Some Numbers.
Amidst the denominational hodgepodge that is Protestant America today, it is easy to find one's self with a bit of a "Christian identity crisis." According to most sources, there are a little over 6,100 denominations in the United States alone. For those of you with a more catholic (little "c" means world-wide) focus, there are over 43,000 "Christian denominations" worldwide. Incredible. In 1975 the same organization recorded a little over 26,000 denominations worldwide. In 1995 the figure stood at 33,800. So, from 1975 to the present over 17,000 new denominations have been formed.
There are positives and negatives to these numbers. The glittering positive is that some of these new denominations can be attributed to new communities of faith, where the gospel message has been received in places where it had either never been or previously fizzled out. Praise God stuff. However, my fear is that many of these "new" denominations represent conflict, unrest, and inability to practice the very reconciliation and mercy which are essential to the gospel message we claim to carry. Even "non-denominational" churches are a denomination all their own. They have their own collective identity and sanguine attitudes that define them. It is like the non-conformist "anarchy" minded group of teenagers who all dress and talk alike. The irony is wonderful.
The Question.
Now that I dropped that completely unequivocal and mundane statement, let's see where it plays out in a daily basis in our modern society.
I am an extroverted introvert. Ironic, I know, but God seems to enjoy working through irony so I embrace it. This irony within myself is likely what led me to my part-time job during seminary. I was a bartender at a local golf course/restaurant. Among the many harrowing duties of a bartending, is the obligation to engage in small talk with patrons. Sometimes you strike up wonderful conversations; other times you would rather eat chalk. Anyone with bartending experience knows what I mean.
The interesting thing about small talk in our society, is that it is governed by a very rigid dialogue, scripted out by cultural assumptions, obligatory cordiality, and an ephemeral need for affirmation. Nevertheless, one of the obligatory inquiries is "What do you do?" (Yes even though I was at work I always got this question; I suppose I ought to take this fact as a compliment) I loved the moment that followed. In the most nonchalant manner possible, I responded "I'm a pastor," and then awaited the proverbial pin-drop. Sometimes I got an "Oh." Sometimes I got an "Oh, great for you." Sometimes I got an "I'm really sorry for dropping the f-bomb like fifteen times, I didn't know you were a pastor..." as if my presence transformed the bar from...a bar into a sanctuary.
Yet by far, the most often response that I got was "What religion are you?" I must make it clear that many of the patrons were not religiously apathetic or unconcerned with their faith. To the contrary, many had church affiliations of their own which they were quite eager to share with me, frequently as an attempt at redemption. This question is extremely telling. It reveals preconceived notions, attitudes, and ignorance which shape the rampant denominationalism defining modern church society in America.
How About Christian?
I will make it abundantly clear, that my religion is Christianity. (I like the term because it is ironic. Many scholars believe that this term, in the first century Greek-speaking world, was first used as a derogatory reference to "little Christs" spreading stories and trying to emulate this Jesus character.) I am a Presbyterian (which has a number of denominations within its own matrix), but that is only a consequence of guilt by association. Presbyterian is not the religion that I practice, it is the institution I have to deal with.
The very fact that we have any denominations attests to the fallen state of the world in which we live. The church is far from immune to clinging to attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors inconsistent with the teachings of Christ. In fact, the modern church is shaped by the pervasion of sin and brokenness at least as much as by the teaching of Christ in the scriptures. The entire situation which prompted Martin Luther to nail his 95 theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg centered around corruption and exploitation in the church.
To sum up the point, the formation of denominations were the result of sin and brokenness in the church. Denominations are nothing more than a physical, tangible manifestation of the brokenness and divisiveness that plagues us. Do we really want that to define us?
Paul's advice.
I don't mean to be completely negative on the idea of denominations. They aren't inherently negative, but it is important to recognize what they are, where they originated, and just how much we ought to let them define us. Ultimately, we choose how we want to be identified (in the arena of religion). Do we want to allow the results of our divisiveness and brokenness to define us? If so, then we will say that our religion is Presbyterian, Lutheran, Episcopalian, Methodist, United Brethren, Adventist, blah blah blah times 42,994.
However, if we want to let our identity in Christ and relationship to God define us, then we will have much more to say about who we are. I won't attempt to sum this up. I would fail. Four years of theological training and study, despite what some think, does not give you the ability to articulate just how intimately God loves you and identifies with every part of your being. So I will defer to Paul's words in Ephesians 4 as a guide. I encourage you not just to read these words, but allow them to come to life as you think about what your identity is in Christ, and how the reality of that identity ought to shape how you identify yourself, and how that transformed identity should affect our attitudes and presumptions in this society of denominational religion.
I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all...14 We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people's trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. 15 But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body's growth in building itself up in love.
Ephesians 4: 1-6, 14-16
