In
Retreat in Retreatland: A Lesson in Denominationalism
By
Deborah Dessaso
Let
the walls come down
Let the walls come down
Let the walls that divide us
And hide us come down
If in Christ we agree
Let us seek unity
Let the walls come down.
Lyrics by Steve Green, from the song,
“Let the Walls Come Down”
It was, without a doubt, one of
those defining moments. There
I was, a guest at a Christian women’s retreat, the theme of which had
something to do with understanding God’s purpose for our lives.
The event was held at one of those Christian-owned-and-operated
facilities which allow several organizations to meet simultaneously and
share a common dining area. Sure
enough, another women’s retreat was being held at the same time as ours.
Like us, the women were from a major denomination, and like us,
they wore t-shirts bearing their church’s name.
So there we were--two denominations sharing the same facility and
eating at the same dining hall for at least five meals. Yet there is where the similarity ended.
Anyone observing the two groups at
mealtime would have seen no connection whatsoever between us, because at
no time during the retreat did we share one minute of fellowship.
Over 300 Christian women, worshipers of the same God, imbued with
the same Holy Spirit, and on our way to Heaven--and yet for two-and-a-half
days we walked past each other, scarcely speaking, each busily being refreshed or uplifted or
drawn closer to God or whatever it is we were supposed to be doing.
During a meal, I said something to the
effect that it would have been nice if the two groups could have shared a
meal together. The responses
I got stunned me. One woman
insisted that fellowship between denominations will be impossible until
after Christ returns. (I kid
you not!) Another one stated,
quite matter-of-factly, that if I wanted to go over and talk to the other
group, I certainly was free to do so (which, of course, I knew—but that
was hardly the point). Later,
I was virtually accused of being an ungrateful guest for
“complaining.”
The irony continued throughout the retreat
as my group “Amened” and “Hallulujahed” its way through the
messages about how the purposes of God are not about us but about His
Grand Plan for all humankind. (I’m
sure the other group was hearing similar messages.)
Then at mealtime, we would leave our respective meeting rooms, make
our way to the dining hall, get our food from the buffet, then scurry to
our separate eating places.
As the retreat continued, there were
incidents of women in my group being delivered from satanic influences,
being strengthened to overcome the effects of domestic violence, and being
encouraged to have faith as they waited for Mr. Right.
I kept waiting for a message on being wary of denominationalism,
but it never came. Perhaps this wasn’t the place--even with two groups of
Christian women worshipping in the same place as they ignored each other.
How is that we who are so sensitive to the
world’s tendency to marginalize Christian values and beliefs are so
de-sensitized to the far more corrosive effects of denominationalism? Well
did the theologian H. Richard Niebuhr describe the problem when he said:
The denominations… are sociological
groups whose principle of differentiation is to be sought in their
conformity to the order of social classes and castes.
It would not be true to affirm that the denominations are not
religious groups with religious purposes; but it is true that they
represent the accommodation of religion to the caste system. They are
emblems, therefore, of the victory of the world over the church, of the
secularization of Christianity, of the church's sanction of that
divisiveness which the church's gospel condemns. (H. Richard Niebuhr, The Social Sources of
Denominationalism,
as quoted in “Christian Quotation of the
Day,” May 28, 2004.)
As Niebuhr suggests, denominationalism merely reflects a desire to
mimic the world’s divisiveness, its desire for exclusiveness at any
cost, its desperate search for significance.
The real tragedy, of course, is that unlike the world, we
Christians claim to worship the One who, despite His stature as the One
and Only Way of Salvation, also is the Mediator between man and God and
whose death on the cross demolished one of the most divisive cultural
walls of His day: the
division between Jews and Gentiles.
Thankfully, many of the newer congregations are working hard to
avoid the polarizing effects of denominationalism, such as adopting
nondenominational names. Still, the Body of Christ has a long way to go.
With the ever-increasing numbers of small ministries eager to
attract as many people as possible, you can
The Bride of Christ would do well to
remember that her claims to exclusivity, uniqueness, and significance lay
in her connection to her Head, her Husband, Jesus Christ.
Any attempts to establish her identity otherwise will result in
denominationalism—congregational self-worship, group style.
From such, oh Lord, deliver us and replace it with a view of
fellowship which recognizes that Christians
may differ on a variety of points, but they all have one spiritual
appetite; and if we cannot all feel alike, we can all feed
alike on the bread of life sent down from heaven. At
the table of fellowship with Jesus we are one bread and one cup…
Get nearer to Jesus, and you will find yourself linked more and
more in spirit to all who are like yourself, supported by the same
heavenly manner. If we were
nearer to Jesus we would be nearer to
one another. (Charles H.
Spurgeon, Morning and Evening, 580).
That last sentence haunts me.
Could this be the root of the problem?
“Thou I walk through the valley of death….”[Psa. 23]
