Denominations, Associations and Networks

Denomination

A religious denomination is a body of churches and individuals who are bound to each other through common creed and covenant.  Denominational belief requirements for membership range from the basic credal frameworks to tightly knit systems of theology with no wiggle room for variance.  Some denominations are more movement oriented while others are more static.  Some denominations inter-relate while others remain isolated from the church at large.  Within denominations there are often smaller divisions like districts, synods, regions, etc.  Most major denominations today, unfortunately, have fallen into common human power and control patterns and use politics and the primary means of doing so.

Association

An association is a group of organizations or individuals who have banded together for a specific purpose.  They generally have a common goal or philosophy that can be promoted better as a group.  There are associations of churches for just about every kind of cause or ministry area.  Some examples are the Willow Creek Association, Association of Christian Accountants and the Chrsitian Community Development Association.  The members of an association don't generally share the level of theological unity within denominations, however, they do share common values and philosophies regarding a particular issue or area of practice.  Associations are generally well developed organizationally as well.  The association normally assesses membership dues and also provides resources to its members in return.  Associations are only as valuable to the member as the benefits derrived or the accomplishments that are made as a whole. 

Network

A network is a loose connection of individuals, organizations and churches that acts mainly as a social connector.  Networks generally have a lower requirement of commitment for membership and serve primarily to allow for one on one and small group interaction.  Membership of networks is generally at-will and people go in and out of networks as their situation and needs change.  While some networks have a creedal requirement for membership, others simply require that basic values be upheld by its members.

The size of the circle indicates the amount of influence that the entity traditionally has on the congregation. The porousness of the border indicates requirements for membership. The requirements and influence are possibly reversing between the three circles.Networks and associations are nothing new, both in the secular and religious worlds.  Traditionally, networks of like-minded individuals, organizations and ministries serve a purpose for a particular time period.  They provide a loose connection to others with the same interests, philosophy, purpose or style.  In the church world, congregations and ministries operate within certain frameworks, networks and denominations.  Here is the basic breakdown of each type of organization.

What this all means for the church

As traditional institutions lose their power, influence and sense of mission/purpose, churches and ministry leaders are seeking connection and fellowship outside of their institutions.  The rise of inter-denominational networks and associations is nothing new, but there is now shift in how people identify and distinguish themselves.  The majority of churches still belong to denominations, as this provides a theological framework and ecclesiastical accountability structure that is needed for the individual pastor and church.  Churches are less likely, however, to identify themselves publicly with denominations as they were before.  Denominational membership acts more as the foundation upon which the individual congregation grows, and less as the distinguishing outward mark of the church.  Membership in a network or an association is quickly becoming the more common public statement of solidarity among new churches.

Is this shift just a reactionary trend to the decline of institutions?  Will networks and associations someday replace the denomination?  Will networks evolve into denominations?  These questions are yet to be answered.

I do believe, however, that the church is experiencing a more dynamic reality where churches can multiply more creatively and rapidly.  Denominations and districts will either accept this and promote connection to networks and associations, or they will still further attempt to control and restrict their members.  I see great potential for a movement within the mix of denominations, associations and networks.  If a church planting movement is happen, though, institutions will need to reassess their role and begin to loosen their grip on the methods and practices of their members.  If not, they will see themselves become more irrelevant and unneeded in the minds of our new generation of church planters, ministries and congregations.

Is There A Future For Denominations?

This slogan epitomizes the desire of ultra-conservatives to go back to the "glory days" of the church when brand loyalty and uniformity reigned supreme.

In the back of most everyone's minds within denominations is the fact that we are losing members.  My denomination has lost about 500,000 members in the last few decades alone with thousands of congregations very close to closing their doors.

Chris Owens, a UMC pastor from Maryland, talks about the issue of decline in his denomination.  His is not alone, as all mainline denominations in the US are in decline.  He writes:

"Jabbing and slinging mud at the mainline church has become a new intellectual sport among church leaders, and at first glance, this blog may be yet another fruitless contribution to the worn out question, “Why is the mainline church dying?” It is not. I’m moving on from mudslinging to asking questions that might lead us into resurrection. How can the mainline church enter into Christ’s resurrection, and what does that resurrection look like?"

In his blog post "Beginning with New Questions for a Church In Decline, Part 1," he sets for a set of new questions for churches to wrestle with.

Question #1: How can we get our churches growing again?

This question is the most common question asked by denominational leaders, churches, pastors and other leaders within an institution.  This is an institutional questions because it deals with the survival and longevity of the corporate body.  This question points back to the glory days when our churches were actually growing in numbers.  This question is asked of our current church which is in a new era with new realities.  The fact is that in this day and age, most of our churches are in steep decline and may never recover.  We no longer have the biological growth that contributed to our rise, nor are millions of adherents to our particular denominations flooding our borders from foreign countries.

The sad fact is, that many of our more conservative leaders in the church aren't even asking the question about growth.  They are only concerned with being faithful to our theological and ecclesiastical heritage.  Adopting an almost Calvinistic approach to denominational survival, they might say something like this "If we are only faithful to our historical doctrines and practices, God will bring to us those who He has chosen.  Ours is not to seek growth, but simply to remain pure."  What's lacking in this thought pattern is any evangelistic zeal to make new disciples of Jesus.  While I don't believe that our primary question should be "how do we get our churches growing again," I do believe that it's just as wrong to assume that unbelieving people will come to our churches simply to find pure theology.  Without mission, the church has no real reason to exist.  The mission of Jesus is to seek and to save the lost.

Question #1 Rephrased: How can we build the kingdom of God with new disciples of Jesus?

This question begins to get at the real issue.  The issue here is the making of new disciples.  Anybody who has been caught in a financial crisis knows that there are two issues to balancing the budget, revenue and expenses.  A continual and long-term cutting of expenses will eventually leave the organization or household without adequate resources to have any impact.  Along with short-term austerity measures, there must be an inflow of new dollars.  Large corporations has long-since created new brand segments in order to reach new markets.  The modern corporation is a complex and highly diversified organization that is continually seeking to break into new markets.  They know that their original core product line is not sufficient to maintain overall growth into the future.  Current denominations may not exist very far into the future as they do now.  If they insist on maintaining strict brand loyalty only one product line (the archetypical congregation), they will see an ever-decreasing market share.  Realizing that the use of business terms to talk about spiritual issues may put some people off, I do so only to help the reader better comprehend the issue.  I do believe that God grows His church only through the power of the Gospel message.

There needs to be a greater diversity of forms and ministries to reach our ever-diversifying communities.  The idea that the European form of church transcends culture and will be the prominent form into the future is pure baloney.  The European forms that have been forced upon Christians in developing countries are rapidly being shed in order for the Gospel to take root at an dizzying rate.  We are witnessing the quick rise of post-colonial Christianity throughout the developing nations, and with it, millions of new believers are coming into the Kingdom.  God is blessing these movements in spite of the fact that they no longer use European ecclesiastical forms and structures.  Maybe this fact alone gives an indication of how the body of Christ in the West make new disciples into the future.

Surviving The Great Shakeup

Many writers say that we are on the verge of a complete shake up of Christianity in the West, which happens about every 500 years or so.  I believe that, at the heart of this movement, will be the realization that the growth of the kingdom of God is much more important than that of the denominational kingdoms of men.  When we once again seek to grow the kingdom of God instead of just our own brand, we may have a chance of coming out the other side with some health and validity.  Signs of this are being seen with the rise of networks that transcend denominations.  These new networks of churches and ministries are about sharing best practices and resources for the multiplication of Jesus followers.  Pastors and new church planters are no longer confined to learning from and working alongside people from other stripes and tribes.

Will our denominations survive these cataclysmic changes?  I don't know, and frankly, I'm not that concerned about it.  I will work within my denomination as long as God allows, but the future belongs to Jesus himself, not our historic church bodies.  He is the Author and Perfecter of our faith.  He himself will use whatever form is necessary to accomplish His mission on earth.  I no longer pray that my particular brand of Christianity will thrive and survive, but rather that the highest number of people possible will come to know and follow Jesus in my lifetime.  I'm not working against my denomination, but alongside it for the sake of the kingdom.  I am also extrememly excited that I can be an observer and participant in this worldwide shakeup of Christianity.  I love chaos and navigating the dynamics that are involved. I believe that the church is at her best when things are in flux, and that a renewed dependance on the Holy Spirit can arise out of this.  What do you think?

Mark Driscoll on Denominations

"Networks are now overtaking denominations."  Are they just a new version of denominationalism or is there a distinction?