As far as I can tell, this will be the last post in this series about leaving denominational expressions of church. It has been a good way for me to process some of the things I’ve been feeling as we started a new church that was not connected to a denomination or launched out of an established church. But the Church, however, is always connected whether we realize it or not. For there is “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Ephesians 4:5). And we all claim the same head – the Lord Jesus Christ.

This series of posts has also been a way for me to catalog quotes from others that confirmed my thinking. Here are a few more that have turned up in recent days.

From Bill Easum:

If we were to rely more on the Holy Spirit than on modern, democratic models, denominational structures would be replaced by church-to-church structures based on what is needed to transform each churches community.

Sadly, I think most denominations started out with this intention in mind. And when they operate effectively, they can achieve this church-to-church, Spirit-infused community transformation. But other times bureaucracy gets in the way.

So what can denoms do to get unstuck? Tony Morgan offers some ideas:

The United Methodist Church has lost about three million members since 1970. The number of people attending at least one Church of England service each month is down by 50% since 1968. Today less than three percent of the population attends services. Denominations are stuck.

I get to work with and communicate with church leaders across the country every day. Here’s what I know to be true — churches are stuck as well. Sometimes they don’t know they’re stuck. But, the symptoms are fairly obvious. Here are some symptoms to identify whether or not your church is stuck. Some of them are more obvious than others:

• The church has stopped growing.
• The congregation is aging.
• Giving has declined.
• Spiritual growth has stalled. People are just “consuming” ministry.
• People aren’t serving.
• People have stopped reaching their neighbors.
• The church isn’t developing leaders.
• Communications are confusing and lack purpose.

One of the main reasons I believe churches are stuck is because their systems and strategies are broken. Churches continue to use their same systems, but hope and pray for different results. The only way to get different results is to engage different systems. But, unfortunately, many churches (and denominations) would rather stay stuck and eventually die rather than making changes that might make people (including leaders) feel uncomfortable.

Some people getting uncomfortable might be the answer. Maybe the answer also lies in seeing denominations with different eyes. I’ll admit that this diagram from Steve Collins hurts my brain a little bit. It’s called “Scalability: What are denominations in emergence?”

(HT: Jonny Baker)

Collins adds:

A denomination in emergence:

• does not have a fixed or necessary hierarchy
• does not have a large difference between the top and bottom of any hierarchy that may appear
• does not locate authority in predetermined or fixed positions
• does not have clear or static boundaries
• does not have a clear or static centre
• has constantly varying degrees of membership
• may dissolve, and reform later somewhere else

Is there hope and a future for denominations? Maybe. There are obviously a lot of positive things they accomplish – things for God’s Kingdom and for the benefit of those suffering. But long term viability may require seeing things with new eyes and pruning back some of the branches that don’t belong. Which is what the Church should always be doing.

• It’s impossible to grow a church beyond 100 people if there’s one person who makes all the decisions and calls all the shots.
• It’s difficult to build momentum with regular transitions in leadership.
• Growth in churches is more about relationships than anything else.

1. Collide Magazine Blog (http://tinyurl.com/3vbgvg) – Blog of one of the few magazines I subscribe to. For a sample check out “Offering Shards of Glass“
2. Modern Worship (http://tinyurl.com/6mksq4q) – Worship blog from First Presbyterian Church of Bellevue, NE. Check out their setting of “Psalm 100“
3. Don’t Eat the Fruit (http://tinyurl.com/yfcmcaz) – Technology/theology guru John Dyer from Dallas. For a sample post check out “Why You Need a Technology Basket at Home“
4. Beyond Monochrome (http://tinyurl.com/6wud6ve) – Photography guru Walker Pickering. Really inspiring photos. Check out one of my favorites “Chelsea“
5. Tony Morgan (http://tinyurl.com/5987fv) – Simply strategic church guru. To get a feel for him, check out this sample post called “5 Attributes of a Church in Decline“

And if you aren’t using a Reader to catch up on blogs, you’re missing out. It’s an essential tool. It’s easy and it streamlines everything. I prefer Google Reader. It lets you:

• Google Reader constantly checks your favorite news sites and blogs for new content. Whether a site updates daily or monthly, you can be sure that you won’t miss a thing.
• With your Google Reader public page, you can share your favorite items with your friends, simply by sending them to relevant links.
• You can access your Google Reader account from any computer with online access. Whether you’re at home, at work or abroad, your subscriptions stay with you.

Feel free to keep investing in print communications if your highest priority is keeping your “internal customers” happy. Just thought you should know that other organizations are using the web to reach the same people you’re probably trying to reach in your community.

So what else does your church do to keep “internal customers” happy, but misses reaching out to new people?

Rather than looking at the Web through the eyes of a Facebook and YouTube and Twitter user, though, we’re still looking at the Web through the eyes of a Sunday bulletin reader. That approach works for the people who are already attending our churches. It completely ignores the people who we are trying to reach.

Leaders are not normal. They are:

• the strong
• the rebels
• the skeptical
• the intelligent
• the independent
• the positive deviants

Try to control these people, and you’ll never be able to rally their potential. Try to normalize these people, and you’ll never be able to sustain their positive impact.