What is a Denomination and a Nondenomination?

Do you ever wonder why some churches are called a denomination and others are called non-denomination?

Generally we associate denominations as part of the “mainline” which includes a wide range of protestant churches. I rarely hear anyone describe the Catholic Church a denomination. Usually, we drill down what our Christian faith tradition is in this sequence : Catholic or Protestant? If Protestant which denomination or non-denomination?

So what makes a denomination a denomination? Lets start with what a nomination is.

The word nomination come from the Latin word nominationem meaning "a naming, designation”. When we nominate something we name it or mention someone or something by name. It naming by what it is.

And so to “de-nominate” is to name by what it is not. A denomination in the Christian tradition is less defined by what it is than by what it is not. For instance, United Methodists are a denomination from the Church of England. The Church of England identifies seven sacraments. As a denomination of the Church of England, the United Methodists do not have seven sacrament, but there are two. What makes a denomination a denomination is not what it says, but what it does not say - what it denominates.

Another example is the denomination in the wings from the United Methodist Church - the Global Methodist Church (GMC). The current document that outlines this denomination is called Transitional Book of Doctrines and Discipline. If you are a United Methodist then you may feel like this document sounds like the current UMC’s guiding book called The Book of Discipline. Much of the Transitional Book and the Book of Discipline are so similar it is sometimes difficult to see how they are different. Again, a denomination is not marked by what it says, but what it does not say. One of the things the Transitional Book of the GMC does not say is what the Book of Discipline calls “Our Theological Task.” The ramifications of this is notable. The UMC affirms so deeply that doctrine and theology must go hand in hand to discern what God is doing in the world today. The GMC suggests that there is no new doctrine to be discovered and that every question already has an answer. To make the point even clearer, the only “restrictive rule” of the GMC reads:

In continuity with our Wesleyan heritage, the governing body of the Global Methodist Church shall not revoke, alter, or change our Articles of Religion or Confession of Faith, or establish any new standards of rules of doctrine contrary to our present existing and established standards of doctrine.

The GMC suggests that all that God has for humanity has already been stated and that theology is in service to doctrine - not a mutual partner. The UMC understands that there are questions that the world is asking that doctrine alone cannot address and doctrine must be in conversation with theology to discern God’s will. And so as a denomination, the GMC does not speak of the denomination’s theological task because doctrine is all that is essential. In this simple way, the GMC is denominating (not speaking) about theology, but is speaking about doctrine.

If a nomination is naming by what is, and a denomination is naming by what it is not, then what do we make of a “nondenomination”? (Que mind explosion.)

A non-denomination lacks a naming by what it is not. Or to put it another way, a nondenomination is doing everything it can to try to name everything. There ideal non-denomination is a place that has an answer for every question, problem, and vexation. That answer may be a bible verse or a statement of faith or a prayer, but the non-denomination works hard to teach that there is no lack, that there is an answer and that answer is found in the named sources of the nondenomination.

And so to recap:

• A nomination is a process of naming something by what it is.

• A denomination is a process of naming something by what it is not.

• A nondenominational rejects the idea of denominating and looks more like a nomination process.

And why does any of this matter? It matters to those of us who believe that doubt, unknowing and lack are not things that can be explained away but realities we must live with. This is the nature and role of theology. Through the art and practice of theology the disciple does not try to eliminate the felt sense of lack in their life, but come to see the lack as a friend. A friend who can teach us. Show me an organization that promises to make you whole and completely without lacking and I will show you an organization that is controlled by fear. Any nondenomination (or denomination for that matter) that suggests that all the questions to life are already solved is a Church that is ill equipped for the complexities of the world we are living in.

How to Wash Your Hands According to the Gospel

It really is a shame that I often miss how clever the biblical writers can be. Sometimes these points of cleverness are sometimes illusions or call backs to other stories. Other times the cleverness shows up in the language. If I were a more avid reader of Greek and Hebrew I would hope I could see these clever moments. One of these clever points came in my studies the other day around Mark 7. Specifically the first three verses:

Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders;

What is clever about these verses? It is the word pygme which is translated above as “wash their hands”. Pygme is a bit of an obscure word and it could mean a few things. It could mean the part of the body that is from the wrist down. It can also mean the area of the body that extends from fingertip to forearm. The note may be that the Pharisees don’t stop at their wrist when they wash, but they wash all the way up their arm as though they were super hand washers. More generally though the word pygme means “fist”.

Rather than being super hand washers, this note from Mark could suggest that the Pharisees wash their hands with closed fists or with hands clenched together. I don’t know about you, but it is very difficutl to wash ones hands with clenched fists. Sure the outside of the hands may be clean, but the inside is not.

Perhaps the disciples did wash their hands, but they did so in a different manner than what had become the custom of the Pharisees. The disciples washed with open hands.

Funeral Shift's Impact on How We "Do" Church

Over the years of attending and officiating funerals, there are a few shifts that are interesting.

The rise of the picture slideshow is among the more obvious ones. Not long ago I would ask if the family would like tables set up for pictures to be displayed at the entrances of the sanctuary. This happens occasionally, but by in large the pictures are all digital and all on a slideshow halfway through the funeral. Perhaps not a big deal but it is notable.

The shift from calling it a funeral to calling it a memorial or a celebration of life is also fairly common. It makes sense that we want to remember the life and not the death of our loved ones. I get it. This may not be a big deal, but it is notable.

These are obvious shifts, which all point to the more subtle and yet more profound shift. There is a shift in funerals in what is being said. Specifically, the funeral is becoming a place where the plea is “Do not forget me.” This is a shift from what funerals had been for so long. Part of the point of a Christian funeral is the community promising “we will remember you.”

Shifting from “we will remember you” to “don’t forget me” may not be a big deal, it is. It suggests that we are more aware of how disconnected and unrooted we are from one another and a place. We move from place to place and from people to people, so of course when we die we are concerned that we will be forgotten, so we ask that we would be remembered. Our final request echoes our deep longing for relationships that are so meaningful that there is no way we would be forgotten.

The more disconnected we are from long time friends, family, a place and a community the less likely we are to have these deep and meaningful connections. The Church is a place that says, in part, there is no need to worry about being forgotten because we promise we will remember you. There is no way we could forget you. You are important and valuable to us and this community that we promise to tell your stories and see your love in this place.

Churches may be “old fashioned” and slow to change. Churches are not “nimble” and churches often don’t have the means to adapt to the “new”. Some see this as a detriment to the church and are looking to change it. It makes sense that we would want to change the church and make it more relevant so that people don’t forget the Church. This sounds similar to the funeral shift. Rather than asking “don’t forget us” the Church could be investing into the lives of people so deeply that there is no way that the Church would be forgotten.

Perhaps the most faithful Church is the one that when someone dies, the community says, “we will remember you.”