With the stats in, and so-called "conservative" churches experiencing either a shrinking or a slowing of numbers, the old saw of the last 40 years no longer holds up so conclusively: that liberal churches are declining and conservative churches growing.
Even in the best of times, this claim never had much substance, but was surely used by conservatives to batter their liberal sisters and brothers, becoming a source of pride, even as they danced over the grave of denominationalism. And was, at the same time, an occasion for denominational types to wring their hands in embarrassment and begin backbiting and blaming.
The latest Christianity Today (June, 2010) carries a fascinating article, "Life in Those Old Bones," reminding us that denominationalism is very much a human dynamic, because we like to hang together, so to speak, and that denominationalism offers resources and strength for mission.
Even for "independent" churches, the need to cooperate and work together is evident in something like the Willow Creek Association, with more than 11,000 member churches in 35 countries and 90 denominations. Functioning much as a denomination, the WCA offers support, curriculum, training and mission opportunities.
Ed Stetzer says: "... denomination-like networks will, I believe, become more like denominations than networks in the years to come, just like the networks of the past (e.g. Methodists) are denominations today."
While writing from a conservative perspective, Stetzer notes the ability of denominations to weather storms and guide troubled congregations. Independent congregations can easily fall apart in tough times; the American landscape is littered with the debris of independent congregations that foundered on theological issues or the failure of leadership.
Paraphrasing Winston Churchill, Stetzer notes: "Denominations are the worst way to cooperate - except for all the others."
"Denominations at their best are not places to get something but places to give and to serve."
With regard to missionaries, Stetzer notes: denominationally funded missionaries are able to spend the bulk of their time in mission, while those who need to raise their own funds are driven to spend less time in the field and more time raising funds.
A healthy denomination, says Stetzer, is "a home, not a prison."
Who can say what the future holds, but God's people always migrate toward one another in various forms and fashions to do a better job in mission. We are called to love one another, and that's never an affective word, but an ethical word - to love is stand with one another for a purpose greater than ourselves.
I love the Presbyterian Church - the church of my ordination - given to me by women and men who trusted me, believing that I would handle with care the legacy bestowed.
I haven't always been as clear as I am now. There was a time when I saw our failures and our faults too clearly. While those faults and failures remain, as they do with all of us, I see more clearly today the goodness and the joy of community within which we live and enjoy and sometimes despair over our diversity.
For me, I'm grateful for Louisville and our systems. We get a lot done. We're on the spot when it comes to crises like Haiti's earthquake. We still plant churches, we train pastors, and we're working overtime to figure out the times in which we live.
Hats off to my Presbyterian sisters and brothers. God will continue to give us a future, because being together is still God's way.
