Denominations Provide "Previously-Invented" Wheels

One of my blog readers suggested a benefit of denominations that I might have neglected to mention, even though it's obvious when you think of it. She wrote:

I hate doing unnecessary work, and I think that denominations provide a good “How to Do It” Guide for starting a new church. Certainly as Presbyterians we have instructions on what church government should look like, what worship is about, what the qualifications for leaders are, etc. And we have a statement of our core beliefs. This frees people to get on with the business of ministry.

LY, Los Angeles, CA

I think this comment is right on. Consider, for example, what I was writing about yesterday. Churches often find themselves in the position of needing a pastor. Perhaps a pastor has retired or moved on to another call. Or maybe a church has opened a new associate position. Now what? Well, if a church is a part of a denomination, there is usually a clear answer to this question. In the PCUSA, a congregation gets together a search committee, although sometimes a process of vision-setting is required before the formation of the committee.

One of the previously-invented wheels that I've found helpful is a clear statement in the Book of Order of who is responsible for what in a Presbyterian church. Our leadership structure is a bit confusing to someone who isn't familiar with it. Congregations have relatively little authority in a Presbyterian church, other than to elect their leaders (elders and pastors). Almost all of the authority rests in what we call the Session, a board of actively-serving elders and the pastor (or pastors). Sessions usually range in size from a dozen to two dozen. According to the Book of Order, the Session has almost all authority in the Presbyterian church (budget, personnel, etc.). The pastor shares in this authority, but doesn't (or ought not) dominate the Session. According to the Book of Order, the pastor has sole authority over the content of worship (preaching, songs, readings, etc.), and that's about it.

In practice, of course, authority is often delegate and shared. Sessions delegate certain of their responsibilities to the staff. Pastors, at least wise ones, get plenty of input from their Sessions about the content of worship. But it's still very helpful that we don't need to figure out from scratch how our leadership should function. In fact, as long as we're a Presbyterian church, we aren't free to re-invent the rules. Thus we are free to focus on ministry, as LY sagely comments.

As I've watched the goings-on in many Presbyterian churches, it seems like we often get in trouble when we don't accept the previously-invented wheels offered to us. Pastors are famous for trying to dominate their elders. And sometimes elders are just as hard to work with as pastors. But when we accept the roles and responsibilities we've been given by our denomination, and when we agree to exercise our authority properly, churches can indeed focus on what really matters rather than getting tied up in power struggles.