Know What You Believe

THIS CHURCH OR THAT CHURCH – THAT IS THE QUESTION.

I have served as pastor in the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod (LCMS) for nearly 50 years and over that time I have been amazed at the lack of understanding about church denominations and other world influences around them.

If Christian denominations were flavors of ice cream, would I be Lutheran simply because I preferred that flavor? Or is there something more? Many people contend that different denominations are not really a big deal - that all Christian churches essentially teach the same thing. Is that true? Ultimately Lutheran concern about right doctrine is concern about justification, the doctrine upon which the church stands or falls. This teaching – that Christians are declared righteous and just on account of Christ’s suffering and death, entirely by grace and received by faith - forms the center and core of all church doctrine.

My intention over the next several months will be to help us understand what this means as I put before you in simplified fashion a look at denominations in the religious “flavors” found around us today.

This months discussion will be about the NONDENOMINATIONAL CHURCHES Is Christ divided?” St.

Paul asks in 1 Corinthians 1:13. A perusal of Christian denominations makes the church appear divided, does it not? And yet, St. Paul’s point still stands: Christ is not divided; His Body is one. Then why do we have so many different denominations?

The non-denominational churches of the 19th and 20th centuries attempted to remedy this situation by creating churches built on the simple affirmation of faith in the Bible alone. Denominational labels, doctrinal assertions and creedal confessions, in this perspective, hinder belief in a simple, prag¬matic faith.

HISTORY

Key leaders of the first wave of the non-denominational movement, known as the Restoration Movement, were Barton Stone (1772-1844) and Alexander Campbell (1788-1866). Both men, former Presbyterian ministers, became disillusioned with Calvinist doctrines such as the total depravity of men, unconditional election and the doctrine of predestination. Instead, they offered a stripped down, simplified version of the Christian faith that appealed to the pragmatic, practical people of the American West. Every movement requires structure at some point, however. This first movement of non-denominationalism eventually led to the formation of three new denominations: the Churches of Christ, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the independent Christian Church, also known as the Church of Christ.

These and subsequent non-denominational congregations waxed and waned into the 20th century when the non-denominational movement expanded again into a multiplicity of strains. Two of the many strains were the Calvary Chapel Association and Lakewood Church.

In 1965, Pastor Chuck Smith, trained and ordained into The Foursquare Church, left that denomination and founded Calvary Chapel. The congregation reached out to those who did not fit the typical category of churchgoers and exploded in size. By the time of his death in 2013, Calvary Chapel had become an association of churches. Even though Smith rejected the label of denomination, he did place theological requirements on congregations that desired to join the association, which now includes over 1,800 congregations.

Another strain took the form of Lakewood Church. In 1959, John Osteen founded the congregation which is currently cared for by his son, Joel. Originally founded as a charismatic congregation for Baptists, it quickly disaffiliated from the Baptist tradition and embraced non-denominationalism. This strain of non-denominationalism tends to grow around the personality of a particular pastor. Joel Osteen is particularly well known for teaching a false prosperity Gospel.

The growth of the non-denominational movement remained steady into the late 1990s, but the movement benefited from the growth of the Nones (those who do not affiliate with a particular denomination but still believe in the existence of some sort of god) beginning in the early 2000s. This trend has become so prevalent that many denomina¬tional congregations will downplay their affiliation to appeal to this demographic.

CONFESSIONAL DOCUMENTS

Non-denominational churches often claim no authoritative text but the Bible. At same time, these churches often post clarifying statements (which might also be called confessions) on their websites explaining their beliefs on topics such as the authority of Scripture, the Sacraments and so on. Typically - though each con-gregation is unique - the larger the association or fellowship, the more explicit their statement of belief.

KEY BELIEFS

Barton Stone and Alexander Campbell began the Restoration Movement out of a rejection of human creeds, requirements for fellowship and church authority, and upon a plea for church union. At the same time, the basic teachings of the movement were a form of Arminianism. They required immersion for Baptism to be effective and confessed that it was only an affirmation of faith. They also rejected predestination.

Modern varieties of non-denominationalism are quite distinct; each congregation or church has its own unique perspective on Christian theology and practice, often reflecting the attitudes of the founding pastor.

The primary “uniting” char-acteristic of these congregations is their rejection of denominational labels. They believe that denominational labels hinder the proclamation of the Gospel.

In their perspective, these labels promote divisive doctrine, which they perceive as extra-biblical inventions of men and therefore contrary to a simple faith in Scripture. The churches often oppose a sacramental view of the Scriptures, treating Baptism as merely a personal affirmation of faith and denying Christ’s physical presence in the Lord’s Supper.

The aversion to doctrine has practical consequences as well. Non-de-nominational churches tend to use popular means to attract people to services. Not only do non-denominational pastors often eschew formal education, but they also tend to forgo the use of vestments during worship in favor of suit and tie in formal congregations and T-shirts and jeans in less formal ones. These churches often view traditional dress and liturgical worship as restrictive to the full and free expression of the faith and as a hindrance to a complete “encounter” with God in His Word.

WE CONFESS

Lutherans believe in the Una Sancta, that is, the one holy catholic (universal) and apostolic church. The Una Sancta is undivided. It is the body of Christ of which He is the head. (Ephesians 4:15, 16). Even when the church deals with controversy and false doctrine such as the Roman Catholic Church prior to the Reformation, the Una Sancta remains even though she is hidden from sight by false teaching and error.

The Una Sancta spans time and space. She is not limited to one denomination. But where the Gospel is taught in its entirety and the Sacraments are administered rightly there she dwells. There the people of God are found. We also deplore unbiblical division. When Christians disagree over matters unrelated to doctrine this grieves the Holy Spirit. He calls Christians to repent of these divisions and live together in unity. But Lutherans also confess that at times division is necessary. Lutherans do not glory in division, but agree with St. Paul who taught the Corinthians that there must be divisions among you in order that those among you who are genuine may be recognized(1Cor 11:16).The appeal to unity issued by non-denominational churches, the desire for everyone to share the same confession and unity, is indeed a good and godly desire. At the same time such unity does not exist where churches are not united around the teaching of God’s Word. As such Lutherans confess the faith once handed down to the saints.

The Holy Spirit caused this faith to be written in the Old and New Testaments. The three ecumenical creeds, the confessions of the church – the Apostle’s Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Athanasian Creed, the Lutheran Confessions – further clarify and explain these teachings and Lutherans pray for and long for the full unity of the church in the confession of Jesus, a unity of all believers in Christ will one day experience with Him in eternity.