An excerpt from Kris Vallotton's upcoming book, Heavy Rain. Watch for more news about the January 2011 release!
It’s easy to see that denominations have grown up through division, being rooted in the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century. We were named Protestants because we were born in a doctrinal protest, which continues to this day. Both the Protestant Reformation and the movements that have sprung up from it all emphasize doctrinal agreement above relationship. This priority has created a culture that constantly threatens to divide people at the very core of their bonding point. While many believers admit that damaged relationships and church splits are costly, the denominational mindset leads them to conclude that the way to avoid this is simply to find ways to enforce doctrinal conformity so disagreements can’t arise. Thus, denominationalism also creates a culture that is critical of anyone who thinks outside the box of tradition, and it desperately fears inspiration. Leaders under this spirit have more faith in the devil’s power to deceive believers than the Holy Spirit’s ability to lead them into all truth. Shepherds in denominationalism resist revelatory thinking because they understand that new ideas spawn disagreements and disagreement attacks the central nervous system of their churches…
All of us speak with an accent, though we often don’t realize it until we are in the presence of someone who speaks with a different one (and of course, we all tend to think it’s the other person who has the accent). What most of us don’t realize is that we also see with an accent. This visual accent is a kind of processing prejudice—a lens—that shapes our view of the world, the Kingdom, and the Bible by causing us to see things not as they are but as we believe they are. Thus, as we live out our faith and read the Bible, we look for and expect to see that which validates what we already believe. In other words, we tend to see only what we are prepared to see…
The lens of denominationalism is primarily defined by the priority of doctrinal agreement, which necessitates a negative view of disagreement in the Body of Christ. Therefore, when someone with a denominational lens approaches Scripture, it requires that biblical terms and concepts support the goal of eliminating disagreement and, ultimately, discouraging individualism. For example, we can see this in the denominational approach to terms like loyalty and unity. In denominationalism, loyalty is often redefined as “agreeing with the leader.” Disagreement is called “disloyal,” and often “disrespectful.” But the truth is that loyalty is actually only tested when we don’t agree. For example, David’s loyalty to King Saul was revealed, not when he lived in the king’s house as his favored son-in-law, but when he lived in the wilderness as the king’s hated and hunted rival. If we agree with our leader over an issue, then we are going to do what our leader wants us to do anyway, because we agree. It is only when we disagree that the fabric of our relationship is put to the test...
