Denominations are being attacked from both a Catholic and a Protestant direction.
Many Catholics say there are thousands of Protestant denominations, with individual Christians all claiming the right to hold whatever beliefs they want and to just start their own churches, as opposed to the one true Church of Rome. Though thoughtful Catholics keep saying this is not exactly true.
But Protestants are also attacking denominations, insisting that each denomination is too much like the Church of Rome. They claim that individual Christians should have the right to hold whatever beliefs they want and should be able to just start their own churches.
OK, this isn’t exactly true either. Nondenominational churches do tend to hold to general evangelical beliefs. While individuals can hold a wide range of opinions on certain issues, others are defined by the congregation’s own statement of faith. Nondenominationalism is not so much grounded in different theologies but in a freedom from organizational structures. Each congregation is independent and unconnected formally to any larger ecclesiastical structure or association of churches. In this, nondenominational churches simply have a congregational church polity, which has a long pedigree in Protestant history.
It is, however, true that a common pattern for nondenominational churches is for a young man to graduate from a nondenominational seminary or Bible college and then just go out and start a church. He is under no ecclesiastical supervision. Freed from “denominational bureaucracy,” as he will call it, he is on his own. If he is successful in the religious marketplace, he might move from a rented auditorium to build a “campus” of his own. He is a religious entrepreneur.
Nondenominational churches are now, paradoxically, the largest Protestant denomination. That is, according to the probably outdated 2020 Religious Census, there are more members of non-denominational congregations, some 21 million, than any other Protestant church body. (Baptists come in next at 17.6 million; then Methodists at 8 million; then ELCA Lutherans at 3.1 million; then Assemblies of God at 3.09 million; then the National Missionary Baptists at 2.4 million; then, coming in seventh, the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod at 1.8 million.)
In this post, I’d like to address both the Catholic contention that there are too many denominations and the Protestant contention that we don’t need denominations at all.
I came across this brief video (only 3 minutes) with useful subtitles from Jordan Cooper:, a pastor and theologian with the American Association of Lutheran Churches, which which the LCMS is in fellowship. He points out that there are not all that many different kinds of Protestants:
First, he defines Protestants those who believe in sola scriptura. Those who don’t believe in the authority of Scripture, such as Mainline Liberal Protestants, are not really Protestants, according to him. He says that there are three major theological traditions within Protestantism: (1) Lutheran (2) Reformed (3) Anglican.
These can have different offshoots–John Wesley’s Methodism grew out of Anglicanism; the Reformed gave us various kinds of Presbyterians and, by his reckoning, Baptists–but these are the main types of Protestantism. He said that one could identify a few more but didn’t have time to get into those.
I think we have to classify Pentecostalism as a major strain, since it is one of the largest global movements. Then there are the Anabaptists, from which came the “peace churches,” such as the Mennonites and Amish.
While the Reformed are alike in not being sacramental, there is a big difference between Calvinists and Arminians, with Baptists and other evangelicals being one or the other.
I think Jordan’s breakdown is helpful, but it isn’t complete. And the classifications depend on what you emphasize: sola scriptura? beliefs about salvation? monergism or synergism? the relationship of faith and works? church government? worship? sacraments?
I appreciate his point that there are only a few kinds of Protestantism, but there are more than he giving credit for. I think some of the offshoots constitute distinctly different belief systems.
My breakdown would probably be (1) Lutheran (2) Reformed (3) Anglican (4) Evangelicals (5) Pentecostals (6) Anabaptist/communitarians
As for non-denominational Protestants, subscriber Steve Bauer alerted me to a defense of denominations by Reformed pastor Eric Tonjes who wrote a post for Mere Orthodoxy entitled Why Denominations are Good, Actually.
First, he observes that non-denominational congregations do not get rid of the differences between Christians:
The broad traditions within Christianity exist because there are questions that are key to our life together as Christians which we disagree about. How should the church be structured and governed? How do we think about the special role of baptism and the Lord’s Supper (and maybe other things too)? Who is a member of our church? How, broadly, do we understand Scripture’s shape? Christians read the Bible and reach different conclusions about those issues, and it is very hard to agree to disagree about those things while still doing life together.
Nondenominational churches inevitably have conclusions on these topics that place them in certain theological traditions. Indeed, it is a running joke in some circles that when a church says they are nondenominational, they’re really saying they’re either Baptist or charismatic and just trying to hide it. Such churches aren’t more theologically inclusive; they’re just less clear about their convictions.
There are also positive reasons why Tonjes appreciates being a part of a denomination. He values the accountability he has as a pastor:
I appreciate the fact that I’m part of a denominational world where the term “pastor” means something deeper, something connected to the broader church. I was examined by the broader church. I was set apart in ordination by them. We, as churches, are in mutual submission to each other. And, most importantly, I am accountable to that broader church for what I do and say. If I err, I fully expect to be corrected, and if I go totally off the rails, they will make it so I’m not a pastor anymore.
A major argument for non-denominationalism is church unity. But, says Tonjes, “There is a real sense in which every nondenominational church is just a single-congregation denomination. We aren’t decreasing divisions when they form; we are multiplying them.” And he experiences a special sense of unity
Tonjes cites other reasons to appreciate denominations: “They are wonderful spaces for cooperation in ministry and missions. They are deeply humbling structures, fighting back against the plague of celebrity pastors besetting churches. They are spaces of public witness.”
AN IMPORTANT NOTE: I realize that some of you readers belong to and are even pastors in nondenominational churches. This post defends denominations, but I mean no offense. I’d be curious to learn how, in your nondenominational context, you deal with some of the issues raised here (e.g., accountability, theology, unity, etc.). Also, how do you see yourself fitting in with the rest of Protestantism and, indeed, Christendom? Are you really anti-institutional religion, as some pundits have said, or are you just Congregational?
Illustration: Major Branches within Christianity by Noah Howard, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
[Here is another breakdown, including Catholicism and Orthodoxy, but giving only four major branches of Protestantism.]
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