“And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.”
– John 10:16
Arguments surrounding which church or denomination is God’s chosen, according to the Word, have been among the main sources of segregation in Christianity over the years.
On any given day, at any given time or place, whether on the bus, at school or in the workplace, members of various denominations can be seen caught up in heated discussion about why one should worship on a Sunday or a Saturday.
But Albert Laidley of the Morant Bay Seventh-day Adventist Church in St Thomas is tired of the useless squabble.
“As it relates to religious beliefs and practices and the differences thereof, I believe that it doesn’t make sense to be having conflicts about who is wrong and who is right or where or what day you should worship.
“One thing I’ve always said to persons, whether friends or not, is to make sure that the foundation on which they stand, or the foundation on which you believe or from which you worship, is Bible-backed,” he said.
Laidley admitted that there is a possibility of being misguided or wrong about ‘your way being THE way’ and in doing so noted the importance of worshipping with a clean heart and living in accordance with the scriptures.
He said, “There’s a part of the scripture that says, ‘Many of my sheep which are not of this fold, they, too, will I bring’, so in spite of where you worship, once you remain a true worshipper, the time will come when the Lord will say, ‘This is the place that you are to be’.
“I don’t have that right to tell you that you must come here because I might be very wrong. What I need to do is make sure my standing is pure, and you [should do] the same until that time comes because God is the only One that can tell you that it is so.”
The man of God, who has been baptised and serving God for over 15 years, told Family and Religion that arguments of which is the right church are a waste of time and often lead to the destruction of relationships, whether friendly or intimate.
“The time you are there wasting trying to convince one person and creating barriers and conflicts and building stumbling blocks, you could be spreading the gospel to people who need it. So the onus is going to be on you for not helping those persons. That is how I look at it.
“Even the kind of relationships that we have is based on our level of communication – the kind of perception and how you relate to others. It is also important how others see you; am I a push factor or a pull factor? When I see my friends, do they cold-shoulder me because they know that every time we meet, I come with the same old story of where they must worship?
“Even when pursuing a relationship, am I the type of person who will try to persuade you to leave your church and come to mine every day? Am I imposing my belief on you?” he asked, reiterating that these things must be taken into consideration.