Chapter Nineteen
What Do We Do Now?
I
have said that I am not the practical sort of person who can set forth an
efficient program for achieving the unity I have advocated. At this point,
I feel with a peculiar intensity the need for gifts that God has given to
other believers than myself. However, I have made a few specific
suggestions which may deserve consideration, and I have a few more to
share now. Let me close this volume by assembling from the body of the
book various concrete suggestions which should advance the cause of
reunion, adding here and there a few others which occur to me.
1.
Cultivate new ways of thinking (both theoretically and practically) about
the church which avoid the temptation to confuse "church" with
"denomination" (Chap. 3).
2.
Avoid thinking of your denomination as a kind of "home team"
("denominational chauvinism") that you will always support against
the others no matter how untenable its positions and actions (Chap. 5).
3.
Pray that God will speed his own reunion plan to completion (Chap. 6).
4.
Get involved in situations (neighborhood Bible studies, chaplaincies,
etc.) where you are forced to share fellowship and/or ministry with
Christians from other traditions. Allow the sense of unity that you gain
from such experiences to color your view of the church (Chap. 7).
5.
Recognize that doctrinal toleration is unavoidable, and therefore ask
seriously to what extent it might be extended (or reduced!) in our
denominations, to draw each denomination closer to Christians outside it
(Chap. 8.)For example, the Evangelical Free Church might well consider
whether it is really helpful to require professors at
6.
Look at other denominations who disagree doctrinally with your own in a
somewhat different way: not as people who have rejected God's truth,[1]
but as people who have not been taught by God as we have, who perhaps have
not had a fair opportunity even to consider (in an unbiased atmosphere)
the teachings which we cherish (Chap. 8).
7.
Engage in doctrinal discussion less polemically, seeking to do justice to
the legitimate concerns of the other side, remembering that the great gulf
is not between believers of different convictions, but between believers
and unbelievers (Chap. 8).
8.
Be open to what God has been teaching other
denominations (Chap. 8).
9.
Ask God for the right combination of commitment and teachability. Be
willing then to admit that some of what your denomination believes might
be wrong and that God may have given insight to some other branch of the
church (Chap. 8).
10.
Seek involvement of other denominations when there are doctrinal disputes
in your own. Seek to turn doctrinal debates into occasions for the whole
church, or as much of it as possible, to study together (Chap. 8).
11.
Consider some degree of increased toleration by explicit agreement, as a
means of union between church bodies. The Evangelical
Presbyterian Church has declared itself open to various views
considering women elders and charismatic gifts. In my view, the EPC is
actually too tolerant in these particular areas, but I do see other areas
in which this strategy might be wisely implemented. For example, the
Orthodox
Presbyterian Church and
the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America are largely agreed
on everything except that the latter denomination uses Psalm versions
exclusively in worship. Certainly these bodies ought to merge, explicitly
allowing each congregation to make its own decision in this matter, or
perhaps even providing for some exclusive-Psalm-singing presbyteries (Chap.
8).
12.
For now, refrain from writing new creeds. I say that most reluctantly, for
there is a need for new affirmations and denials by the churches
addressed to contemporary situations. A truly ecumenical creed, one
to which Christians of all denominations would subscribe, would be an
excellent development. (I do applaud recent creeds by para-church groups
like the International Council for Biblical Inerrancy and the Council
For Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. Unfortunately, however, most contemporary
creeds are limited to one denomination, and no denomination has the right
to speak for the one, true church. Further, once a denomination adopts a
new creed, the new creed separates it more sharply from other denominations
who have not adopted it.
13.
Escalate the fight against theological liberalism. There will be no union
worthy of the name unless it excludes those who will not place
themselves under the supreme authority of God's Word. The process
of isolating and excluding liberal teaching from our churches is
one that may, and ought to, begin now. Twenty-five years ago, it
was widely taught that once a denomination had become infected
with liberal teaching it could not be brought back to the truth.
Since that time, however, evangelical movements in
several denominations infected with liberalism have made good
strides toward biblical reformation: the Lutheran Church--
Missouri Synod, the Southern Baptist Convention, and the Associate
Reformed Presbyterian Church are some examples. It can be done! And
once the confusing influence of liberalism is removed, we will
see much more clearly to deal with those real doctrinal
differences which remain. There is no room for unbelief in the one,
true
14.
In general, respect the discipline of other churches and denominations.
When someone seeks to join your church in order to escape discipline
somewhere else, don't simply welcome him in with no questions asked. Take
the trouble to do some investigating. It may be the judgment of your
church that the discipline of another church was unfair or unnecessarily
harsh, and it is not wrong so to disagree with another body in
the absence of a higher court to resolve the matter decisively.
But don't let your zeal for grabbing a new member interfere with
your responsibility to the whole
15.
Read what others say about your denomination and/or theological
tradition-- and not just to refute them.
16.
Consider revising the subscription vows taken by officers in your
church-denomination to encourage the balance between doctrinal unity and
healthy doctrinal change discussed in Chap. 8.
17.
Mute polemics as much as conscience permits.
18.
Do not insist on rebaptizing or reordaining people who enter your
denomination from another orthodox (Nicene Creed) body (Chap.9). When
someone claims that he has been baptized or ordained, take his word for
it, unless you have strong evidence to the contrary.
19.
Find three good jokes about your own denomination or tradition and share
them with your fellow members.
20.
Practice open communion (Chap. 9).
21.
Develop a form of worship that welcomes believers from other traditions
(Chap. 9).
22.
Forgive personal and corporate injuries done to you by those of other
bodies (Chap. 10).
23.
Don't worry so much about details of church government; worry more about
the spiritual qualities of those who govern (Chap. 11).
24.
Follow the servant model whenever you are in a position of authority
(Chap. 11).
25.
Be more self-critical of your own and your denomination's priorities
(Chap. 12).
26.
Consider the possibility that the differences between your denomination
and others may be to some extent differences in priority or emphasis
rather than substantive differences (Chap. 12).
27.
Maintain a biblical balance of emphasis in your church's preaching and
teaching ministry, avoiding over-emphasis of denominational distinctives.
28.
Examine yourself and your denomination to purge the attitudes listed in
Chap. 13.
29.
Examine yourself and your denomination to purge the assumptions discussed
in Chap. 14.
30.
Seek to convert your church's emphasis and mentality to an "outward
facing" one, working to eliminate "ingrownness" (Chap. 15).
31.
Insist that critics of other denominations bear the burden of proof under
strict standards of evidence; regard those denominations as innocent until
proven guilty (Chap. 16). Do not settle for gossip, no matter how
much that gossip reinforces your denominational self-image.
32.
Allow relatively free and easy transfer between your denomination and
others, at least within your own tradition (Chap. 17, 18).
33.
Loosen unreasonable restrictions designed to make it difficult for people
outside your denomination to enter the ministry of your denomination
(Chap. 18).
34.
Where organizational union is not a practical goal, seek the sorts of
pre-union relationships described in Chap. 18.