Why Denominations? – Do They Make Any Difference?

The top 7 "mainline" denominations have lost collectively 5 million (plus) members over the last 42 years (since 1965 when they reached their peak in American society) The Presbyterian Church has lost basically half of its membership nationwide in that time, from approximately 4.5 million in 1965 to 2.3 million at this point. Of all the mainline churches the Presbyterian Church (USA) seems to be losing the most members at the fastest rate. By and large we do not lose our members to other churches. The majority of those who drop out no longer go to any church …!

Added to the denominational dilemma is the desire of some congregations to formally change their affiliation from the PC(USA) to the EPC (The Evangelical Presbyterian Church*). The PC(USA) is not the only denomination experiencing this level of dissatisfaction and church property concerns. The ECUSA (The Episcopal Church) is also undergoing it institutional hemorrhaging, as individual congregations align with more conservative Anglican diocese located outside of the United States. The ECUSA is experiencing their property law suits in the courts as well as headlines surface in print and on line.

Why denominations?

Denominations are a purely utilitarian church or ministry structures that were developed rather late in church history.

Thumbnail review: … After the age of the Apostles (early church) official church leadership was centered in Rome and is the basis of the Roman Catholic Church of today. The Roman Church has its ties deep in Christian history drawing on the witness of Peter and Paul in that, which was the most important, city of its day. As the Roman Church spread it influence its eastern branch became independent and in 1056 there was the official spit of the Roman Church and, what is known as, the Easter Orthodox Church.

It isn’t until we get to the Protestant Reformation of the 1500s that we find a church structure that resembles the denominational structures we know of today. But at the time of the Reformation in Europe, we don’t really have ‘denominations’ per se, but regional protestant churches: The Lutherans among the German kingdoms, The Reform Churches of Switzerland and Holland, the Huguenots of France, the Presbyterians of Scotland and the Puritans of England. You also have the rise of radical protestant of the Anabaptist traditions in central Europe as well. There is a basic protestant theology, but also doctrinal distinctives in each "camp."

It is when these European regional church groups get to the United States that we have the concept of ‘denomination.’ Since the U.S. government does not recognize a state religion, it allowed different Christian communions and other faiths to form voluntary associations (as long as no federal laws were violated). So, with the concept of protected voluntary association, Presbyterians were allowed to form their own ‘network’ of churches, establish their own internal church government, etc. Other protestant church groups could and would do the same. The result was and is various churches coinciding peacefully in the same community – a Methodist Church (England) across the street from a Lutheran Church (German) right down the street from a Roman Catholic Church (Italy) and one block west of the Baptist Church (German-England). Each group establishing their unique standards and proffering their distinct witness to Jesus Christ.

Is there then a biblical mandate to preserve at all costs a denominational structure?

I will write more on this later …!

* I want to write more about the EPC in a later post as well.