Christian Society

Struggling with Ecumenicalism.
Can all Christian churches work together, or do our theological differences demand that we keep apart?

By Katherine M. Baker

Three men gather around a table at a small local diner. Their bibles lay open on the red and white checkered table cloth as they review their notes from last week’s discussion. As the waitress pours their first cup of coffee of the day, they begin their Saturday morning ritual and open with a word of prayer. One of these men is a Baptist, one is a Lutheran, one a Catholic and the other a Methodist. Any onlooker would see this as a typical breakfast bible study, but a closer look would reveal the union of different denominations, putting aside denominational differences, gathering to worship in harmony. However, as to whether or not this union of different denominations is a good thing is still up for debate.

The biblical mandate to go into the entire world and preach the gospel, as laid out in Mark 16:15, is a commandment given to all believers. The call to spread the message of the gospel is not often a matter of debate. What is more often eagerly discussed is the what, when, where and how of evangelical ministry. The issue of ecumenicalism, supposedly a catalyst in the unification of Christian denominations, has in all actuality served as more of a divider among many believers who disagree about the true effect ecumenicalism is having on the Christian community.

The term ecumenical, derived from the Greek word oikos, meaning “house,” carries several different meanings depending on its usage. It is often used to denote the unification of polar opposite religions such as Muslims and Christians, or it can be used to describe the joining of different denominations of the same faith. Because of the diversity of the term, it is important to denote the meaning that will be addressed in this piece. Ecumenicalism will be used in regards to the unification of denominations that fall under the umbrella of Christianity (i.e. Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist etc.) in order to achieve a common goal, whether it is to spread the word through outreach ministries or to address specific social issues such as poverty or hunger.

There are some within the Christian community who feel that ecumenicalism is a much needed breath of fresh air that opens the window to a more unified family of God. They feel that ecumenical efforts provide the meanings through which brothers and sisters in Christ of different denominations can find common ground that unites them relationally as well as spiritually. This common ground is seen as a positive reinforcement of the love of Christ lived out in the lives of believers. World Relief, for example, is a widely admired ecumenical organization that many feel is a powerful force in exemplifying the love of Christ.

The opposition to the ecumenical movement, however, is wary of the side affects that may be involved in uniting believers of different denominations under one structural flag. The fear of compromising or sacrificing doctrinal truths hold some back from lending their full support to the movement regardless of the positive aspects it may carry. The position on ecumenicalism is often viewed by many as a choice between either relational love or doctrinal truth.

The debate of ecumenicalism and the impact it has had on the Christian community is a discussion cluttered with the voices of numerous evangelicals. Churches across the globe are beginning to take verbal stands as to their own position on the movement of ecumenicalism. Because of its prominence in today’s Christian society, it is key that believers wrestle with the many facets of the ecumenicalism movement because it will most likely be a question that confronts all believers who function within the Christian community. It is becoming as important an issue on a personal level as it is on an organizational level.

Are ecumenical efforts adding to the effectiveness of spreading the word, acting as a gateway to the formation of great amalgamated mission work, or is it detracting from the true message, distorting doctrinal absolutes? This question begs for an answer by all believers as it directly affects all believers. This piece will endeavor to explore this question and its numerous answers and reactions. With the help of several brothers and sisters in Christ, this piece will explore the many different perspectives and often firm stances on the issue of ecumenicalism and its role in the Christian community.

A Source of Unity?

One of the key arguments in support of ecumenicalism is the belief that it builds the unity between brothers and sisters in Christ. The bible says in Psalms 133:1 (KJV), “[A song of digress of David.] Behold, how good and how pleasant [it is] for brethren to dwell together in unity!” However, Eric Baker, former member of Hiawatha Baptist Church in Red Wing, Minn., disputes the idea that this is an accurate argument in support of ecumenicalism. “If we say brethren [as the verse states], we are talking about born-again Christians. This verse hangs on the doctrine of salvation.” He goes on to add that any belief that contradicts the truth that faith in Christ is the only means to salvation is contrary to the scripture and negates their claim to salvation. If someone is not a believer, this verse no longer applies to the call for unity. This calls into question the idea of who we as believers consider to be our brothers and sisters in Christ. A disagreement as to what qualifies us as adopted children of Christ will affect the unification of believers under one banner.

This calls attention to the differing doctrines of denominations that fall under today’s broad usage of the word Christian. Baker believes that we need to carefully consider what we believe to be the steps to salvation and in turn be able to take a firm stance of absolute truth. Once we have critically considered what it means to be “saved”, we need to hold this standard up in regards to other faiths. He does not believe it is possible to successfully, and in good conscience, spread the word with unbelievers, and makes the claim that anyone who holds anything less, or more, than the belief that faith in Christ Jesus is the only way to salvation, is not a brother or sister in Christ. He also feels that differing beliefs regarding other doctrinal truths can also hinder the spreading of the word. The importance of the difference of doctrinal beliefs and the effect that it has on ecumenical worship and ministry is a question that will evoke several different answers from those in the Christian community.

This idea of Christian unity is further carried by John Buchanan in Vol. 122, Issue 16 of The Christian Century. He says, “Christian unity is a gift we are given and which we can graciously receive and practice, or refuse. Unity is at least as important as the peace and purity of the church.” Many believers in support of ecumenicalism believe this unity is an imperative factor in the success of the church and the spreading of the gospel. Buchanan adds that “part of our witness is that in Jesus Christ we belong together whether we want to or not.”

Dr. Daryl Aaron, associate professor of biblical and theological studies at Northwestern Christian College in Minnesota, however, warns against crossing the lines of unification. “I do not see anything wrong with different religions or different denominations within Christianity working together regarding a social issue about which they agree, for example, abortion.” Nevertheless, he goes on to add, “I do, however, think that there are theological issues that demand division, that is, those truths that are so central to Christianity, for example the deity of Christ. Unity is precious and important, but it is not to be had at any cost.” Like many evangelicals, in regards to ecumenicalism, Aaron believes that there are absolutes that force a necessary separation among members of the Christian community. These are the sort of doctrinal variations that separate denominations in the church today.

Steve Dornbusch, senior pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church located in Golden Valley, Minnesota, also recognizes the dangers associated with the joining of different denominations. He says that although it is Jesus’ intention that we should all be one, “each different strand of Christianity brings unique emphases that are often lost or watered down in ‘denominational mergers.’” Organizations that allow of unification without the demand to lay aside doctrinal beliefs, such as Alpha, which Pastor Dornbush says, “does not ask any particular denomination to give up anything that it might believe to be core or central to its teaching,” would be a valuable asset to the Christian community.

This separation of denominations, however, does not necessarily mean complete isolation from fellow believers. Don Mingo, senior pastor of Chapel Hill Church in Eagan, Minnesota, says “I am ecumenical in spirit, but not in structure.” He regards ecumenical structure as the banding of different faiths with different doctrinal statements of truth in the form of an organization, believing these differences to be a valid reason for organizational separation. Pastor Mingo is wary of Christian organizations that join denominations with obvious doctrinal differences, for example the Word Council of Churches.

The World Council of Churches (WCC), established in 1937, is an ecclesiastical organization uniting over 340 churches and denominations. The WCC currently has over 550 million members and is a pivotal force in the realm of Christian society. It carries the torch of the ecumenical movement and says, “The WCC shares the legacy of the one ecumenical movement and the responsibility to keep it alive.”

Pastor Mingo believes that organizations like the WCC can produce conflict with the absolute authority of the scriptures, “Many churches, or perhaps it is best to say denominations, deny the inspiration of the scriptures, the Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ, the historical accuracy of the Old Testament, and so forth.” He believes these are absolutes which cannot be compromised and therefore, demand organizational separation.

He mentions that this is why he is such a proponent of Emmaus. Emmaus is “a spiritual renewal program intended to strengthen the local church through the development of Christian disciples and leaders,” according to the Upper Room website. Originating in Spain and formed in 1949, Pastor Mingo says that Emmaus, “united first and foremost Christians, and kept denominations on the organization level out of it.”

The Dangers of Post-Modernism

He goes on to warn about the danger of ecumenicalism transforming into a slippery slope towards post-modernistic thought. This post-modernistic thought of “what I believe can be right for me and what you believe can be right for you,” mentality is endangering the absolutes of the scripture. Pastor Mingo says, “In this day and age of accommodating everyone and everything, I find that Christians who hold to such tenant of faith as listed above are almost always expected to jettison their beliefs for the sake of unity.” He believes unity is not worth the sacrifice of the authenticity of the scripture.

Mike Golay, campus pastor of the Friendship Church located in Shakopee, Minnesota, also recognizes the negative toll that ecumenicalism can have on the accepting or rejecting of doctrinal views. Although he does believe it is a good thing for different denominations to unite, he adds that it “can create too much tolerance which can lead to accepting sin.” He recognizes that not only can it compromise certain theological views; it can also create dissention, due to theological differences, during mission and evangelical efforts.

However, even with these concerns in mind, Pastor Golay does not shy away from the ecumenicalism movement and is an active participant himself in a ministerial association and comments that “we have more in common than not.” Although he recognizes the difficulties differing denominations would have in evangelistic efforts, he sees no cause as to why churches of different denominations cannot “pray together, serve the community and counsel people with little difference.” He recognizes that within the Christian community there are several different denominations, but firmly believes that they are all trying to do the same thing, “make disciples of Christ.”

Not everyone in the evangelical community believes that ecumenicalism is a gateway to post-modern thought. John Ward, pastor of the Eden Prairie Presbyterian Church located in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, says, “This is not possible, at least for Christians, Jews, and Muslims, as we are monotheistic, and to try to call us under one umbrella would be tantamount to pantheism, which is forbidden by God.” He believes that our faiths hold enough doctrinal absolutes as to withstand the dangers of post-modern thought. It is for this reason that Pastor Ward does not fear an ultimate unification of faiths and beliefs that could potentially taint the absolutes of the word; he firmly believes our differences will keep us structurally separate. He goes on to add that, “we are fundamentally separated in belief from even those with whom we share vital faith elements.”

Pastor Ward does go on, however, to add that, “this doesn’t mean we are to separate ourselves from care, nurture, support, and protection of each other.” He believes that we can function within the Christian community and care for one another with different viewpoints without compromising our own belief systems as long as we are structurally separate. He believes that to “unite organizationally would require compromising the very things that make us unique and effective to the people we reach…but the difference is not enough to keep us separate from our love and support of each other in Christ and His kingdom’s work,” which he comments is a form of unification in and of itself.

Even with structural separation, some feel that Christianity has lost the strength to stand because of movements like ecumenicalism and post-modern thought. Christians have silenced themselves with the fear that people will take offense to the word, and in all actuality, many will. Paul Helseth, associate professor of biblical, theological and philosophical studies, comments that Christians have become almost too afraid to take a stand for Jesus Christ, “We need to recover confidence in the word.” Helseth believes that Christians have begun to fear disagreement. This fear, he believes, is crippling the effectiveness of the ministry, “we need to be able to say you’re wrong in a loving way. We can do this in a gracious way.” He fears that ecumenical thought has bred a fear big enough to hinder people from speaking out about the true word of God. Helseth says, “What this indicates is that we have bought into our culture, we have lost confidence in the authority of the word.”

Dave Glesne, pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church located in Fridley, Minn., presents an interesting take on the debate of structural ecumenicalism. Pastor Glesne believes that while we are obviously separated denominationally, there is in fact a “true church” which currently unites all true believers, “Those who have been justified by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, irregardless of denominational label are already one in Christ and are part of the true Church which is hidden to the human eye.” True believers are united spiritually as brothers and sisters in Christ despite their denominational classification. Because of man’s falleness, Pastor Glesne believes that true unification can never take place here on earth, but that true unification can only take place when Christ returns and unites the church.

There is a great diversity of Christian denominations, and Pastor Glesne does not feel that this separation is necessarily a bad thing. He recognizes the difference that many faiths hold in regards to doctrinal truths and comments that this diversified separation is “perhaps one way to prevent one group from going over the cliff because another group balances them out.” Like Aaron previously stated, although Glesne feels that Christians should work together, there needs to be structural separation because “it is not wise to compromise Truth and accept differing doctrines simply in order to have organizational uniformity.”

A more extreme view of ecumenicalism can be seen, as represented by W.A. Visser ‘T Hooft in his article, “The Super-Church and the Ecumenical Movement,” in The Ecumenical Review published by the World Council of Churches, was the fear of the “Super-Church.” The “Super-Church” as described by Hooft is “a centralized ecclesiastical institution of worldwide character which seeks to impose unity and uniformity by means of outward pressure and political influence and thus denies the New Testament conception of the Church of Christ.”

Hooft’s piece goes on to beg the question, is the advancement of ecumenical thought creating a similar situation as many of the acts of religious oppression throughout the church history created? Hooft writes, “The struggle between a great centralized ecclesiastical power and the movement for spiritual freedom are a central theme of church history.” He presents the argument that perhaps this ecumenical unity in the church may create an issue of religious oppression for those who are not so willing to unite but would rather remain separate in their worship”.

The different viewpoints and perspectives on the issue of ecumenicalism are endless. While some feel it is a positive force driving the vehicle of unity and reform, many are wary of the affects it may carry should it succeed in aligning different denominations with differing religious doctrines. Although some feel it is something we should shy away from, some feel it offers a unification worth diving in head first after and even more believers fall somewhere in the middle while many remain on the sidelines of the issue.

The debate of ecumenicalism, its strength and its weakness, pros and cons, is far from a resolution. It is a topic of much discussion and one of some dissention. Regardless of the evidence for or against one particular stance on the issue, people have and always will continue to fall on both sides and struggle throughout the middle ground. It seems that the unity at the heart of the issue of ecumenicalism is often causing more dissention than unification. However, it is an issue that begs to be considered as its prevalence grows in today’s Christian society.

Katherine Baker is a senior journalism major at Northwestern College in Roseville, Minn. She is the opinion editor for the Northwestern Column newspaper.