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Beyond Denomination – The Networked Church
By John Edmiston
Why Are Denominations Being Ignored?
Why do governments and industry prefer localarea networks of churches to denominations?Why are missionary candidates often wary aboutjoining denominational missions? Why areChristian schools and hospitals increasinglychoosing to associate in interdenominationalnetworks rather than along denominational lines? Here are a few of the more obvious reasons:
The Bible clearly promotes unity overdisunity and denominations are increasinglybeing seen as an inferior way of beingChristian. This perception is held byChristians and non-Christians alike. Cooperation is the preferred metaphor andmode of being. Denominations in Australia mainly have theirorigins in ancient disputes in England, Europe or America. Disputes that happenedbefore Australia was founded and which wewant no part of. The “walls” betweendenominations are artificial to mostAustralians. Unfortunately strong mindedindividuals and groups within the churchperpetuate old disputes and keptsectarianism alive.
Government and industry do not understandor appreciate theological differences andare puzzled by them and the obstacles toconstructive action they represent. Theywant to deal with everyone at once and notto have to factor into the equation somethingthey don’t understand. People outside of church circles, and evensome in them, are bewildered by thedenominational titles and have no idea whoto go to and what to do. If they can bypassthis confusing state of affairs they do. Clergy tend to have a wide range ofadministrative abilities from brilliant towoeful. This creates uncertain expectationsin those dealing with them. Outsideorganisations tend to remember the badexperiences with the less administrativelycompetent clergy and would prefer to dealwith a theologically informed andadministratively competent layperson.
Related to this most people, evenChristians, question “clergy interference” inthe administration of schools, colleges,hospitals and universities and they are beingdropped from the boards of suchorganisations in favour of theologicallyinformed and administratively competentlaypersons.
Layers of administration and representationare being rapidly decreased inrestructurings in both the public and privatesectors. This has two effects (a) the desireto deal with as few layers as possible and togo straight to the local church or Christianschool. (b) Denominations are made to lookoverly hierarchical by their structures andthus the idea that they are “outdated” andbehind the times is confirmed in the mindsof the observer.
The evident gender bias of denominationsmakes them unacceptable to many in thecommunity particularly women who wouldprefer to deal with other powerful andinformed women. Women occupy many ofthe key positions in the public sector thatchurches deal with and so they endeavour tobypass the “unacceptable” denominationalstructures.
Women probably give more financially to thechurch than men given that they predominate
in the church and are increasingly present inthe workforce. Their giving is not going to goto structures that they perceive as robbingthem of opportunities to express their faithand they will support local churches leavingmale-stream denominational structures.
Ordination is increasingly coming under fireas outdated, sexist, unscriptural or as theprovince more and more of the local church.Increasingly a Bachelor of Theology is beingseen as just as good a passport to ministryas the laying on of hands of a bishop. Ordination is also being eroded byministries outside of denominationalstructures such as Campus Crusade ForChrist where non-ordained people aremaking a very significant impact for Godthrough things such as the Jesus Film. Alsofunctions such as conducting marriageceremonies are no longer the province ofordained ministers of the gospel. Ordinationis looking shaky although is the one of themain powers that denominations have. Moreon ordination later in the book.
Christians find they like each other no matterwhat church the other person comes from. “Church Hopping” has had one good effectin removing many of the myths about otherchurches. It has thus eroded denominationalidentity. People feel they are Christians firstand Baptists, Lutherans or Pentecostals etc. second. Many local churches are in a significantamount of theological, financial oradministrative tension with theirdenominational structures and feel theywould be better off without them. Forinstance the homosexuality debate and thepossible ordination of homosexuals hascaused a number of Uniting Churches of anevangelical or charismatic flavour tobecome independent of their denominationhere in Australia. While many others strugglewith the compromise they perceive in theirdenomination.
The churches that have departed andbecome independent have not notablysuffered as a result. Their “liberation” hasbeen evident to others still in the systemparticularly those that feel they are paying anoverly large portion of the denominationaldues and which have the strength to beindependent themselves.
How Long Has This Been Going On For?
The movements for Christian unity began late lastcentury were given impetus by John Mott andDavid Du Plessis and gathered momentum afterWorld War 2 when the Billy Graham Crusades gotchurches working together for a common causeand Christians learned how much they had incommon. In my home state of Queensland theBrethren, Churches of Christ and Baptist churcheshave been at the forefront of inter-denominationalmissions. Their denominational structures ofnetworked autonomous local congregations havecertainly contributed to the easy adoption ofinter-denominational practices. Strict, creedal, formal denominationalism was eroded and thiswave ended in mergers of similar but strugglingdenominations the largest of which was theformation of the Uniting Church from the combinedMethodist, Presbyterian and Congregationalchurches. Still the denominational metaphor wasintact, the denominations did not dissolve intonetworks they combined into new and “moresensible” denominations. This first wave wasbased on the interpretation of John 17 (Jesusprayer for unity) as being organic and structuralunity. The second wave disputed this and sawunity as "koinonia" rowing a boat together, thecommon cause.
The “second wave” that I observed was “cautiousnetworking” and was three fold. Firstly came theformation of the inter-denominational BrisbaneCollege of Theology where most denominationshave their clergy trained through the same bodyalbeit with denominational distinctives intact. Secondly churches in small country towns werecombining for evening services and occasionalmission projects. And thirdly the ChurchesWorking Together initiative of the mainlinedenominations brought pulpit sharing and theoccasional combined service to Catholic, Anglican, Uniting and Lutheran churches. It alsosaw cooperation in local area networks to achievegoals in pastoral care, education and socialservices. The denominational metaphor wasbeing replaced by the metaphor of local areanetwork of believers in a very cautious fashion.
This was helped along by a “theology of the city”which saw the city/local area as the organising unit. This theology can get quite complex and toexplain it simply it is based partly on the fact thatthe epistles of Paul were written to local areas notindividual churches or denominations.
The “third wave” I observed came from twosources. Firstly the Vineyard movement with its
network of independent churches seeking God ina particularly appealing way for many. It had a newand attractive flavour about it and while it did notcatch on in a very big way in Australia it created ahunger for a similar way of being Christian here. The Crosslinks network of independent churchesseems to have its genesis at least partly in theVineyard movement and the gentle managementphilosophy of the late John Wimber. Secondly thetask of churches reaching youth created a crisisthat has had three remarkable expressions. FirstlyScripture Union came up with the idea of placingchurch funded chaplains in government highschools. To get this past the State EducationDepartment which did not want denominationallybiased chaplains Local Chaplaincy Committeeshad to be formed representing all the churchesaround a given high school . They then funded theworker in the school who was recruited byScripture Union and approved by the LCC onnegotiated guidelines that were also approved bythe Education Department. So far in Queenslandover 70 such chaplaincies have been formed andthis is increasing at a fast rate . Churches areworking together in local area networks andfunding a common worker. While this is still quiteperipheral to church life in Queensland it hasrequired much negotiation and cooperation sothat the process of chaplaincy formation has beena huge exercise in trust building between localchurches. The second youth-related issue hasbeen Religious Education in schools which usedto be denominationally based with eachdenomination for instruction. Commonly smallerdenominations banded together as "OtherProtestant Denominations. " .With women REteachers entering the workforce and increasinglybusy local clergy it became impossible to findenough teachers so denominations did thesensible thing and started grouping together a bit.
Eventually the idea of a common curriculumemerged negotiated between churches in thelocal areas such as Townsville West. Initiallydenominational distrust was at a high level and ittook 6 months or more for these agreements to beput together. Last month a new Townsville Westagreement was put together in a single meeting. The third youth related development was anoutcome of the Youth For Christ combined youthrallies of the 70’s and 80’s and the Youth Aliverallies in Pentecostal circles. Youth who met atthese rallies networked along the lines of affinityand friendship and not along the lines of doctrine. Youth began to move around each other'schurches at such a speed that all youth ministryhas become essentially inter-denominational. Youth pastors are now getting together regularlyand networking frequently partly to keep track oftheir charges and partly to organise combinedevents. Denominations have little meaning in theworld of youth work. In fact they come close tobeing nonsensical. It’s one huge youth network – atleast here in Townsville.
Other factors have certainly contributed to thecollapse of the Berlin Wall of denominationalism. These factors include ridicule and persecutionwhere Christians have suffered together in theface of a hostile world. Even the mildanti-Christian stance of the media has been aforce making Christians feel that they are moretogether than apart. Christian bookstores, common books, commentaries and lexicons andBibles, Christian radio and common Christianmusic have all been factors. Few denominationsrealise how close they have become. I lecture attwo bible colleges one very Baptist andnon-charismatic and the other very Pentecostal. They are under the impression that they are “totallydifferent”. Yet my lecture notes on Hebrews orChurch History at the Pentecostal college wouldbe perfectly acceptable at the Baptist college
since both colleges use exactly the same
references, notes and textbooks. If I changed the
title page of the notes no-one would be the wiser.
When Will The Battle For The DenominationsBegin?
In management literature they have gone frombeing future-ists to “present-ists’ and are asking “what unperceived change has already occurredthat will define the future?” The collapse ofdenominations is such a change. It's happened. The battle is over. This book is in the past tense. Itexamples are from yesterday. I am not predictinganything I am rather describing what is now andtrying to find the way forward. There will be no “battle for the denominations”, no rearguard actionto preserve the past; the troops have moved on –and in droves. So my question at the head of thissection is (deliberately) misleading. The discourseof cooperation has been normalised and thediscourse of denominationalism has beenmarginalised. In other words when people talk indenominational terms now they sound weird andbehind the times. It is no longer normal to bedenominational any more than it is normal tobe racist. Increasingly denominationalism isbeing viewed as undesirable and evenpathological within Christian circles. It is certainlyno longer the favoured way of being Christian.
What Has Replaced/Will ReplaceDenominations As The Means of OrganisingThe Faith and Life Of The Churches?
Local area networks of churches will help us findfaith and fellowship and task focused associationswill organise our schools, hospitals, missionarysocieties and theological colleges. Largernetworks will exist in matters of doctrine and stylesof worship and even higher level organisations willco-ordinate the efforts of the schools, missionarysocieties etc. This has largely happened but is stillhappening hence the time ambiguity in theheader.
But Surely Some Tasks Will Still Belong ToDenominational Structures Like The Training,
Ordaining & Appointment of Clergy.
1.The training of clergy is already being doneinter-denominationally in all majordenominations and a B.Th. from any onecollege will be accepted by the otherdenominations. Candidates movingbetween denominations generally only haveto take a few subjects on denominationaldistinctives.
2.The appointment of clergy. Many Baptistchurches and all independent churchessimply advertise in the Christiannewspapers and magazines when a pastoris needed or promote an elder in the church. Such appointments are just as functional asthose made by denominational panels andin many cases even better as theparticipating church has more say and thusgreater “ownership” of the decision.
3.Ordination is under fire and being seen asofficious meddling in many cases. It is eithernever instituted (Churches of Christ)diminished in significance (many ThirdWave churches) or relegated to the localchurch. Independent churches ordain simplyby the laying on of hands of the elders in thecongregation. Pastors so ordained seem tofunction just as well as those ordained by abishop.
4.Discipline of errant churches is anothersupposedly denominational function. However it is simply not being done by thedenominations and when it is done it is oftendone poorly. Even this can be done bynetworks. A successful restoration of achurch in error was achieved when anetwork of pastors who prayed togetherhelped one of their number back on track. No denominational “heavies” were involvedand in fact they were remarkably absentfrom the process. Friends can help eachother be accountable and to stay on track as “iron sharpens iron” and networked clergyare far less likely to fall than often isolateddenominational clergy. Similarly correctionof doctrine is being done more by Christianauthors and Christian media than bypronouncements from denominational HQ. Creeds have become minimalist nine pointaffairs and something of the magnitude ofthe Westminster Confession would not becontemplated by any denomination today. Even in Catholic circles canon law is beingincreasingly resisted or ignored.
5.The sense of continuity, history andbelonging that denominations provide isbeing replaced by allegiance to theScriptures and to personal experiences ofGod. Allegiance can be to the local areanetwork or the task focused organisation justas much as it can to a denomination. I findmany people who describe themselves asYWAM-ers for instance and find theirallegiance there rather than in events inEurope’s past. Many Australians find itawkward to have an allegiance to adenomination like the Lutherans where thehistory is that of Germany in the 1500’s. Perhaps that is why the Lutheran church inAustralia has barely spread beyond theGerman sub-culture.
6.There is thus no function of denominationalstructures that I can think of that cannot bedone as well or better by local area networksof churches or task focused associations. Hierarchical denominational structures aresimply unnecessary.
Ok John, Back Off, You Are Sounding A BitToo Hostile Here… Denominations HavePerformed A Very Important Role And WillWell Into The Forseeable Future and BesidesThousands of People Have Died Fighting ForThose Denominational Distinctives and Waysof Being Christian…
I thought you would say that! Lets deal with the“martyrs” argument first. People have died fightingover all sorts of things. People have died fightingover their favourite football team. Probablysomeone has died fighting over a bus ticket. Thisjust indicates the presence of a vicious tribalismthat is prepared to kill those who believe and livedifferently. It says nothing about the rightness orwrongness of those so killed or the structures theyused to organise themselves. That is not to saythat such deaths were unworthy or in vain. However they should not dictate how Christiansorganise themselves today. The structures we useshould be the best possible structures that help uswith the following top priority tasks amongstothers:
1.Loving God with all our heart, soul, mind andstrength.
2.Loving our neighbours as ourselves.
3.Developing a vital Christian community thatlives the abundant victorious Christian lifetogether in peace.
4.Fulfilling God’s calling to make disciples ofall nations.
5.Undertaking ministries of mercy andcompassion to a hurting world.
Local area networks of churches undertook thefirst three of those tasks very capably during thefirst century AD and roving task focusedmissionary bands such as the one Paul led wereresponsible for evangelism, mission and thecollection for the starving saints in Jerusalem – thelast two tasks on our list. Denominations were notneeded then and these five tasks were done aswell or better than they have been done since. Denominational structures were never put in placeby the apostles who were ‘network hubs” ratherthan archbishops and popes.
Denominationalways of being are a mixed blessing promotingstability on one hand and allowing tribalism in thebody of Christ in the other. Their effect in stiflingthe more unusual but sometimes more vitalaspects of the faith has been a high price to payfor order. When God orders nature it is with greatvariety and a harmony between the species. Hedid not plant all trees in rows or say “I like petuniastherefore all flowers will be petunias”. The animalsare not filed from A-Z or kept isolated from eachother. God’s order is “beyond bureaucracy”. Therefore if the Church is to reflect God’s order itwill be “beyond bureaucracy” and the traditionalforms of denominational structures.
Denominations are often half of the solution, anexpedient structure created during a revival orreformation. There are better ways of organizing ourselves that we can move towards. We nowneed to take the next step into new ways of beingChristian that go beyond denominations.
Chapter Two – Local AreaNetworks
Do Local Area Networks Of Churches Exist InScripture?
Most exponents of early church history such asRobert Banks argue that the early church met inhouses and these houses were linked together incity-wide networks. I see it as a bit broader thanthat. I find (at least) four kinds of networks of localchurches & Christians in the New Testament.
1.Ethnic networks such as those that emergedin the Jerusalem church between theHellenistic Jewish Christians and theHebrew speaking Jewish Christians andbetween Jewish and Gentile networks inRome. These strong family-based ethnicnetworks were a threat to the unity of thelocal church. These networks exist in twotypes networks within the local church suchas at Jerusalem and Rome and networkslarger than any local church such as theJewish Christian diaspora addressed inHebrews. A modern day example would bethe network of overseas Chinese Christiansthat is international and influential today. They are a network with a distinct way ofbeing Christian but are not formalised as adenomination.