Christianity Today recently reported that there are 42,000 Protestant denominations. That is shocking.
However, given that in the United States we have a consumerism mentality, this development is hardly surprising. Consumerism says that if you don’t like the church you are at, you keep shopping until you find one. If you can’t find one that fits, you start your own.
Compounding consumerism is the celebration of the individual. Individuals don’t value community or the collective good. Instead, blazing one’s own trail is celebrated and exalted. But individualism is selfish and self-centered. The attitude is, “it’s all about me.”
However, 42,000 Protestant denominations are not what Jesus had in mind at all. His intent was one—and that includes the other streams of Christianity, too.
Why can’t we just be one in Jesus and forget about our denominations, our disagreements, and our doctrines?
Consumerism and individuality is not the goal, unity is.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Dividing the Church by Forming Denominations Isn’t Biblical, and It’s Time to Move Past It
Jesus prayed for our unity, that we would be one—just as he and his father are one. He yearned that his followers would get along and live in harmony.
Dividing into religious sects wasn’t his plan. Yet that’s exactly what we’ve done as we formed 42,000 Protestant denominations.
Instead of focusing on our similarities, our common faith in Jesus, these denominations choose to make a big deal over the few things they disagree about.
They should get along, but instead they develop their own narrow theology, which they use as a litmus test to see who they’ll accept and who they’ll reject.
How this must grieve Jesus.
While there has been some disagreement among the followers of Jesus almost from the beginning, the divisions started proliferating 500 years ago with the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.
And since that time, it’s escalated out of control, with a reported 42,000 denominations today.
This represents the most significant degree of Christian disunity ever. The push for denominational division traces its beginning to the modern era.
While the modern era assumed that reason would allow us to converge on a singular understanding of truth, the opposite occurred. Instead, the pursuit of logic resulted in wide-scale disagreement.
This is perhaps most manifest among the followers of Jesus, who love to argue over their individual understandings of theology.
Yet there’s a sense we’re moving away from denominations and the divisions they cause. The word to describe this is post-denominational.
Just as we are moving from the modern era to the postmodern era, we are also moving from a time of denominational division to a time of post-denomination harmony.
In understanding postmodern, we don’t consider it as anti-modern but instead “beyond modern.” The same distinction rightly applies to post-denominational.
Post-denominational is not anti-denomination, as much as it is “beyond denominations.”
So, what is post-denominational? Post-denominational moves beyond the Protestant divisions that proliferated in the last 500 years, during the modern era.
Post-denominational sets aside the man-made religious sects that divide the church of Jesus. In its place, post-denominational advocates a basic theology to form agreement and foster harmony.
This allows the followers of Jesus to live together in unity, which will amplify their impact on the world around them. The people who follow Jesus are beginning to realize this. Many new churches label themselves as non-denominational.
This reflects a general mistrust among today’s people for the brand-name Protestantism of yesteryear, that is, denominations.
They’re weary of the criticism, the finger-pointing, and the disunity that denominations have caused. That’s why the label of non-denominational is so attractive to many people.
This includes those who go to church, those who dropped out, and those who have never been. They don’t want to align themselves with a denomination anymore.
They want a spiritual experience in a loving Christian community, one without denominational division.
For the sake of Jesus and our witness of him to our world, can we set our denominations aside and agree to work together to move forward in unity?
It’s a lot to ask, and it seems humanly impossible. But Jesus already prayed for our success (see John 17:20-26.)
May this generation be the answer to his prayer. May we be one.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
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In matters of faith, it’s not what we believe, it’s what we do
One of the promises during the modern era was that through the Age of Enlightenment (Age of Reason) we could pursue truth and it would eventually converge on a single understanding of reality. This didn’t happen.
Instead of converging to reach consensus, we diverged to produce disagreement.
Though this is true in all facets of our life, it is perhaps most pronounced in the area of spirituality. Protestantism is a prime example, with our 42,000 denominations disagreeing with one another.
We fight about theology. Then we separate ourselves from those who don’t agree with us.
The sad thing about pursuing a right theology is the inevitable conclusion that everyone who doesn’t agree with us is wrong and headed down a misguided path. Then we separate ourselves and cause more division.
At a most basic level, theology is the study of God. I think about him a great deal. I contemplate my relationship with him. I wonder how that should inform the way I interact with others.
Yes, I think a lot about theology (God), not as an intellectual pursuit but as a matter of spiritual imperative.
To be painfully honest, I must admit a sense of pleasure over the results of my spiritual musings. I hope a degree of humility can replace this hint of pride.
Although I think my deliberations in spirituality are correct and produce meaningful insights, I hold my views loosely. After all I could be wrong.
The reality is that the details of how we understand God don’t matter as much as how this understanding affects the way we live. God doesn’t care about our theology nearly as much as he does our actions.
We need to produce fruit. Jesus says that bearing fruit glorifies God (John 15:8).
This means we need to put our faith in action. The Bible tells us to. James discusses this (James 2:14-26). He ends this passage by saying faith without action is dead (James 2:14, CEB).
What we believe doesn’t matter nearly as much as what we do. May we never forget that.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
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Jesus Wants Us to Live in Unity but Instead Our Manmade Denominations Divide Us
I recently attended a friend’s ordination ceremony who had graduated from seminary and became a minister. It’s not the first such occasion I attended, and it won’t likely be the last. It was, however, the first time I really listened to what took place.
Integrated into the liturgy of the proceedings were a series of questions posed to the new minister. Early on one of the queries caught my attention.
I’ll purposely not quote the question to hide the identity of the guilty denomination, but I will paraphrase it.
In essence the denomination asked the young minister to pledge his loyalty to it and do his best to promote its mission locally and around the world.
My friend’s expected response affirmed his willingness to do so.
I don’t think I would have agreed to such a condition. Shouldn’t we pledge our loyalty to God and do our best to promote his mission locally and around the world?
With 42,000 Protestant denominations, why does each one work so hard to preserve and promote its own brand of Christianity, often at the expense of others? Why not ditch the denomination and instead work hard to promote Christ?
With this still bouncing around in my brain, a second item caught my attention as the ceremony wound down. In this part of the proceedings, my friend promised to take various actions.
One such action has him pursuing unity within the church. My friend promised to do so.
Assuming that by church those words refer to the universal church of Jesus, as opposed to the denomination, I see a contradiction of intent, that my friend promised to pursue two mutually exclusive goals.
Our Protestant denominations divide us, whereas Jesus wants us to be one, to get along with each other, and to live in unity (John 17:21, 23). When we consider this carefully, our manmade denominations are the antithesis of the unity Jesus prays for.
If my friend would indeed pursue unity as he promised, he should seek to dismantle the denomination, because its very existence opposes unity.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
The last thing Jesus does before his arrest and execution is to pray. The last part of his prayer is for the unity of his future followers (John 17:20-26).
Yet two thousand years later, we still wait for Papa to answer this imperative request from his Son. We are not one, far from it.
When John records Jesus’s prayer for unity, he uses a poetic flare. But when Paul later writes about the necessity of unity, he is direct and unequivocal.
Paul says we must “make every effort” to live in unity, to pursue peace. To underscore this essential need for us to live in harmony, Paul reminds us that there is one church and one Spirit.
We have one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism (that’s a hard one for many folks to accept), and one Father God.
With all of this oneness that surrounds our faith, why do we feel a need to divide it and divide us? It is our sin that causes division. It is our human nature that results in us moving in direct opposition to Jesus’s prayer and Paul’s command.
Our selfishness and lack of godly righteousness has resulted in a plethora of churches to pick from on any given Sunday and the 42,000 denominations in our world today. That’s a lot more than the one that Jesus and Paul envision and desire.
Jesus prays for our unity. Jesus and his Father model unity. Paul commands unity and then explains why a lack of unity makes no sense.
Yet we persist in our division with ungodly fervor and in unbiblical error, when we should make every effort to live as one.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
Most Christians Carry Unexamined Criteria that Others Must Agree with Before They’re Accepted
I was once interviewed for a volunteer position at my church. The pair of interviewers cranked through a series of pre-assigned theological questions to determine my supposed worthiness to lead.
For some queries the answers were straightforward; others, not so much.
On these tougher questions, instead of responding with simplistic answers, I shared a more complex perspective, one packed with more questions but backed by biblical support.
I answered with shades of gray, but my inquisitors wanted black and white responses. I knew what they wanted to hear, but instead I was honest.
I suppose that in a sense I should have responded with the religious equivalent of political correctness.
For my candor I earned a one-on-one meeting with the senior pastor. He had five areas where he sought clarification. We worked through the first four without issue; he accepted my grayscale answers.
Though I don’t remember what it was, the fifth area was problematic. As he drilled down I realized I was at a tipping point. If I gave the pat answer he wanted to hear I was in. If I vacillated, I was out.
I wanted to serve my church in this capacity and, more importantly, I felt God had called me to do so—more succinctly, he told me to.
With only a tinge of guilt I gave the easy answer that would assure my acceptance. Pastor smiled and shook my hand. I was in. I passed his spiritual litmus test.
We all have spiritual litmus tests. Though I try not to, I know I do. So do you. Of a larger concern, churches have their litmus tests, too. These litmus tests are why our world is saddled with 42,000 Protestant denominations.
After all, if we agreed on everything there would be no reason to take the unbiblical step of separating from one another, of dividing the church that Jesus prayed would experience unity.
While most everyone draws a spiritual line in the sands of theology that cannot be crossed, none of this should matter.
Whether it’s disagreeing about baptism, communion, which version of the Bible is best, the song selection, pews or chairs, the color of the lobby, or even if men need to wear ties to church, Jesus wants us to be one.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
When Paul writes to his protégé Timothy, he instructs Timothy to warn the people not to quarrel over words. Isn’t that what most theological debate is, people arguing about words?
People who claim to follow Jesus end up arguing about the meaning of certain words.
They build their own theology around their understanding of these words and then reject everyone who thinks otherwise.
People who should know better quarrel over words and then storm off in a huff to form a new denomination of people who think just like they do.
Don’t they read what Paul wrote? He says quarreling over words “is of no value” and “only ruins those who listen” (2 Timothy 2:14).
Later on he says to not “have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments,” which only “produce quarrels” (2 Timothy 2:23).
This isn’t the first time Paul tells this to Timothy. In Paul’s first letter of instruction he talks about false teachers and their “unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words.”
The result is “envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions” (1 Timothy 6:4).
So we must stop fighting over words. The Bible says to. Nothing good ever comes of it.
Isn’t quarreling about words the source of our theological debates and divisions? We need to stop arguing about theology and instead unite to tell the world about Jesus.
Can you think of a theological debate that wasn’t a quarrel over words? How should we treat those we disagree with?
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
I often wonder why I go to church. Seldom do I come up with a good answer, that is, the real reason why I show up on Sundays. I’m not even sure if I know the theologically correct response.
Here are some reasons I’ve heard over the years:
Because I have to (“my parents make me”)
Because someone expects me to (“my boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse/parents expect it”)
Because I’d feel guilty if I didn’t (while guilt can be a powerful motivator, is it ever a good one?)
Out of habit (“it’s just what you do on Sunday morning”)
To be a role model to others (“set a good example for the kids”)
To impress others (“it will be good if my boss/coworkers/neighbors see me there”)
Because God will be mad at me—and may even punish me—if I don’t (they fear God as mean and vindictive, not kind and loving)
To be inspired, motivated, or prepared for another week (can recharging for an hour, really sustain us for seven days?)
To listen to great, powerful music or teaching (doesn’t going merely for what we will receive, reflect a consumerism mentality towards church?)
Because the Bible says to (actually the Bible says to not give “up meeting together,” see Hebrews 10:24-25; it doesn’t say “go to church.”)
To learn about God (listen to a sermon)
To worship God (to sing to God or about him)
The truth is, at one time or another, these have all been my reasons for going to church. In response, someone may quip, “Well, as long as you’re there, that’s what really matters.”
I disagree.
In fact, I wonder if it’s better to stay home for the right reasons, than to go to church for the wrong reasons. Which would God like more? It’s something to contemplate.
As I read the New Testament—striving hard to not look through the lens of my experiences—I see some elements of learning and more so of worship, but mostly I see community.
To hang out with others who follow Jesus, to share life with then, having God at the center.
True community doesn’t happen at most churches. At other churches, community is a side effect. Rarely is community the focus of church. I think it should be.
That’s mostly why I go—even if I’m disappointed when community doesn’t happen.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
It’s a shocking stat, but there are 42,000 Christian denominations in the world!
Yes, the church that Jesus started is currently divided into 42,000 factions. Notice I didn’t say Jesus’ churches (plural), but Jesus’ church (singular).
How do I know Jesus intended there to be only one church? Quite simply because he prayed we would be one, just as he and his father are one.
Jesus even said why he wanted us to be as one: so that the world would believe. Succinctly, our unity maximizes our witness.
The implication is our disunity—our disagreements that have divided us into warring denominations—serves to weaken our witness.
Our divisions and petty squabbling over theology and tradition, lessen who we are, what we stand for, and why we’re here.
Oh, how our disunity must grieve the God we claim to serve.
As Christians, why can’t we all get along? That’s what Jesus wanted and that’s what he prayed for. Let’s ditch our divisions and unite for the sake of Jesus—so that the world may know.
Our factions and denominations don’t matter, Jesus does.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
In farming, a silo is a tower used to store grain.
The business world, however, turned silo into a metaphor, such as information silos or organizational silos, symbolizing assimilation and isolation.
These business silos function as a repository of information or power—hoarded and not shared, either by plan or by practice.
With silos, there’s an inner circle, with everyone else kept at a safe distance.
Most organizations, including churches, have silos. Many churches also have theological silos. A theological silo, usually the product of a homogenous faith community, holds to a certain set of beliefs as sacred and non-negotiable.
These may include explicit baptism beliefs, how someone becomes a Christian, a certain understanding of the end times, the role of the Holy Spirit today, a particular stance on a societal issue, and even which version of the Bible to use.
(One historical silo occurred over the requirement for men to wear neckties to church.)
Those who agree with the beliefs of the silo are invited in (usually only after they prove themselves worthy), whereas all others are kept at a distance or even shunned.
Historically, denominations formed around theological silos and then later became silos themselves, often exclusive, closed-minded, and dogmatic to a fault.
Jesus desired unity; he prayed we would be as one. Let’s tear down our silos and embrace one another—especially those who are different—just like Jesus did.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
