Permission to split?

“What gives us permission to disregard Jesus’ prayer for unity in John 17:20-23, and to split and start yet another denomination?” Recently, I have been asked this question and variants of it. Christian Reformed (CRC) churches and folks are wrestling with questions of disaffiliation and forming a new denomination or network of churches. Given the thousands of Christian denominations that resulted from divisions throughout church history, I understand the struggles behind that question.

What kind of unity?

Let me start by asking, “Did Jesus have institutional unity or spiritual unity in mind when he prayed that we should be one?” Spiritual unity and institutional unity are two different things. We can be institutionally united yet be spiritually disunited. In its context, Jesus’ prayer in John 17 focused on two things: God’s mission and God’s love. I think Jesus prayed for Christians to be spiritually united in God’s mission and love.

If spiritual disunity becomes a hindrance to God’s mission and love, is it still in keeping with the spirit of Christ’s prayer to stay institutionally united? If different denominations work ecumenically together in a mission program to spread God’s love, is that not in keeping with the spirit of Christ’s prayer?

There’s also a difference between schisms and separations. A schism is an unjustified division into rival groups in the church based on a sectarian spirit. Sectarianism is “an attitude of exclusiveness,” as Mark Shaw wrote in Ten Great Ideas from Church History. It’s an “us vs them” attitude where only “we” have God’s truth and “we” must fight against dissenters. It stems from spiritual pride. We need to beware of a sectarian spirit.

‘Pushed out’ is not sectarianism

Not all divisions are necessarily sectarian schisms. For example, separating from a denomination that falls into heresy or apostasy, say one that aligned with Nazism, would be motivated more by faithfulness to the gospel than by sectarianism. But that’s an extreme example. More routinely, national denominations were formed in recognition of the need for contextual Christian expressions. For instance, CRC missionaries helped establish an independent denomination, the Christian Reformed Church of Nigeria.

The Protestant Reformation could be justified due to fundamental theological differences and the Roman Catholic church’s lack of grace, at the time, in allowing dissent. Martin Luther did not originally intend to start a new church but to reform the Catholic church from within. It was only after he was excommunicated that he started a new denomination.

Some separations are more like being pushed out rather than leaving. For example, many historically Black denominations in the United States were formed due to racial discrimination against Black Christians in their original denominations. It is prudent for Christians to protect themselves from harm.

A messy faithfulness

The apostle Paul wrote, “If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all” (Rom. 12:18 NRSV). The qualification shows that living peaceably is not always possible, and sometimes it is not entirely in our control. What if a denomination confuses true unity with uniformity and conformity in even non-essentials? What if a denomination becomes sectarian and hostile to dissenters? Are people splitting, or are people being pushed out?

Despite the pain and messiness, God has used the Protestant Reformation, the formation of Black denominations and other separations in church history for his mission and purpose. Could the distinctiveness of Black Christianity have been cultivated if those churches had not split? Would the Reformation’s themes be articulated and preserved if they had not split from the Catholic church? Could God be starting something new for the sake of his mission in Canada?

We can only strive to be as faithful as we can given our less-than-ideal circumstances. And we do so humbly and prayerfully, following the Holy Spirit one step at a time.