The Church and the churches

A couple of weeks ago, the Office of Student Programming hosted a discussion on Denominational Identity and Ecumenism. Professors Andrea White (American Baptist) and Ian McFarland (Lutheran) and International Student Coordinatior Min-Ah Cho (Catholic) offered biographical sketches of their own paths to denominational identity. While many of us are born into and nurtured in the traditions of our families some of us strike out on our own to find traditions and denominations that speak to our experience and meet us where we are.

So, what does it mean to be a part of a denomination? Why choose one over another? We are studying to be leaders in the Church... what will it mean for us to not only be a part of a denomination, but a leader within it? These are some of the questions we discussed and the questions we must continue to discuss in the future.

For better or worse, the Church exists with a denominational structure. Many struggle (I know I have) with this structure for it seems to splinter the original foundations of our faith. On the other hand, denominations also allow for a breadth of opinions to be shared earnestly and honestly so that a fuller picture of the Church, the world, and even God can be painted. As Dr. McFarland pointed out, we all have different theologies and understandings of the world around us, so it seems like denominations are not a splintering mechanism, but are opportunities for us to explore deeply from multiple perspectives.

While many come to seminary with their denominational identity fully intact, there are those, like me, who struggle with what it means to be a part of a denomination given the breadth of options and diversity of our experiences. I only came to my denominational identity after having been in seminary for a year and a half. I guess I had always been a little bit Wesleyan, but as I studied Wesley's theology I found a kindred spirit and realized that there were actual theological reasons for me to be United Methodist.

However, even with my denominational identity confirmed, I still struggle with what it means for me and how I live it out. I believe that denominations are our construction, not God's. They help us make sense of what we read in the Scriptures and what we see in the world. They provide us a lens through which to engage the world, but sometimes we forget they are just lenses on something greater. We end up thinking that each denomination is the Church. I think that when we do this the splintering occurs, but when we use our lenses of denominational identity to see the wider Christian community and tradition of which we are a part, we are able to have dialogue and discourse (hense, the idea of ecumenism) and work together for the greater good.

So, I'll ask again: What does it mean to be a part of a denomination? Why did you choose one over another? And what does it mean for us that we will be both part of a denomination and a leader within it?

This post was submitted by Brett Harris, 3rd Year MDiv Student.