominations. None of these reasons, in my opinion, justify the damage that has been done to the work of the Great Commission. The break from the Roman Catholic Church at the time of the Protestant Reformation came in response to a need for reform in the church. Reform is healthy and necessary within the church. In fact a church that is not in renewal/reform is a church that is in the process of dying.
The 15th chapter of John tells us the story of the vine and the vinedresser. It is clear that Jesus feels the necessity of pruning the vine, even healthy vines, to promote a healthier more vital vine. But ...
