MANNY'S DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES

Unity in Essentials, Liberty in Non‑Essentials, Charity in Everything

Building strong bonds in 2026

It’s New Year’s Eve, and I’m sitting on the couch typing this one handed cuddling a sick 9 month old. Tiff went to meet with her mom to get the older two and I'm listening to a 10 year old debate between James White and Steve Gregg. They are debating two positions that terrify the heart of pastors all throughout Evangelicalism - Calvinism vs. Arminianism - Nearly as hair raising a conversation as hearing someone in the fellowship hall mention that Scofield invented the rapture or if someone brings up tounges,or politics. And if we’re not careful, these conversation turns into something far uglier than theology: suspicion, labels, and broken fellowship.

Back to the Calvinism discourse (I'll cover the specifics of good ol' Calvin Vs Arminian vs Molinist or Vs Provisionist in a later post). The truth is, many sincere believers fall on either side... being a hodgepodge of bapti-lutho-costals at Wyanett we have a contingent of both in our pews and sometimes we can feel the tension. The truth is scripture gives plenty of texts to support a good faith interpretation of both systems

But the fact is even in these two camps you have to walk a razors edge if you Push one system far enough and you risk flattening human responsibility. Push the other system far enough and you risk making salvation feel like it hinges on the creature more than the Creator. So what do we do with the tension?

“In essentials, unity; in non‑essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.”

This is a motto for us at the EFCA.That motto is something I have grown to cherish. I have my views and I am happy to share them privately over a cup of coffee and listen to yours we can engage in rigorous conversation as brothers but that motto means, I WILL NEVER TEACH any non essentials as dogmas. This Motto that I love isn’t a license to be sloppy with doctrine. It’s a call to love the church wisely. It’s a reminder that the gospel gives us real boundaries and real freedom and we need both.

The tension we all feel

The longer I’ve walked with Jesus, the more I’ve realized something: the Bible often refuses to fit into our preferred either/or boxes. Scripture presses God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility right up against each other and then just… for lack of a better word... at least not one I've figured out in my 40 years...leaves them there.

That doesn’t mean truth is unknowable. It means God is God, and we are not. And when we start treating secondary debates like they’re salvation‑level tests, we stop sounding like shepherds and start sounding like gatekeepers.

What are the essentials?

Unity matters, we have to define what we’re unifying around. “Essentials” are the truths Wyanett must contend for because they’re bound up with the identity of God, the person and work of Christ, and the gospel.

  • The authority of Scripture: God has spoken, and His Word is true and binding.
  • The Trinity: One God in three Persons The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
  • The deity and humanity of Christ: Jesus is fully God and fully man.
  • The atoning death and bodily resurrection of Jesus: The cross and the empty tomb are not optional.
  • Salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone: No works, no boasting His mercy alone.
  • Justification by faith: God declares sinners righteous through union with Christ.
  • The necessity of the new birth: We don’t need self‑improvement; we need resurrection.
  • The return of Christ and final judgment: History is going somewhere, and Jesus is Lord of the end as well as the beginning.

These aren’t denominational...tribal doctrines. These are Christian doctrines. If we lose these, we don’t just lose a debate, or a heated discussion in a Sunday School class - we lose the faith.

What are the non‑essentials?

Non‑essentials are NOT UNIMPORTANT. They’re important enough to study, teach, and discuss... sometimes passionately... But they are not the foundation of the gospel, and faithful Christians have disagreed about them while still worshiping the same Lord.

Examples of non‑essentials (important, but not dividing)

  • Calvinism vs. Arminianism (and the many nuances in between).
  • The timing and sequence of end‑times events.
  • How we govern or church
  • Secondary questions about spiritual gifts.
  • Worship styles and preferences that are not commanded or forbidden in Scripture.

If a brother or sister can confess Christ, affirm the gospel, and submit to Scripture, then they’re family—even if they don’t interpret election or perseverance the way you do.

Charity: the command we forget

Charity doesn’t mean pretending differences don’t exist. It means refusing to treat people made in God’s image like obstacles to be conquered. It means speaking the truth without using truth as a weapon.

Charity sounds like patience when someone is still learning. It looks like careful listening before a strong rebuttal. It feels like choosing to protect unity when pride wants to score points.

And charity is not a soft virtue. Charity is crucifying your flesh. Charity looks like Jesus.

A pastoral word (for me too)

I want my kids to grow up seeing a church that loves truth and loves people. Not a church that treats it's brothers and sisters as enemies to defeat in rhetorical combat, a church that has decided the cross isn't enough for unity, but that we need to add to the essential and paramount work of Christ our own theological presuppositions.

So if you’re tired of the fighting, here’s something simple to hold onto: Guard the gospel. Hold convictions with humility. Love the saints like Christ loved you.

The world doesn’t need to see us win theological debates.
They need to see us love one another while holding fast to Jesus.

And if you’re wrestling with these doctrines right now, let me tell you where to land as we draw 2025 to a close. Jesus Christ saves sinners. Anyone who comes to Him, He will not cast out. That’s not a system. That’s a Savior.

In His grace,
Manuel