When a small group of friends joined me in my living room on Sunday mornings for church two years ago, and we talked of what kind of church we might start, nondenominational was our default choice. None of us belonged to any particular denomination. We all believed, however, that we belonged to Christ's church. So, for us, nondenominational was simply an accurate albeit nondescript descriptor.
We no longer can fit inside a living room; rather we meet Sunday nights at another local church building. Since those early days, we have learned that we are part of a much larger movement of "Nons". (See State of Christianity in America.) My friend, Chuck Clevenger, emailed me another article this morning. This one entitled, "Where Have All The Presbyterians Gone?" is from the Wall Street Journal. Journalist Russell Moore notes:
According to the Baylor Survey on Religion, nondenominational churches now represent the second largest group of Protestant churches in America, and they are also the fastest growing.
There was a time when people chose a church on the basis of beliefs and doctrinal statements. Now there are much more pragmatic decisions:
More and more Christians choose a church not on the basis of its denomination, but on the basis of more practical matters. Is the nursery easy to find? Do I like the music? Are there support groups for those grappling with addiction?
In other words, people choose a church like they do everything else in life: on the basis of what works best for them. Sadly, we have a word for this. It's call consumerism. We could despair about this fact or we can admit that this is the culture we live in and respond to it in a Christ-like way: with faith, integrity, love and preparation.
At Church Requel our aim is to be a community loving God and loving people. Each week we take an honest look at what the Bible teaches us. We work hard to meet the needs that people have for community and for support. And we rarely, if ever, talk one way or the other about denominations.
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