I loved a conversation a friend of mine had with a fellow saint. He asked the saint how many churches are there in Norfolk. After a response of “I don’t know” the friend stated correctly: “One.” This biblical reality is one we miss. But why are there so many denominations, and what about the nondenominational movement? Many, and I was in this camp, viewed being nondenominational as helpful because of avoided drama. Then looking at data of the las few years, nondenominational is viewed as hiding or not being honest. One article I read stated it was being a covert baptist. Denominations have issues, but so does the nondenominational movement. Here is a glimpse at the need, failure, and my hope for the nondenominational vs denominational movement.

The need

National and international denominations have glaring problems. Like sheep, when one goes astray, they all follow. There is a distinct need to rethink what denominations should be and look like. For one instance is how do denominations reflect the reality of there only being one church? In large denominations there is a large gap between leadership and congregations. There is value in accountability and resource sharing, but politics often become unhealthy because of the gap. For large churches, the question arrises of what good are the denominational leaders? I have heard of these horror stories often. One solution was to build networks, but networks often lack the accountability mechanisms that should be helpful from a denomination. 

Nondenominational churches can have a sharper focus on their community and not be as easily swayed by errant doctrine. Much of the nondenominational movement and value is not having to deal with political hoops and baggage that come with being a denomination. Denominations are broken and nondenominational movement was a way to fix that issue. I would call it a modern version of monastic, puritan, or fundamentalist movements of the past: Separate to be a pure church. I felt great freedom pastoring nondenominational. But for sure with that freedom comes a massive battle with arrogance. The Bible says they will know we are Christians by our love. The premise of being nondenominational rubs against biblical attributes of love.

The failure

What are they hiding? This is a question raised when looking at churches changing their name to be nondenominational, or to not focus on the denomination they are. In looking at various studies on the issue, the odd preference is for churches to be assertive in who they are. This raises a critical questions in my mind: Is nondenominational an excuse to write off other Christians? Have we trained ourselves to not take a stand on things? The avoidance of drama only perpetuates drama. The only truly drama free route is reconciliation and healing. Avoidance is horrible theology and psychology. Love is hard work. It requires patience and sacrifice. Too often we lack the endurance and love the Bible commands. 

Paul tells Timothy to guard is life and his doctrine. Denominations are largely drawn on theological distinctives. To play the middle road becomes increasingly problematic in a polarized world where clarity matters. Hence the shift in data where “what are you hiding” rings out when changing a church name or not taking on a denominational distinctive. In the training to be winsome and avoid controversy, we trained ourselves to not lack assertiveness and clarity the Bible calls us too.

The hope

Both denominational and nondenominational churched have logs to remove from their eyes. My hope is in the power of repentance. From the denominational perspective, there is a need to revisit how the church should be expressed and lead in a way that is both biblical and life giving. Wether denominations become replaced/redefined with networks or a hybrid of the two, a shift needs to happen. There is a need to service and support rather than command and control. There is value to denominations, but the current situation needs a significant rethinking.

From a nondenominational perspective, there is a need to recognize that writing people off is not necessarily biblical. We need to realize we need one another as we are all members of one body. The avoidance of denominational drama can also be viewed as being loveless or lazy people need other people just as churches need other churches, the danger of the nondenominational movement is that churches do whatever is right in their own eyes. This lacks to cohesion, patient endurance, and accountability the Bible teaches.

From both perspectives, we are erring in the same way illustrated in First Corinthians. “Some say I am of Paul, others I am of Peter, others I am of Christ.” The reality is we are one church divided, not multiple churches needing to come together. Command and control as well as avoiding drama and wanting to be pure both trend towards arrogance. We seek to be the perfect church rather than Christians growing into Christ likeness. 

The long road to healing

Change does not happen on a dime, but we can move in that direction. First, we should encourage people to seek growth rather than perfection. Church will always be messy because people are messy. Drama free is a myth. Second, we should be assertive in our denominational distinctions. This will hopefully reduce the number of denominations. Granted, this means some significant and hard discussions as we learn how to come together and give grace in differences. Who knows, perhaps God may grant repentance in such a way that there is just one church reflecting that there is just one church. Third, we need to embrace the mess by being loving Christians rather than consumers. Avoiding drama aids satan, not love and healing the Gospel brings. Rather than consume one another as the consumerism of today’s church does, we build one another up. That we forgive one another just as God in Christ forgave us.

Barring persecution, the likely hood of one church instead of denominations will not happen in my lifetime. But, we can head in that direction in a way that is biblical rather than ecumenical. That is loving rather than combative. That is life giving rather than consuming. In other words, we can become loving Christians demonstrated not in mere kindness, but in forgiving one another 70×7 like Jesus taught. The reality is we need one another, and that takes a patient, forgiving love. This is not naturally human, it is being supernatural like Christ. It is the goal of our growth.