Chapter Five – Implementation – Practical Considerations 

Are We Going To Go Broke As A Result?

Local churches will set their own budgets and pay their own pastors without denominational levies. Pastors will probably be paid the same and as part of the transition a wages agreement could be drawn up to protect independent clergy. Revenues to local churches may even slightly increase as people will have a more personal sense of ownership of their local church and those burned by “denominationalism” return to the fold.  

Costs will drop dramatically as overheads due to duplication of ministries between churches in the same area are cut to the bone. The synergies of cooperation should be even greater than those generated by the Job Network example earlier. In that example we saw twice the output for just over half the cost. In the post-denominational era given good cooperation between churches I think we could easily double that in most areas and do twice the ministry for a quarter of the cost. Just take aged care as an example. If in one local area there are say ten aged care homes run by seven denominations with seven different administrative structures and they are all brought under one umbrella – then the savings should be immense. 

What About Rural Churches and Denominationally Subsidised Ministries?

Living as I do in North Queensland I know to some extent how people in the bush feel about being abandoned by capital city based denominational HQ and how sensitive any withdrawal of service from rural areas is – particularly the withdrawal of clergy. I have also encouraged, trained and lectured to many of the rural clergy in NQ from a variety of denominations. Now the situation is not all of one piece. Some of the crisis in the bush is their own fault. Some rural communities are deeply divided along religious lines with say three churches in one very small town each of which will have nothing to do with the other and none of which can afford a minister on their own. The demise of denominationalism can only do a power of good in such communities. Mergers between small rural churches based on local area networks would be a good and godly move. The end of denominationalism may see a partial end to divisiveness and some more real ministry happening in rural areas. 

Then there is the more genuine side of things where people are truly isolated and really want a visit from the clergy who roam the outback in four wheel drives and in small planes. Many of these are already on “team support” and supported as missionaries by churches in the cities. Others are denominationally funded but largely through churches in Townsville or Cairns which would still continue the support even if the denomination ceased. Some are worker-pastors and self-funded. There is also a renewal of interest in outback ministry by groups such as YWAM, Scripture Union and Calvary AOG. Now I only have a partial knowledge of my patch and no knowledge of the rest of Australia but from what I can see most rural ministries would remain. And if funds are freed up by the end of duplication of ministries between the denominations then more Christian sponsorship may be able to be released into the bush. Also the generation of large powerful city-wide networks of churches that can care pastorally for the regions they belong to may actually be a boon for rural areas. 

Other denominationally subsidised ministries such as missionary societies may choose to go on the team support model or to merge with other groups. Some may choose to go out of existence but I think these will be few in a well planned change. Worthy ones may be able to find a powerful urban network or coalition of local churches to help sustain them. If the “spinning off” (see chapter 3) is done well and theologically and philosophically compatible partners are chosen then this should not be too massive a problem. There will certainly be a coalescing of ministries and a certain amount of pain as say 15 denominational women’s ministries combine into a nation-wide force for Christian women but I think the outcome will be much better. 

What About Denominational Based Perks Such As Leasing Equipment And Vehicles?

The leased vehicles that pastors drive are based on churches with educational or practical ministries not paying sales tax on the vehicle and being able to resell the vehicle for what they paid for it so it is essentially free. It needs the church to have a school or bible college or similar activity. So its not denominationally based at all – its ministry based and non-denominational ministries also enjoy this privilege. My understanding is that this will end with the introduction of the GST anyway as there will be no sales tax just a 10% GST on cars and ministries will not be GST exempt anyway. The loophole will be closed – now I’m no accountant and I get muddled on such things but that’s what I’ve been led to believe. So a) its coming to an end anyway b) it wasn’t denominationally based to begin with. 

Why Local Area Networks? Why Can’t We Just Turn Our Denomination Into A Network?

This is a great temptation because it means we can keep a bit of control and a lot of our denominational identity. It’s the easy road. It’s the WRONG road. It is just division by another name. Its repackaging instead of repenting. If you go down this road the Christian community in a given local area will still be divided and still the rivalries (this time between networks) will exist . The revival power that comes from love and unity in a local area will be lost. The church will be seriously weakened spiritually by such a move. Evangelism and church life would make a small gain but the true large gain would be lost. It would be half-right but all wrong. On the practical level the simplicity of local association and the economic synergies of cooperation would be lost.  

Jesus founded the church on geographical unity amidst theological and cultural diversity and that’s the way its meant to be. In nearly every local church that Paul wrote to there was considerable theological diversity and cultural diversity yet they remained united in local areas and this unity was a real witness to God. Local area networks are a much more powerful witness to the community as they demonstrate openly how we Christians love one another despite our differences. Multitudes of semi-denominational networks in the same local area would not be a witness at all.  

What About Networking In A Local Area With Denominations That Are Compatible And Ignoring The Others?

Again its close to repackaging instead of repenting but it’s a lot better than creating denominational networks and it is as far as many churches will be able to go at first. In Townsville there are effectively three networks – Mainline, Evangelical and Charismatic/Pentecostal and overcoming the rivalries within those networks will be the first huge step, bringing them together as one network will be an absolutely massive step in God. There have been a few steps in this direction including some public repentance of the bitter attitudes that have flowed between Mainline and Pentecostal churches. There is still a long way to go but God is at work.  

Will These Major Denominational Blocs Ever Merge?

Even when one local area network is finally created some churches will naturally network more with others. I don’t ever envisage people of Pentecostal theology being terribly happy in a High Mass or vice-versa. That is fine. We can treasure that diversity. Churches of similar theology and mindset will “click” better than those that are very different. However if the Catholic church is burned down because of an electrical fault I hope that the Pentecostals as well as the Anglicans and Baptists would all see themselves as brothers and sisters and pitch in and help out. I think the denominational blocs can merge to a quite significant extent and we can love each other in the Lord and put the emphasis on our commonalities – "one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all", to quote Paul. When the emphasis is put of being Christian first and being different second then we will begin to merge the major blocs within Christianity. 

But How Do We Deal With The Past?

We forgive and we forgive in public. 

What About Our Old Folk Who Have Strong Denominational Loyalties?

Your “old folk” are probably not as unspiritual or inflexible as you think. The biggest radical I know is over 80! They pray for the church and grieve for the church and on the whole are as fed up with division, bureaucracy and “brands” as many of the younger folk. In fact even more so. The only denominational zealots I have met lately have been young people who have had little exposure to other Christians and who have picked up a bundle of prejudices from their home church. A little bit of life and a lot of prayer generally knocks this out of people. Older folk are loyal to denominational events such as synods and conferences. They do enjoy them and will miss them. However if we have equivalent events where the local churches get together and our older folk feel important and valued many will soon make the change. 

 
There Seems To Be So Much To Undo And So Many Words To Be Unsaid I Just Feel The Situation Is Beyond Restoration.

Hopelessness is of the Devil. Faith, love and hope are from Jesus who can do more than you can ask or think or expect. When towns have turned to God and churches have “buried the hatchet” it has often happened quickly. There is a surprise, a pleasant shock, that things can and do change overnight when God is at work. Old traditional enmities that seemed immovable can end in a day. This is not “sight” its faith. You need to replace pictures of failure with pictures of faith. God is God and the status quo isn’t God. By the way I take a lot of encouragement from Zechariah 4 and the moving of mountains by the Spirit of God with shouts of “Grace, Grace to the topmost stone..”. (Zechariah 4:6-7 NASB) Then he answered and said to me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel saying, 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the LORD of hosts. {7} 'What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain; and he will bring forth the top stone with shouts of "Grace, grace to it!" Do not be discouraged or be dismayed, be strong and courageous and do the work of God! 

Stop Preaching And Tell Us How To Do It!

I’ve given you a few clues in the previous chapter with that list of points on building community. However every place is different and you will have to get together with the pastors and lay leaders in your city and fast and pray and seek God for the right steps to take. The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord and the order is important. The first step may be apologising to an ethnic church or to the Catholics. It may be as drastic as that. Or it may be having a combined church camp among all the churches and building community that way. I don’t know the exact spiritual dynamics of your community and I won’t even pretend to be the voice of the Lord to you or to give you sixteen steps that inevitably lead to revival. You wouldn’t believe me if I did. The first step is being willing to do it. If you have read this far it’s a good sign. 

But Won’t Our Young People Marry People From Other Churches Then And We Will Lose Them?

There are three answers to this question:

  1. Young people are not finding suitable people to marry in their own church so they are marrying unbelievers as the alternative and we are losing them not just to the church but sometimes from God as well. Marrying people from other churches has got to be better than that.
 
  1. There is only one Church in reality, one Flock, you are just a holding pen. If they move to another holding pen but remain in the Flock that is no great catastrophe.
 
  1. They might just come to your church as a result – you can gain as well as lose. 

Do We All Have To Become The Same?

God is a God of great diversity in both the natural and the spiritual realms. He has called you to be a certain type of church. Keep being that. My favourite analogy is that all fish are not the same size. A shark the size of a sardine is a failure and a sardine the size of a shark is a monstrosity. Churches don’t have to all be big churches or all be small churches or all have stained glass windows etc. God loves and cherishes and has created your diversity (I hope you believe that). I am not asking you to lose that or leave that. I am asking you to respect the diversity of others and to love them in the Lord. 

But If We All Become One Big Local Area Network Won’t Everyone Go Church-Hopping And This Will Lead To An Unstable Church Where We Have No Idea Who Is Going To Turn Up Or Who We Can Reliably Call On?

That may happen for the first two or three months as the network starts up but I do not see it as a long-term problem because:

There will still be some who wish to float from church to church, however pastors who network together can “gang up on them” and tell them to pick one and settle down. This even happens now. 

What If People Pick Up Wrong Teaching From The Other Churches?

This has potential to become a real problem unless we emphasise bible study and sticking to the Scriptures diligently. As part of moving to a network we need to teach our people to be “Bereans” and to search the Scriptures diligently to see if these things are true.  

As creedal and denominational authority in matters of doctrine vanishes three other forms of authority may replace it:

  1. The authority of a pastors personality or group of elders.
  2. The authority of Scripture alone.
  3. The authority of big name leaders in the Christian community and Christians with a high media profile.

Now options 1 & 3 divorced from Scripture are increasingly popular because they do not involve much work for the believer. However they are disastrous for their growth in faith. Movement to a network will absolutely require a renewed emphasis on the Bible. 

What About Handling Church Splits and Doctrinally Errant Churches Don’t We Need The Denominational Hierarchy For That?

You need some means of authority and sanity that is external to that particular church and its pastor. This can be done through a prominent, well accepted Christian leader or through a group of other churches in the network. The person does not have to be a bishop to do this. As a bible college lecturer and so-called cults expert I get to take this role occasionally as do many others in the Christian community. You just need a good consultant from within the Christian community.

Ok You Have Been Promising To Deal With The Question Of Ordination Its About Time You Did!

Denominational ordination and clergy placement has become a disaster with local churches fearful of having homosexual clergy imposed on them or someone of a totally different theology e.g. a liberal in an evangelical parish or vice versa. The imposition of clergy on parishes and the politics of selection committees are perhaps the very worst aspects of denominational life. On the other hand we don’t want an ordination "free for all" like there is in the USA. There are a number of ways to deal with this:

  1. Form an inter-denominational Australia wide “Clergy Professional Association” similar to the AMA or CPA or similar professional bodies that admits clergy, checks their qualifications and helps negotiate with churches about salary and conditions and which helps them should they want to gain accreditation to minister overseas. It could also keep a database of churches and vacancies and what kind of person and theological orientation the local church wanted.
  2. Membership of the clergy association would not just be on academic grounds alone but on calling from God and demonstrated ability in ministry say after a 1 or 2 year supervision period.
  3. Have local church ordination for those unwilling to belong to the professional association perhaps because they see it as an unspiritual way to do things. Such clergy would only be ordained to minister in that particular church.
  4. Perhaps have local area network wide ordination ceremonies where the network is strong enough and united enough to do this.
  5. Clergy would not be appointed by any external body but called and appointed by the local church. Individual churches would be able to set requirements for clergy according to their understanding of Scripture and not have someone of a different theology or way of life imposed on them by a denomination.
  6. Churches would seek out their minister or advertise for one in the Christian media as well as checking out the associations database which may be a web database and accessible from a PC in the church office.
  7. Under this scheme female clergy would only go to churches that would accept them. The controversy about the ordination of women would thus lose much of its sting since they could not be imposed on churches that did not share that view. Ministers who have been divorced likewise would only want to go to a church where this was not an issue.
  8. This scheme would also prevent the “black marking” of certain clergy by denominational "powers that be". These personal dislikes of powerful people have ruined the ministry of many good members of the clergy.

Clergy can be trained, selected for ministry and properly accredited without any denominational hierarchy being involved in the process and the outcome would be better for all involved.

You Haven’t Mentioned Confirmation By The Bishop

For churches that have confirmation it could be done, like baptism and weddings and funerals, by the local clergy. In some smaller rural networks where all the churches are mainline churches (that have confirmation) it could be a network wide ceremony. I see no theological reason in Scripture why you need to have a bishop to hear a persons confession that they believe the faith, or to impart the laying on of hands. Admittedly I am not of that stream of theology myself and perhaps I have missed something. The Presbyterians don’t have bishops and they manage to confirm people. A hierarchical denominational structure is not needed for individual Christians to publicly confirm their faith in Christ. 

What About A Career Path For Clergy?

The ratio of bishops to clergy at any one time is about 50 + clergy to one bishop so at best you have a 2% chance of a career path anyway. This will be exchanged for a 0% chance of a career path though some may become “fellows” or senior ministers. Most professionals are in the same boat. I, as a careers consultant can get bigger and better contracts or build a bigger and better firm but no-one is going to promote me - or your GP or most other professionals. The idea of a career path where Joe Bloggs joins Big Company and remains there for 50 years, becomes senior and gets a gold watch, is almost obsolete. The average person now has 8-10 job changes and 3-4 entirely different careers in a lifetime. Career consultants now talk about a persons “lifestream” and see career as something you largely assemble for yourself to suit your goals and objectives in life. You will have to be satisfied with your calling in God. 

But I Love The Politics and The Committees

The Army is recruiting! To be serious – there will still be plenty of bureaucracy for you to join in local clubs, some areas of the public service, the Defence forces and in large traditional firms etc. If this is a major factor for you then you will need to find another job. 

Can I Still Wear My Robes?

Yes, of course. They will still have theological significance though they will no longer have denominational “brand” significance. 

What About Prayer Books?

The local church will be free to choose its own style of worship so there will still be a place for prayer books, hymn books and traditional forms of worship should that congregation so choose and I’m sure there will be sufficient demand to ensure that prayer books and hymn books are published and enough people with an interest in this area to compile them. 

 
Won’t This Lead To Chaos With All These Churches Worshipping However Suits Them?

What Do You Mean By a Niche?

To be slightly humorous you can arrange churches in order of how loud they like their worship with Quakers and Trappists liking silence and Catholics and High Anglicans liking muted reverent tones, Presbyterians like a firm strong voice but not too much amplification, Baptists have modest sound systems and loud preachers and Pentecostals have the sound system from a U2 concert in a tin shed with an extrovert for a preacher. Now you can’t have all of them at the same time in the same church. Each congregation has to worship in the way that God is leading it to. That style can be very particular and will end up suiting a particular kind of worshipper. That particular style that suits a particular kind of worshipper is what I am calling a “niche”. 

How Will That Improve Things?

Well at the moment you have a lot of generic “Home Brand” style family services with every church trying to capture the middle of the “market” and not trying to alienate the young people or upset the old people at the same time. Worship becomes an exercise in conflict management in many churches today. It’s a bit like the joke about the animal that could fly, run, hop, swim etc all at once. I have noticed that it is the churches that have the courage to go in the opposite direction to this and to definitely define themselves as Traditional or Contemporary or “River Churches” or “University Churches” or whatever that are growing. People seem to prefer to go to a church that suits them as a worshipper to one that tries to suit everyone. By ending denominational duplication and allowing local churches to be whatever God has called them to be you will get a better variety of churches some of which will take on small niches that no-one else wants but which are still very much needed such as outreach to youth gangs. They would be acknowledged as the church that does this and supported in that role by the rest of the network. One the church was seen as the whole area network by Christians it would help stamp out the complaints that go “the church never does… social justice, evangelism, healing etc.” No one church would be burdened by having to do it all but the network as a whole would and it would become “the city set on a hill” that was seen by the world because at last it would effectively meet the needs of the community.  

Hey I Like That Idea!

So do I lets do it!