WHY A NON-DENOMINATIONAL EVANGELICAL CHURCH?

Our small Christian non-profit ministry recently requested and received approval from the IRS to be re-classified as a ‘church’.    

As our primary ministry is hosting two church services weekly, serving as pastor and chaplain to the residents of a large assisted living facility and promoting discipleship through weekly Bible studies, it seemed appropriate. 

As a church our core beliefs and passions led us to align ourselves as an independent “non-denominational" evangelical church.

While there is a great amount of diversity and variety among non-denominational churches—the one likely commonality is they all are embracing a growing trend to not be connected to a denominational structure and stubbornly refuse to be identified by denominational criteria.

My personal stubbornness lies in what I call an aversion to ‘isms.’   ‘Isms’ are an expansion of what likely started as a stated doctrinal belief hopefully based on a Biblical teaching.   However, in time, the ‘ism’ at the end of the name of the doctrine or teaching creates divisions into different, competing and often hostile opposing groups.   While, many of these teachings and beliefs are doctrinally sound, they tend to unnecessarily divide us when Christ and the New Testament is clear that unity of the Body of Christ is the objective.  

Beyond just being stubborn, there are two primary reasons why churches like ours are independent and non-denominational—these reasons are organizational and theological.

1.  Organizational

Denominations tend to become bureaucratic and inwardly focused.  They typically have shown an inability to remain focused on the original vision that created the movement’s vitality.  All too often, the established and traditional methods become more important than the results that are to be achieved.   Methods are a poor substitute for being a part of the true vine that Jesus followers are to cling to.    While there are benefits in tradition, tradition can quickly lead to inflexibility, and the larger the organizational and associated requirements become the greater the opportunity for organizational dysfunction and misdirection.

Many denominational churches have moved to become independent by disconnecting themselves from their denominational underpinnings.   Often, this is accomplished by a simple name change, taking on a generic name that in appearance drops or greatly reduces the denominational baggage.   By maintaining a connection to the denomination, these local churches may find that they can maintain some of the benefits of cooperation and theological training while embracing some of the non-traditional worship, culture and language of the independent churches.  

According to Pew Forum research, most of the largest denominations in the United States reported a decline in membership.   

Interestingly, this same study also found that while Protestants in general saw their share of the US population fall since 2007 (decline of 4.7% from 2007 to 2014), and Catholics also lost approximately 3.1% of their share of the population,  the nondenominational share of the US population grew from 4.5% to 6.2% during the same period.

Declaring a church to be non-denominational by itself doesn’t eliminate the inherent challenges and predictable decline of centralized denominations.  However, when combined with a focus on the primary doctrines of the faith as discussed below, many evangelical, non-denominational churches have thrived and pushed against the trend.

2.  Theological

Non-denominational does not mean undecided or not orthodox in belief.  The vast majority of independent non-denominational churches are also clearly evangelical.  This indicates while non-denominational, there is a common distinctiveness of doctrine.    While there are many that prefer to define evangelicals based on style, political opinions, or by denomination, the NAE (National Association of Evangelicals) states that “Evangelicals take the Bible seriously and believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. The term “evangelical” comes from the Greek word euangelion, meaning “the good news” or the “gospel.” Thus, the evangelical faith focuses on the “good news” of salvation brought to sinners by Jesus Christ.”

Further, according also to the NAE, many evangelicals choose to not use the word ‘evangelical’ in describing themselves, focusing rather on their core theological beliefs: The faithfulness and authority of the Bible, salvation by grace through faith, the need for a personal relationship with God through Jesus and his death and resurrection, their involvement in evangelism, the desire for discipleship and fellowship and the ultimate return of Jesus Christ.

One of the strengths of the non-denominational, evangelical church is the simplicity of their doctrines.   There is rarely any complex terminology or exhaustive theological explanations but typically a simple reference to a few verses in the Bible.  It can be said that the non-denominational, evangelical church typically majors on the major doctrines of the church and minors on the minors.   For example, the word sacrament can be used to describe their regular communion and baptism rituals without the people becoming ‘sacramentalists.’   The Bible is considered to be faithful in origin as well as transmission without an insistence of any particular translation or edition.  Church services can be rather prescribed or sometimes unpredictable without causing a major breach of an historic ecclesiastical calendar.

As a result, the local pastor is able to build a church that focuses on the primary truths of the Bible, preach the Gospel with clarity and remain in unity with other churches in the community that are considered to all be part of the same Body of Christ.

 

Ultimately, each non-denominational evangelical church will need to grapple with the same issues that the denominational churches have had difficulties with over the years: divorce and remarriage, church governance, church discipline, the roles of women and men in leadership, etc.    The advantage however for these newer non-denominational churches is that they can make even poor decisions without saddling other independent churches with a mandate to go and do likewise. 

Rev. Kenneth Behr (Th.D)                              July 2019

Putting down roots: Membership or Partnership

One of the megatrends in churches has been to rethink the concept of Membership.   

Some of the largest churches in the country no longer offer memberships and instead encourage their regular attenders to consider a partnership with the church.    These partnerships are similar to membership in many respects however it does allow the church to identify some unique differences:

1. Partnerships are commitments made by regular attenders to voluntarily align with the mission of the local church.  They are an agreement to become active participants rather than passive attenders. However, unlike membership, they don’t usually come with ‘voting’ or any other rights.
2.  In this age of non-denominationalism, becoming a partner in a local church is akin to partnering in a nonprofit organization or ministry.   It’s an opportunity for involvement, it’s a financial decision to provide support.
3. Partnerships are also easier 'hurdles'   As membership comes with voting rights including the right to hire or even fire a pastor, the membership steps involved a 'vetting process' making sure that members were true Christians or even 'sanctified' for lack of a better term.   Partnerships in contrast, simply means they want to belong and become involved in the work of the church. 

Church membership still has many advantages.  In Tom Rainer’s book “I Am a Church Member” he gives seven reasons why church membership is not only relevant, it is also biblical.  For example, in 1 Corinthians 12: 27, it says: “Now you are the body of Christ, and individual members of it.”   People also understand being invited to a "Church Membership Class."   Partnership still doesn't have the same familiarity. 

While I prefer the term “Partnership” or even better “Covenant Partners”, I’m a fan of any membership program or name that encourages active participation in the life of the church. The Church after all is not a building nor organization but the Body of Christ. 

We are the Church!

You have likely heard your pastor or people in your church say, “Don’t just go to church; BE the church.”

Often, what well-minded people are trying to convey is that many of the services and activities that people associate with the church can actually be done individually or in small groups - -things like bringing meals to those that can’t get out, helping out a neighbor in need, getting a group of people to help clean up a park or a church etc.

While these are very good and useful activities, that is not at all what the Apostle Paul meant when he told the Corinthians, “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it” (1 Cor 12:27)

When the Apostle Paul refers to the church he calls it, ‘the body of Christ.’   He doesn’t refer to it as the body of Christians.   While the body of Christians may be divide, the body of Christ cannot.  

“ For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. 14 For in fact the body is not one member but many.” (1 Cor 12:12-14)

We are the church when we recognize that while all of us have different gifts and different callings, all of us can and should contribute to the body “But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. 21 And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” (1 Cor 12:20-21)

We are the church when each of us individually realizes that the Great Commandment (that we love God with all our heart, soul and mind and our neighbor as ourselves) and the Great Commission (go and make disciples) applies to us, not just a ministry within the institutional church.

Institutionally, the church has had many problems over the past 2,000 years.  But as the body of Christ, we have the most profound impact and collectively work together for the fulfillment of the Gospel.

Another Church Closes

Churches are closing all over the United States.   

I’m not referring to the “Big C” church, as we understand that the Church is actually the Body of Christ comprised of all believers in Jesus regardless of location, race, denomination, language or tradition.  In addition, worldwide, Christianity is not only the largest religion but also the fastest growing religion.  What we are seeing in America however is that many local church congregations, some in nice buildings, some in buildings that have seen better days, are closing their doors each year. 

According to recent reports about 4,000 church congregations close each year contrasted with about 1,500 new churches resulting in a loss of about 2,500 congregations.  Considering a growth in the population in the United States of about .7% and if 40% of Americans attend church, we need 4,200 net new churches every year.

A nation that is unchurched

It’s becoming increasingly clear that each year a greater percentage of Americans are now ‘unchurched’.   While the reasons for this are varied the undisputed fact is that as Christianity has become less relevant in the eyes of the average American.   As a result more and more local churches are faced with very difficult decisions regarding their continued operation, their ability to attract new people and their continued role in the community.

While they are still meeting and the lights are still on, these congregations have the opportunity to revitalize their ministry and to again be an important part of the fabric of their community.  The Great Commission of making disciples of Jesus Christ is not just about reaching new people groups or something that growing and sprawling mega churches do, it’s the basic and the essential mission of every local church.

There is hope!

Rather than abandoning these ministries and hoping that either the buildings can be sold, torn down or otherwise recycled, we need to remind ourselves that there is hope.  Not only is Jesus still the Lord and Head of the Church, we as the Body of Christ likewise can come alongside these churches and provide them with opportunities to rejuvenate and rebirth their congregations.

My observation is that these local congregations start spiraling down and get caught in a number of ultimately fatal traps.   Unless the leadership of the congregation recognizes the trends and understands that unless things change radically, their fate is sealed.  The congregation, the building, the legacy and the local Christian witness will vanish.

The challenge is that the change that is necessary is often very difficult to initiate.    In every generation local churches have struggled when they make even minor changes in worship, preaching style, the environment, attire or service times.    Recently many churches have stepped away from the traditional service patterns of Sunday morning, Sunday evening and Midweek as American culture has become busier and attendance has been declining.

If your local church is thriving and prefers more traditional worship and midweek services, God bless you.   Many congregations believe their culture and traditions are very closely related to their doctrinal beliefs and would rather be satisfied ministering to a declining and likely aging population.  However, they and the community they serve may be missing out on an opportunity to understand and witness first hand that the Gospel is not limited by tradition and culture.

The example of Jesus and Paul

Today more than ever we need more of our leaders to be like the Apostle Paul.  While Paul was a great church planter and was used by God to bring the Gospel to the gentiles in Asia and Europe he was also interested in strengthening and revitalizing the existing churches.  In the book of Acts we see Paul and Barnabas returning to the churches to “see how they are dong” (Acts 15:36).”   Paul was not hesitant to address moral or theological issues, heresy or problems in leadership.

Jesus as well through his angel sent messages to seven churches in the Book of Revelation.  These churches were all unique and each needed to hear a unique message regarding insights into their ministry.  Some were commended while some were severely criticized.   They all had the opportunity to be faithful to the ministry that they were given.  For most of them however that meant they had to make changes.

The bible is clear that we are the Body of Christ and that when one member suffers, we all suffer (1 Cor 12:26).  We are all too familiar with the scandals that spread when a minister falls because of moral failure.  Likewise, churches that begin to embrace the very sin that so easily entangles very quickly bring shame, dishonor and confusion within the Body of Christ.

In the same way, churches that close their doors, sell their buildings and abandon their calling indicate failure.  Their failure means that the message of the church, the life-changing opportunity to embrace Jesus as the Christ, to have sin forgiven and provide a message of hope is somehow irrelevant.

I mentioned earlier that many of our local congregations are spiraling down and get caught in a number of ultimately fatal traps. Often before a church can be revitalized, it has to be pruned and closed temporarily for some major remodeling.   Like an airplane that goes into a stall and starts spiraling down, the very deliberate but often counter intuitive maneuver of pushing the nose down is the only thing that can stop the spiral down.

Six changes to make!

Here are the major things I recommend these congregations look at to make the changes needed:

1. Sever the denominational ties! If you can’t completely depart from the denomination change the name on the building so that the message is clear that the purpose and mission of the local congregation is not about denominational differences but about the essential message of the gospel.
   
2. Focus on the local community!  Local congregations are designed to serve the local community.   People within a few miles of the church need Jesus and having a local church provides great opportunities for fellowship and true communion.
   
3. Worship!  All too often we worship our worship rather than worship the Creator.  There has been more hand wringing and arguments over the style and type of worship in a church than any other issue.  Worship preferences are rarely doctrinal issues and Christians have worshiped God in many different manners over the past 2,000 years.
    
4. Preach the gospel!  As churches become smaller the preacher assumes that since the remaining people already know the gospel, they need to be given other lessons in stewardship, parenting, ecology, history, social services or other useful but nonessential messages.   It is the gospel that brings spiritual rebirth and it is the gospel that people need to hear.
    
5. Evangelize! Evangelism is not a program nor an annual outreach, nor even an option; it is a command.  Evangelism is just another term for our part of the Great Commission, as it was Jesus that said to go and make disciples.   We go, He brings the Holy Spirit.
   
6. Pray!  It is Biblical and it has also been show historically that there are no second generation Christians.  Every believer begins his or her walk with the Lord individually.   Christianity is about prayer, self-sacrifice, humility, discipline and the development of a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  

Jesus said..

Jesus said that the gates of hell shall not prevail against the Church. With that we have to understand that there is a very significant spiritual component as we lead and determine the appropriate actions to take to revitalize our congregations.  We pastors also need to always remember that its not our efforts but each member that contributes to the vitality of the local church.  In Ephesians chapter 4 the Apostle Paul says, “As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing. …” (Ephesians 4:16b, NLT)

Mardi Gras no.....Lent yes!

What is Mardi Gras?

Likely more people are excited about Mardi Gras than Lent.  Both Mardi Gras (which is French for "Fat Tuesday") and Lent are traditions that have evolved and unfortunately devolved over many years.   Mardi Gras doesn’t have any remaining spiritual significance other than it is the day before Lent. The origin is reported that people would be fasting starting on Ash Wednesday, and would ‘use up’ their remaining foods that were not going to be consumed during the 40 day period of Lent.   

Over time,  Mardi Gras and “Fat Tuesday” became the opportunity or excuse for one more day or one extreme day to indulge the flesh.  Like the bachelor and bachelorette parties that should be avoided as they are often regretted, I recommend that we just say ‘no’ to Mardi Gras. Having a celebration of a day called Fat Tuesday or encouraging over-indulgence as if some how we are entitled to revel in excess just seems contrary to the whole idea of fasting and discipline.

What is Lent?

Lent is a very ancient season in the church that is a 40-day period of fasting, prayer and renewal preceding Easter.  Lent is an old-English word that really is just another name for Spring, as Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Easter Sunday.  In the early church, there were many different times of fasting and prayer and many try to attribute the practice of a 40-day fast prior to Easter to the Council of Nicaea in AD 325.  However, the records from the Council of Nicaea are readily accessible and I find no particular reference to a time of fasting by the Council of Nicaea. History records that by the 6th century, the leaders of the church had a problem in that very few people were participating in the weekly communion service.  Church teaching at that time was most severe, focusing on God’s vengeance, man’s sinfulness, eternal damnation and hell fire.  Most people felt that they were unworthy to receive communion so a 40-day period of fasting was instituted to prepare people to receive communion at Easter.   The Quadragesima would eventually be known as “Ash Wednesday” as ashes were used in the ceremony beginning this period of fasting, prayer and renewal.

A Biblical fast always involves abstaining from food for some period. While it rarely would be a complete abstinence (i.e. only water), it should be deliberate, it should be over an extended period of time (i.e. 21 days, 40 days) and should always involve prayer.

Both 21 days and 40 days are great Biblical numbers for a feast. The prophet Daniel fasted for 21 days and Jesus fasted in the wilderness for 40 days.

The Quadragesima fast or Lent changed greatly over the years.  The people wanted to know what minimally was required to complete the fast (not unlike today) and the church over the years relaxed the fast from one meal a day with no meat, poultry or fish consumed, to a few days of fasting a week and recently for Catholics to not eating meat on Friday during Lent. Many Christians don’t fast during Lent but will ‘give up’ something. This is unfortunate as it is in a fast that we can truly reflect, renew our spirits and prepare for this time to remember the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

Unfortunately, many of the churches have abandoned the season of Lent but recently fasting is making a comeback in some of our Evangelical Churches.  For more on fasting, here is a link to my blog on Prayer and Fasting .