The hidden demon of denominationalism

[DENOMINATIONS] We all understand that the existence of our denominations has a history. There were reasons for the divisions that created some. There were failures within church movements which precipitated ‘break aways’. These new movements were maybe necessary in view of the apostacy and failure of existing church structures in their time. We all get it.

[DENOMINATIONS – NOT ENTIRELY GOD’S INTENT] Concurrently, we likely all perceive that denominations were never God’s intent. They were, however, possibly inevitable due to the weakness of our humanity. Movements would become corrupted. Power structures would be established. Breakaways, to follow God’s Word in a truer way would result. In the Bible we see this where early Christians were already becoming divided, some following Paul – while others Apollos.

 

[FROM GOD’S WORD]

Consider this passage from 1 Corinthians 3:2 -9

I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings?

What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task.  I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.

It would be fair to summarise that our human distinctions, divisions and denominations don’t really matter. God doesn’t see them. He instead sees only his people – which is all of us together, and he sees all of those who are not yet his people!

Of particular challenge in this picture, Paul suggested that those who make too much of these distinctions, taking pride in their ‘identity’ as distinct from other genuine Christians, are spiritually immature.

[GIVEN WE HAVE DENOMINATIONS, WHAT IS THEIR PURPOSE?] At the most basic level a denomination brings (i) accountability, (ii) training and (iii) support to its own sprawling network of individual church’s leaders. While this is highly inefficient, there is nothing inherently wrong with bringing accountability, training and support to Christian leaders and the churches they oversee. These things are in fact good! If this is their purpose, there is nothing inherently wrong with a denomination.

[DEFINING DENOMINATION VS DENOMINATIONALISM] To bring a vocabulary to the conversation – there is therefore nothing wrong with denomination; the problem is with denominationalism. The ‘ism’ is the issue. Denominationalism is where person’s allegiance is more to their own denomination than to the wider Church of which they are a part in their city or town. It is about misalignment priorities, and a deficient vision results.

This is of particular relevance to one specific  area of Church life and calling. While denominations can bring (i) accountability, (ii) training and (iii) support, they can never lead in (iv) mission. This is because mission, by its very definition, is geographically identified.  It isn’t the the prerogative of the Presbyterian churches of Tauranga to reach Tauranga for Jesus. Instead this is prerogative of all the churches together in Tauranga. Mission is geographically defined. The Church – with a capital C – is also geographically defined – and a functionally united Church is needed for its wider mission in every geography of the planet!

Unfortunately there is much of denominationalism – with church leaders giving a greater allegiance to their own organisations and brands than to the unity and mission of God’s Church where they are placed.

There is a balance here to be rediscovered.

[HOW UNITY BECOMES FUNCTIONAL / USEFUL] To further our vocabulary, local churches in a place therefore unite to achieve together what they could not achieve apart. This is the purpose of pursuing wider reaching connectedness. Regarding boundaries, there is therefore much churches can achieve apart – and doing most things apart is good. Independence isn’t wrong. However, teamwork is sometimes needed. The importance of church unity rests in the fact that there are things that we cannot achieve apart – and (for a different category) also things we will not achieve unless united.

This is where we come to consideration of what might be the ‘hidden demon of denominationalism’ – which is our topic.

[THE HIDDEN DEMON OF DENOMINATIONALISM] If the demon of denominationalism is allegiance to human structures more than to God’s Church where we live, the hidden demon is an extension of that – and rarely discussed. Beyond pride and the self-seeking attitude, the hidden demon of it all is small mindedness!

This great weakness and result is almost never discussed within denominations – or yet even within unity gatherings. Small-mindedness results from giving allegiance to a denomination in our thinking, undermining our ability to perceive who we are as the Church, what we are called to, or what we are capable of.

This has huge detrimental implications for God’s Church and its mission.

 

A story to illustrate 

For a story – which was shared more eloquently in chapter 14 of ‘In One Spirit’ (a book I wrote about Church unity in pursuit of establishing potential common vocabulary so as to enable a wider conversation, free online at https://alltogether.co.nz/ebooks), I’ve worked in outreach ministry for all but 9 of the 30+ years I’ve been in full-time Christian service. I’ve only taken a full salary for 9 of these years – which were the years spent as a pastor. For the first 7 years of ministry I earned less even than the unemployment benefit – while there were 16 full time equivalent salaries across the local churches in a rural town I served. Our outreach work, representing the churches to the community, grew to have connection to the Council and Mayor, some Iwi, social workers, all school Principals (only 8 schools), access to all schools, and relationship with many teachers – primary, intermediate and high school – and of course connection of some kind to all the local churches and youth groups. It was during this time that I began to sense something was wrong with the systems I ministered within. I began to suspect that many of the church leaders couldn’t actually ‘see’ the community. The reach of their outreach was very limited and they didn’t seem overly bothered. Their community ministries didn’t actually reach very far into the community – but the issue was that it was as if they didn’t perceive it. This was reflected maybe in the lack of priority given to or vision that existed for wider mission, or for relationships which could open wider doors. It was as if there was no burning vision for the mission Jesus had given them, compelling a wider vision or effort. They really were ‘local church pastors’.

The consequence was that there seemed to be a limited perception of our systemic (repeating) failures as God’s Church in that community. We were failing to reach out to the majority of the populace by any means at all. There was no vision or sight of this ‘lost multitude’ in front of us sufficient to move us from our slumber – maybe then realising we might need to review the situation we were in, that we might then consider the mission Jesus had given us. We would also make what I could consider cataclysmic strategic errors – like community ministries then partnering widely, then removing their Christian origins – so be owned by all equally across the community. The care continued, but the opportunity for the Church to be present and had a voice was yet again lost. It lacked foresight.

‘Local church pastors’ therefore served individual churches connected to denominations. Each recognise they were there to ‘reach the lost’. However in their actions, they weren’t living that out – as if they believed the wider mission God had called us all to were actually possible. They (and we, all together) were victims of a system.

The hidden demon of denominationalism is this: The small-mindedness that results from the denominational way of thinking.

Even a big church can still be small minded – doing bigger things than most others – while this is nothing in contrast to what God’s Church could achieve, if united in service to its mission! 

I recall a council meeting around a social problem. I asked if anyone present had maybe talked to a pastor about the matter. None knew the name of a pastor. I became aware of the extent of the disconnect.

Then they thought about outreach – but it wasn’t about the community hearing of Jesus. It was about reaching just some people through just their own church’s programmes, who they might also hope would come to their own church afterward if they responded also. Both the vehicle and goal of their work related to their own church – instead of relating the public, and to God’s people.  

As a result, there was almost no vision for outreach to the community as a whole.

There was no taking of responsibility for the mission Jesus gave his people in and to the community. The lens of ‘denomination’ and ‘church’ (congregation) obscured any possibility of considering how we might best serve the mission given us as God’s Church (united).

We had become trapped in our small mindedness!

The vast majority in the community were essentially damned and would stay so – because we had no vision or will to lift a finger to change that. Even if ideas were suggested that could remedy the situation, we wouldn’t support them, because we couldn’t perceive them. Our thinking excluded this possibility.

Toward an application

>> The point made here is profoundly important. <<

There is today, across God’s Church, a limited ability to perceive the merits or possibility of a range of ideas that are otherwise before us.  

A simple solution to an identifiable problem facing the Church as a whole could be shared – and our eyes might glaze over. We can’t really ‘see’ what is being suggested because our frame of reference is still in the  ‘ism’ of denominationalism.

I have heard comments like the following dozens, if not hundreds of times in our work.

• ‘That’s not my responsibility.’
• ‘That’s not how we work.’
• ‘We have our own things.’
• ‘We do our own things.’
• ‘It’s not what we are there for.’
• ‘This effort isn’t needed here.’
• ‘I’m already doing my bit.’
• ‘We’re too busy.’

Sometimes these reasons are valid. It is never ours to judge.

But are they always valid?

 

I cannot escape the possibility that our hearts and rationality might have become considerably constrained by this small mindedness. We look and think through the lens of one church and one denomination, rather than as God’s people call, empowered and able to reach the city.

Simple things then become complicated.

The scope of resources we think with becomes small – in contrast to the reality.

Our thinking patterns ‘crimp’ our vision. We cease to dream of  wider possibilities. They are too far beyond us.

When someone proposes a Kingdom dream larger than the resources that sit within our limited lens, we glaze over.

It is a costly deception.

[ABOUT CHURCH MEMBERS]  These limited way of seeing and thinking are not only among church leaders. This same ‘demon of denominationalism’ causes some church members to want their own safe little church. They want their pastor serving their pastoral needs – not going out into the city to build relationships, opening God-intended doors. They complain if they aren’t visited by the pastor. The pastor is therefore shackled to his or her church. ‘All those other things aren’t our responsibility as a church. Your job is to be diligent here, within these four wall, serving us!’

As a result, when a solution is proposed to a systemic challenge our churches face in our wider society, sometimes few can even perceive the possibility.

There is little to no actual excitement. I’ve experienced this many times.

There is nothing compelling within us sufficient to cause to see – to arise – to perceive – to rejoice.

The scope of our faith is constrained.

The scope of our actions is constrained.

Being neither seeing nor perceiving, we don’t therefore expect. We don’t attempt. We don’t support others who might attempt. The plausibility of the wider mission we are called to as God’s Church in our cities, towns and nation is undermined.

So, what is the solution?

Firstly, we must talk about this. This is the true path. I specifically suggest this might be the only path.

Certainly the Holy Spirit can help us in this. However, I’ve seen more than a few things in our work over the years. Mindsets are hard to break. The most godly of leaders can have blindspots – and these gaps in their thinking and practice can endure across decades. Mindsets can be deeply rooted.

Change isn’t going to come about by accident – or even ‘merely’ by a divine hand.

Process is needed. Faith and works go together. Believing prayer – acts.

And what is that process? The demon of denominationalism is a demon of darkness, like all others. If we bring these things to the light by discussing them, the darkness will be expelled!

We need to talk about this! As our thinking then changes, our vision and believing will change. Small mindedness will then be replaced with a new capacity for dreams and hopes based on the resources of God and all of his Church, which is our Church.

We will begin to see our church members differently also – perceiving more of what they might be capable of in service to God in the city, and nation. Our leadership practices might change. Our DNA within our leadership certainly will change. Our faith and vision will be increased. We will speak differently and carry ourselves differently because we no longer serve a local church or denomination; we instead serve all of God’s Church and it  mission in our city and nation. My base resources are not therefore just my church with its 200 (or however many) members in a city; it’s the 25,000 of us in the churches of Tauranga – and we have enormous capacity together – even to change a few things!

Because we now think with belief greater things are possible, we attempt greater things.

We cast greater vision.

We then also release other people to attempt greater things where we previously couldn’t see their potential.

As they take initiative, God’s people begin to become more united in their various spheres of involvement, interest and influence. They begin to do this beyond our oversight and control.

What we are doing in this is unlocking the actual resources of the body of Christ. ‘Unity’ is shifting from church leaders, to church members. The entire body of Christ is at their disposal as their potential team – to partner with – and it has more resources than any one church or pastor could dream of!

Our members therefore begin a new practice:  They being to instinctively unite with others in their own arenas of involvement and influence, to pray together about what they might do. God then inspires them – and they then attempt things that we would never have imagined!

In summary

As we are changed the city is changed. This is what I believe God wants to do in his Church in these ‘last days’.

To be clear, our denominations are fine if we understand their place.

However, they cannot lead us in the greatest areas of our vision and work – because that is about mission. For that, we need the to understand that our team is the entire scope of the body of Christ that we live amongst – because God’s actual Church is a Church without walls!