Two very different approaches to the value of being identified
as a “Baptist” ministry have come to my attention recently. The particulars are not important, my
opinions about the two institutions are of little interest to anyone, but there
is a principle involved which is worthy of some careful thought. One church involved has the kind of name
which could just as well be a group of dentists, their name says nothing about
their identity, so I dug a little deeper and found that they are an
“inter-denominational” church. The
founder came from a Baptist school which says that it has not changed its
doctrine over the years, but has not hesitated to be associated with this
mystery church.
Let me be positive in describing the importance that I
see in being identified by what I believe and where I stand. My favorite illustration for the importance
of denominations is found in our pockets.
Our money has specific “denominations” which represent specific
values. What if nickels dimes and
quarters could be used interchangeably?
That would result in chaos and an inevitable loss of value. There is nothing magical about the names of
church denominations, some put more emphasis on baptism than “Baptists”
do. However, the names of churches have
come to represent values, not just traditions, but differences in
doctrine. There are plenty of churches
which use the name “Baptist” that are nothing like my church, but I believe
that mine holds to the historical Baptist values. The other churches are free to change their
name, and likely they will.
Some people confuse a denomination with a church
hierarchy. We believe that a New
Testament church should be autonomous in every way. We call ourselves “Independent Baptists” but
the designation should be unnecessary because Baptists have always stood for
autonomy even if there is some compromise on that value in the large
conferences.
Back to my fellow alumni at the mystery church, I
could understand if he saw the values of our denomination as being corrupted
and the names having human rather than divine origin. In that case, though I would disagree with
him, I could see him calling his fellowship a “NONdenominational” church.
If language means anything then an Interdenominational
church is a mixture, conglomeration, and certainly a compromise of the various
church traditions, doctrines, and values.
Which ones do they mean to include?
Which do they mean to exclude, if any?
Why are they not telling folks which five or six or more denominations
they like? Why are they unwilling to be
identified with something identifiable?
I call the term “Interdenominational” an oxymoron because it speaks of
an indistinct distinction, a non-specific specification, an unidentified
identity.
At the same time that I learned of the previous
church, I heard about a well-established institution making a strong statement
about its Baptist identity. Many of the
marketing types would say that this is a risk, but that school has a solid
history of trusting God to provide for them, and He has a long history of
meeting their needs and blessing them beyond expectation.
That institution stepped even further out onto the
ledge when it went on to say that its Baptist identity was causing it to limit
its associations. Some would call this “second-degree
separation.” I will not try to exhaust
that subject, but “second-degree separation” seems like another oxymoron because
it refers to separating from people who are not separating from others. If someone is not being obedient to the clear
commands of Scripture to be separate (Romans 16:17, II Corinthians 6:17), my
choice not to link my ministry with them should be first degree separation.
It takes great courage to stand one’s ground while the
battlefront seems to be moving quickly past, and the danger of being outflanked
and left with little or no earthly support is very real. In my view it is worthwhile to make that
stand, even while I recognize my brother’s liberty to retreat. I choose to stand even with a denominational
name, because I believe that it expresses my values. Above all else I stand because I want my
ministry to mean something and, ultimately, to count for something.
