The Pitfalls of Non-denominational Churches

I attend a non-denominational church, and I plan to keep visiting that type of church for the rest of my days. Though this is the “denomination” for me, non-denominational churches have their downfall. Nothing is perfect.

Non-denominational churches, to put it politely, threw out any documents or theologies apart from the Bible. They don’t use the catechism, any creeds of Christendom, or TULIP. These Christians did something radical and went back to the source of their religion.

That’s fine, but that’s hundreds of years of arguing wasted. Scholars spent two thousand years discussing, writing books, and tearing the church apart to make those doctrines. I wonder how many hours lost, pages used, and relationships ruined because Christians took stances on different issues. Then the non-denominational church threw it out.

Someone put it this way: non-denominational Christians feel that it doesn’t matter if we disagree on doctrine; that’s not what is going to get us into heaven, so why fight over it? And I agree with that statement. I was the odd teen in my parent’s church, asking why the debate between infant and adult baptism was necessary.

I think those creeds have a place and not just in the history books. If you want to dive into one topic, say creation, you have two thousand years of knowledge at your disposal. It wasn’t necessarily a waste of time! We need to think these things through and have a stance on them, but we don’t need to be excommunicated over them.

The next downfall of non-denominational churches stems from the first pitfall: there is nothing to fall back on. If someone walks into the church and asks what the church’s stance on baptism is, the church might give a different answer depending on who is responding. I can’t point the person to a catechism question that was debated for thousands of years.

No classic doctrine might deter a few people. They might not want a church that disagrees with gay marriage or evolution, even if they don’t think…