"The more you tighten your grip.."
the more star systems will slip through your fingers"
I’ve used this line multiple times on here. It’s what Princess Leia tells Governor Tarkin in Star Wars: A New Hope right before the Death Star destroys Alderan.
Nearly eighteen months ago, I wrote a piece titled “Revanchist Denominations”. My argument was that several denominations: the Church of the Nazarene, the Free Methodist Church, the Christian Reformed Church, and the Church of God-Anderson, had elevated their stance opposed LGBTQ+ affirmation to doctrinal status. Several friends in the Nazarene church and in the Church of God had their ministerial credential removed after decades of leadership in their respective religious groups. The CRC is still struggling over expectations of faculty members and whether affirming faculty will no longer be employable at denominational schools.
Six years ago I conducted a research project contrasting the views of evangelical pastors under 40 with those over 50. There was a sharp difference in their views of sexuality (but not doctrine). I asked if anything could cause them to leave the denomination in the future. The dominant answer was strict legalism on major social issues. As I explained in the Revanchist piece:
You might not be familiar with the term “revanchist” in my title. It has a very specific connotation. One of the definitions I found refers to it as “a policy of seeking to retaliate, especially to recover lost territory.” I find it apt, especially in its military sense of fighting to reclaim territory won by the “enemy”. In the face of rapidly changing attitudes, these three denominations have staked out positions hoping to reclaim lost territory. It won’t work for the most part.
Let me return to my pondering about denominational membership. If not drinking and not dancing and not supporting LGBTQIA+ loved ones means someone can’t be in membership, then they’ll leave. Denominational identity is too weak of a bond to hold people whose attitudes and behaviors have already changed.
This was all brought to mind by an excellent piece of reporting from Yonat Shimron of Religion News Service. Her piece focused on two dozen Christian Reformed congregations leaving the CRC because of the denomination’s revanchist stance on LGBTQ+ issues.
Her story includes a quote from the pastors of one Grand Rapids church pursuing disaffiliation with the CRC:
“It’s very sad because in 99% of our doctrines we align (with the denomination),” said the Rev. Joel DeMoor, co-pastor of Neland Avenue. “The questions raised in care for the marginalized in this way have led to such an impasse. Whatever happens, I have no doubt we will stick to our mission: extending to all the deep welcome of Christ.”
I followed with great interest what was happening in my own United Methodist denomination. Traditionalists who wanted to hold a revanchist line left to form their own denomination, the Global Methodist Church. With their departure, the UMC adopted new Discipline language as a generally affirming body.
The GMC split follows a long pattern of divisions over the course of Church History. A group believes that the main body has gotten “too worldly” and, after a brief period of attempting internal reform, depart to form their own organization. I’m sure my American Church History friends will correct me, but I’m hard pressed to come up with other examples of groups departing because the parent body is too conservative.
That’s what makes this CRC news so interesting. Sure, it’s only 24 congregations out of 1,000 congregations. Nevertheless, these are influential congregations with, as the story explains, some significant members who are in the public eye.
If denomination leaders — like Governor Tarkin — insist on demonstrating how well they can hold the line on their conservative positions, they may soon discover that many of the young, vibrant, congregations and their leaders will simply choose to leave. That doesn’t seem like a great strategy to minister to the interests and concerns of the rising generation I wrote about last week.
Do you have any information on Christ the Savior CRC in South Bend? Are they an affirming congregation?
I get your point, but we need to acknowledge that there comes a point that Biblical truth must prevail. If the denominational leaders (in my tradition, SBC messengers) determine that there's a Scriptural/doctrinal line that can't be crossed, then the line must be clearly drawn.